Good news for all you coffee lovers out there:multiple studies indicate coffee has liver protective benefits. Dr. Sanjiv Chopra regularly quizzes his patients about their coffee intake and, if it's not contraindicated due to other conditions, he recommends they incorporate about 2 cups of coffee per day as a preventative therapy. The evidence which swayed Dr. Chopra's practice includes:
- People who drink 2 cups of coffee each day had a 50% reduction in hospitalization and mortality from chronic liver disease
- Two cups of coffee per day decreases the incidence of primary liver cancer by 43%
- 1 cup of coffee per day can equal a 20% reduction in their risk of developing alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver -- and two cups will reduce that risk by 40%