Is drinking coffee good or bad for my liver?
Lots of studies have looked at coffee and liver health. Overall these found that drinking coffee is likely to be good for your liver.
Can drinking coffee prevent liver disease?
There is good evidence that drinking coffee can reduce your risk of a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
There is also some evidence that drinking coffee can reduce your risk of liver damage like scarring and cirrhosis.
Beneficial effects have been found for filter, espresso, and instant coffee.
But drinking coffee cannot always prevent liver disease. Even if you drink a lot of coffee, it is important to reduce alcohol, eat a healthy balanced diet and keep active.
Can drinking coffee help if I have a liver condition?
It should be safe for you to drink coffee if you have a liver condition.
There is some evidence that it can slow down the progress of liver disease in some people.
Some research found that people were less likely to die of liver disease or to develop cirrhosis if they drank coffee.
But more research is needed, and coffee is not enough on its own. It is important to follow advice from your doctor.
If you have been advised to cut down on coffee or caffeine because of another medical condition, speak to your doctor.
How much coffee should I drink to help my liver?
Previous studies have found that people who drink 3 to 4 cups of coffee each day have less risk of liver disease than people who do not drink coffee.
But more research is needed to help us understand how much coffee you need to drink to make a difference. And whether that could affect your health in other ways.
How does drinking coffee help your liver?
It is not yet clear how coffee helps prevent liver disease. Or how coffee interacts with the different causes of liver disease, like alcohol and viral hepatitis. It might also work differently from person to person.
There are lots of different things in coffee and there has not been much research into how they all affect your liver. It is thought that some of them, including caffeine, are antioxidants which can help protect against damage.
But not everyone who drinks coffee is protected from liver disease. There are probably some individual differences that affect how coffee works. These could be linked to lots of things including the genes you inherit from your parents and your gut microbiome (the good bacteria in your digestive system). As well as what you eat and drink, if you smoke, and how active you are.
What about decaf?
There have not been as many studies into decaffeinated coffee. There seems to be some evidence that it can be helpful but more research is needed.
What about other drinks with caffeine in?
Caffeine might be one of the reasons why coffee can help your liver. But there are lots of other things in coffee that could also be involved.
Research into other caffeinated drinks has had mixed results so it is hard to tell for sure.
Drinking green tea in normal amounts is safe. But green tea supplements can be dangerous for your liver, especially if you already have a liver condition. You can find out more about drug induced liver injury here.
Are there any risks to drinking coffee?
Drinking coffee should be safe for most people. If you are pregnant or have a heart condition you should talk to your doctor or midwife about how much coffee is safe for you.
Some people find that drinking coffee in the afternoon or evening can make it hard to sleep at night.
Having lots of fat or sugar is bad for your liver, even if it comes with a coffee. So do not regularly drink coffee with sugar, syrups or cream in it.
