Do you enjoy drinking a warm cup of coffee or herbal tea? It turns out that your daily cup of Joe may actually help protect your liver from the effects of an unhealthy diet. This, according to new research from the Netherlands.
Our livers become damaged from eating foods that are full of empty calories, lack important nutrients that we need, and are loaded with sugar. Therefore, the cumulative effect of this diet means more fat in the liver, also known as fatty liver disease.
To study whether or not coffee and tea had any positive benefit, researchers surveyed 2,400 people from the Netherlands who had no history of past liver problems. This included reviewing their past medical histories and asking the participants to answer questions about how they consume coffee and tea. In addition, The participants were subdivided into three groups based on their coffee and tea consumption. This also included whether they drink black, green, or herbal teas.
The Coffee and Tea Study Results Reveal Health Benefits
The results of the study showed that the participants who drank coffee or tea showed fewer liver problems. Also, these beverages seemed to have a preventative effect which protected the liver from liver disease. It is not known exactly why this occurs. One thought is that coffee has antioxidant properties which may help with prevention.
The research is interesting because drinking coffee or tea is low-cost and easily accessible. However, more research is needed. This study cannot yet determine whether or not drinking coffee and will actually improve the health of the liver. Moreover, the issues that came up in this research included having a homogeneous study population and a wide variance in the beverages consumed.
Are you interested in learning more about how coffee and tea could be helpful for your liver? You can read the full article here: Can Coffee, Tea Protect the Liver from a Bad Diet?