Have Hepatitis? Maybe You Need Starbucks!

Can drinking coffee help slow the effects of chronic hepatitis C? According to a new study, people with hepatitis C who drank three or more cups of coffee per day had a lower risk of liver disease progression (53% lower risk) than non-coffee drinkers.

The research, published in the journal Hepatology, followed 766 patients who all had chronic hepatitis C with detectable HCV RNA, advanced hepatic fibrosis (liver scarring), and interestingly, previously treated with peginterferon and ribavirin but didn't reach SVR (What Is SVR?). Compared to the non-coffee drinking patients, people who drank more coffee had less progression of liver disease. Those who drank one to three cups of coffee per day were 30 percent less likely to progress, but those who drank three or more cups each day had a 53 percent lower risk.

So what do we make of this research? Should we all start drinking coffee in hopes of a healthy liver? At this point, this is just interesting information. There are over one thousand chemical compounds in coffee and no one knows which are responsible for any potential benefit. Since this is the first study to compare the effects of coffee on people with hepatitis C, more studies are needed. However, according to the study's researchers, the idea of drinking a cup of coffee (or three, actually!) to help the liver isn't as strange as it may seem. Drinking coffee could affect liver disease by affecting insulin and glucose levels in the blood. Furthermore, coffee may actually reduce inflammation that can lead to fibrosis and cirrhosis.