Good news for coffee lovers, now there's another benefit to drinking a few cups of coffee per month. New research found that drinking coffee can help reduce the risk of getting a rare liver disease.
A team of researchers found that coffee can have a positive effect on autoimmune disease like primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). This is a disease that can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure and bilary cancer.
Although PSC is rare, it's one many detrimental diseases of the autoimmune system that doctors are always seeking ways to help patients prevent. The new discovery by researchers at the Mayo Clinic that regular coffee drinking can reduce the risk of PSC is a promising find.
"We are always looking for ways to mitigate risk, and our first-time finding points to a novel environmental effect that might also help us to determine the cause of this and other devastating autoimmune diseases," instructor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Craig Lammert, said in a press release.
The study examined groups of U.S. patients with PSC, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and a control group of healthy people. The resulting data showed a link between coffee consumption and a reduced risk of PSC only.
Prior studies have shown additional benefits of coffee including reduced risk of stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Due to the caffeine content, it's important to note that coffee must be consumed in moderation. Excessive coffee drinking can cause insomnia, nervousness, rapid heartbeat and irritability. Caffeine content depends on how big the cup is and the recommended safe amount is between 200 to 300 milligrams, which is about two to four cups a day.
