Is Coffee Good for Your Liver and Kidneys? - GoodRx (2024)

Is coffee the first thing you reach for to start your day? Join the club! More than 6 in 10 people in the U.S. drink coffee every day, according to a 2020 survey. And they don’t stop at just 1 cup — they drink an average of 3 cups of coffee per day. Coffee contains the stimulant caffeine and is what makes it a go-to morning drink. Stimulants directly affect the brain, increasing alertness and decreasing fatigue.

But coffee also contains antioxidants. Antioxidants reduce inflammation in the body by binding free radicals, which cause cell damage. Too many free radicals can lead to premature aging and diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

Coffee also helps the gastrointestinal (GI) tract move food through the system faster. This is why some people have a bowel movement shortly after their morning cup.

Let’s take a closer look at how coffee affects the body, with a focus on the liver and kidneys.

How does coffee affect your liver?

The liver is busy. It performs more than 500 different functions. To start, the liver turns proteins, carbohydrates, and fats from food into energy. It also helps you make proteins and chemicals that are important for your bodily functions. And the liver is a powerhouse when it comes to breaking down medications and cleaning the blood of waste products.

With so many different jobs, it’s clearly important to keep the liver healthy. Enter coffee. You knew it was your friend when it comes to getting a burst of energy, but turns out coffee can also help keep your liver healthy.

Researchers are still learning about all the ways that coffee affects the liver. But there are a few important pathways that influence how coffee works to improve the health of your liver.

• Antioxidants: Coffee contains antioxidants like chlorogenic acid (CGA) that can help your liver break down glucose and prevent the buildup of fat in your liver

• Anti-inflammatory effect: Drinking coffee is associated with lower levels of inflammation in the body. Less inflammation may help prevent certain diseases of the liver.

• Autophagy: Coffee might stimulate autophagy, which is a process in which damaged parts of cells are removed. This helps the cell structures live longer and function better.

Is coffee good for your liver?

Yes, coffee is good for your liver. The benefits of coffee for your liver are so widespread some have called coffee the “magical bean for liver diseases.”

A large 2021 study found that regular coffee drinking (2 or more cups per day) is associated with a lower risk of chronic liver disease and liver cancer. Effects were similar for both regular and decaf coffee. The health benefits were also the same for instant or ground coffee.

Coffee seems to be good for your liver in multiple ways. Drinking coffee regularly is associated with:

• Lower liver enzyme levels (elevated liver enzymes can be a sign of liver disease, so normal levels are a good sign of health)

• Lower rates of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

• Less liver disease like fibrosis or cirrhosis of the liver

• Lower rates of the most common type of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma

• Lower mortality rates for people who already have chronic liver disease

How does coffee affect your kidneys?

Like the liver, the kidneys are also busy. They filter waste and extra water out of the blood, producing urine. They remove acid to keep a healthy balance of water, salt, and minerals in your blood. But that’s not all. Your kidneys are a major player in regulating blood pressure, making red blood cells and keeping your bones healthy.

Coffee seems to have a similar effect on kidneys as it does on the liver. The same pathways that promote liver health are helpful for the kidneys: coffee’s antioxidants, anti-inflammatory effects, and autophagy process all promote health. But coffee’s relationship to the kidney is a bit more complicated.

In one study, caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea, and soda were associated with worse kidney function in older adults. On the other hand, many other studies have found that coffee has a protective effect on the kidney and can help prevent chronic kidney disease.

So what’s going on? One reason for this difference might lie in your genes. It turns out that some people have a genetic difference that makes them “slow metabolizers” of the caffeine in coffee. So it takes their body longer to break down caffeine. For people with this gene, drinking more than 3 cups of coffee per day may be associated with high blood pressure and worse kidney function. For people without this gene, drinking plenty of coffee may be more beneficial. More research is needed.

Is coffee good for your kidneys?

Overall, there’s good news for coffee drinkers. Most studies show that coffee has protective effects on the kidneys, thanks to antioxidants. Drinking coffee is associated with:

• A lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD)

• Better kidney function (the kidney is less likely to lose protein in the urine)

• Lower mortality rate for people with CKD

• Lower chance of getting kidney stones

For those who already have CKD, the National Kidney Foundation confirms that it’s OK to drink coffee in moderation (maximum 3 cups per day). Since the studies on coffee and kidneys aren’t all clear-cut, they don’t recommend drinking coffee to improve kidney function. But, overall, coffee in moderation seems good for the kidneys for most people.

If your healthcare professional has recommended limiting the amount of fluids you drink daily due to CKD, remember to count the fluid from coffee, too.

Does drinking too much coffee cause kidney stones?

Simply put, no. As long as you stay hydrated, studies suggest that coffee may actually decrease the risk of kidney stones.

The amount of water you need to stay hydrated differs for everyone, so ask your healthcare professional if you aren’t sure. It depends on your size, activity level, climate, and other medical conditions.

What is an OK amount of coffee to consume?

Coffee can be a healthy addition to your diet. But there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing. The FDA recommends a maximum of 400 mg of caffeine daily, since this amount won’t cause negative side effects for most people (see below). But some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others.

An 8-oz cup of coffee contains 80 mg to 100 mg of caffeine. So that could put the recommended limit at 4 to 5 cups of coffee per day. But keep in mind that at many restaurants a “small coffee” is about 12 oz. And you can get caffeine from other parts of your diet, like soda, energy drinks, chocolate, and even some pain medications. So depending on what size or type of coffee you drink, you might be better off limiting yourself to 3 to 4 cups of coffee per day.

When it comes to specialty coffee drinks, like lattes, the amount of caffeine depends on how many shots of espresso the drink has. A single shot of espresso has about 70 mg of caffeine. You can always ask the barista how many shots are in each size drink if you aren’t sure.

The amount of caffeine in sodas and energy drinks varies. This information may be near nutrition labels on the beverage itself.

How do you know if you’ve had too much caffeine?

Whether you’re getting caffeine from coffee, tea, or an energy drink, there can be too much of a tasty thing. Side effects of excessive caffeine include:

• Feeling anxious or jittery

• Having a fast heart rate or palpitations

• Experiencing stomachache, nausea, or diarrhea

• Having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep

Are there health benefits to drinking coffee?

The health benefits of coffee go beyond just the liver and kidneys. Studies suggest that drinking coffee — especially unsweetened, black coffee — is also associated with a decreased risk of:

• Death (in general)

• Death from heart disease

• Several different types of cancer

It’s important to note that these benefits are simply associations. That means there’s a scientific relationship between drinking coffee and decreased health risks, but there’s not a proven cause and effect. So it’s important to work with your healthcare professional to find a diet, exercise, and medication regimen that keeps you healthy. Coffee might be part of that regimen, but it’s not the only part.

And remember that the health benefits of coffee come from coffee — not the creamers and sugars that are added. If you don’t like the taste of black coffee, there are healthy ways to spruce it up.

How much coffee should I drink to see these health benefits?

Some people think of their coffee habit as a guilty pleasure. But you can let go of that guilt, since coffee can be good for you in moderation. The antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects in coffee actually help protect your liver from chronic disease. When it comes to the kidneys, more research needs to be done, but overall coffee seems to be good for your kidneys and help prevent kidney stones.

Most studies found health benefits from drinking 2 to 3 cups of coffee per day. The FDA recommends a maximum of 400 mg caffeine daily, which could mean anywhere from 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day. But it’s a good idea to talk with your healthcare professional about how much coffee to drink, to make sure the amount you’re having is right for you.