New research has found that the caffeine in coffee slows the progression of advanced liver disease in people with chronic hepatitis C, a widespread and often fatal illness. The study was published in the November, 2010 issue of the journal Hepatology.
The study included over 750 patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The participants were asked to report the amount of coffee they consumed, and liver biopsies were taken after 18 months and after 3.5 years to determine the progression of the disease.
Patients who drank three or more cups of coffee per day were 53 percent less likely to suffer progression of the liver disease than those who did not drink coffee.
