Coffee Can Counteract Deadly Effects Of Alcohol On Your Liver, New Study Suggests

Coffee is one of the most polarizing things you can put into your body. Consuming large quantities of caffeine may be bad for you, but more recently, studies suggest that drinking coffee could reduce your risk of a heart attack or cancer.New research from the World Cancer Research Fund International has confirmed that obesity and regular alcohol intake can lead to liver cancer, but also show that drinking coffee regularly is linked to a decreased risk for liver cancer.

How is coffee helping your liver? According to the study, which was based on 34 studies from around the world involving 8.2 million adults, 24,500 of whom had liver cancer, "compounds in coffee have been shown to induce the body's defense system, activating, for example, the enzyme which mitigates the effects of toxins including aflatoxin" (a potent carcinogen found in much of the food we eat). In addition, coffee has "been shown to reduce the expression of genes involved in inflammation, and the effects appear to be most pronounced in the liver."

Scientists are more confident about the link between drinking and cancer than they are about the link between coffee and its prevention.