Looks like drinking coffee is not advisable just for the sake of curing hangovers.
A review of previous studies suggests that drinking coffee - lots of it - may potentially protect your liver from cirrhosis, the scarring of the liver caused by excessive drinking.
The paper, titled"Systematic review with meta-analysis: coffee consumption and the risk of cirrhosis," was published in the Wiley Online Library analyzed nine previously published studies about coffee and cirrhosis. The aim is to raise awareness to the public of the newly discovered wonder that coffee makes to our body adding to the long list of rewards our health gets from drinking it daily.
According to the researchers, the magic comes from the magnanimous amount of antioxidants coffee contains that helps repair cells being damaged by the toxins we eat and consume.
"It is significant that the risk of developing cirrhosis may be reduced by consumption of coffee, a cheap, ubiquitous and well-tolerated beverage," lead study author Dr. Oliver Kennedy of Southampton University in the U.K told NY Daily News.
Their study showed results that people who drank lots of coffee, at least, one cup per day had a 22 percent lower risk of cirrhosis, compared to those who don't drink it. Moreover, people who consumed four cups (or more) daily were 65 percent less likely to acquire the disease. Develop
This discovery can be considered a scientific breakthrough because to date, there is no known way to undo the damage our liver is exposed to.
"Cirrhosis is potentially fatal and there is no cure as such," Kennedy said.
Damaging the liver severely can trigger symptoms like fatigue, excessive weight loss, severe itching, yellowing of the skin-jaundice, nausea, abdominal pain, gallstones, edema and even mental issues if not treated early.
Extreme alcohol consumption isn't the only cause of cirrhosis, one with immune system disorders, hepatitis C, obesity and diabetes can also develop the disease.
However, this doesn't mean that you can spend more nights partying and drinking endlessly and depend on cups of coffee the next day, (especially if you equate coffee with Frappuccinos-which are mostly sugar and cream), hoping to undo the damage and clean your liver slate. According to New York-based nutritionist, Samantha Heller, it doesn't work like that.
"Unfortunately, although coffee contains compounds that have antioxidant effects and anti-inflammatory properties, drinking a few cups of coffee a day cannot undo the systematic damage that is the result of being overweight or obese, sedentary, excessive alcohol consumption or drastically mitigate an unhealthy diet," Heller commented.
Cirrhosis kills more than one million people every year worldwide and no permanent medications or cure has been discovered.
