Slowing fibrosis/cirrhosis with Coffee - British Liver Trust

British Liver Trust

38,081 membersβ€’18,674 posts

Slowing fibrosis/cirrhosis with Coffee

β€’36 Replies

While we all hope and wait for a cure, looks like we can all benefit from drinking 6 to 8 cups of coffee a day. I was told this by my liver specialist over a year ago, and it now seems to be a proven fact.

36 Replies
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AyrshireK profile image
AyrshireK

The British Liver Trust has links to pages and pages of coffee research & it's positive effects on liver. britishlivertrust.org.uk/?s...

Hubby was also told by liver team to drink coffee but he doesn't take as much as 6 to 8 cups a day (one minimum sometimes a couple more).

All the best,

Katie

Poobear69 profile image
Poobear69

Yep I was told this also but i must ask when I'm.nect in clinic about how that affects the d ticket?!!!

β€’ in reply toPoobear69

What's a d ticket?

Poobear69 profile image
Poobear69β€’ in reply to

πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ Didn't check the post! Meant "the old ticker" πŸ™„!

β€’ in reply toPoobear69

πŸ™„πŸ€£

c1jam - I have been hearing this for the past couple of years (after liver specialist advice to avoid coffee.) Even if all I had was a liver I'd be confused! But I have bones - coffee is diuretic and calcium may be lost this way. And I have a heart - coffee is a stimulant and 8 cups may cause palpitations and stress the heart. So, as with everything, moderation, and we must learn what that is for ourselves. I think it is irresponsible reporting of the facts to state coffee is good for the liver, but this is what we read when the editor of the Daily Mail is trawling the medical journals for something to over-simplify. The poor coffee farmers won't be the ones to get a boost out of the "news" either.

β€’ in reply to

It's also published on the British liver trust website ( this one)

β€’ in reply to

I like your reply and especially about the poor coffee farmers!

I'm allergic to coffee and tea so my liver wont be receiving any treats !

β€’ in reply to

Slaines1952 - I know people who don't like either tea or coffee and don't drink them but not anyone who is actually allergic to them. What reaction do you have? Have you never been able to drink them? What do you drink in place of them? We weren't given coffee as children, we probably couldn't afford it, but people who could afford to didn't give it to children. We drank tea from 5 or 6 years old but only for afternoon "tea-time".

β€’ in reply to

Hi again

All my life until the age of 30 I suffered with severe migraines, or should I say acute ones causing GP's to be called in and give me injections to make me sick which afterwards took around 2 days to recover from!

I eventually tracked the cause of migraines down to drinking coffee and tea of any kind include decaf! Weird I know but since totally giving it all up 37 years ago I've not had one migraine which I had regularly.

I know drink, ginger cordial, stem ginger chopped into hot water, oxo cubes or slice of lemon in ice cold /hot water!

Thank you for asking what I now drink .

Bye for now

Love

Trish

β€’ in reply to

Slaines1952 Good that you had no more migraine - water's ok too? Lions drink it, and they're strong... :-)

β€’ in reply to

I do drink water but normally with lemon, however I love ice cold water which I'm now about to dive into after my long walk with the dogs!"

Hopefully I'll sleep tonight and wake with no nausea feelings!

Nighty nite as I think I,'ve burnt off 3 days calories after working more or less none stop since 6am !

Bye for now

Trish

Xenom0rph profile image
Xenom0rph

6 to 8 cups!? I’d be awake form days.

Bootandall profile image
Bootandall

Not to mention the laxative effect! πŸ™„

β€’ in reply toBootandall

Bootandall - or constipation :-)

c1jam - thank you - this site refers to findings by what calls itself Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee. It refers to benefits of moderate (3-5 cups a day) consumption. The members and sponsors of this "scientific institute" are

ILLYCAFE

JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS

LAVAZZA

NESTLE

PAULIG

TCHIBO

My studies still tell me that if a thing sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

β€’ in reply to

Is it 3 to 5 cups then. My mistake saying 6 to 8, sorry all.

Thanks 4thPlinth

β€’ in reply to

c1jam - no need for apology, if you hadn't posted as you did, and replied to my comment, I wouldn't have turned over a few more stones to see that this is nothing short of a marketing exercise by the big coffee sellers. This is all about them making more money and NOTHING about promoting health.

β€’ in reply to

c1jam - Be prepared - you may now find specsavers et al chasing you and telling you it's time to change your glasses because 3-5 can easily look like 6-8 when your sight is slipping a bit! :-)

davianne profile image
davianne

Only 3-5 cups a day, phew, thank GodπŸ™πŸ™πŸ™ . I couldn't manage 6-8 cups, I'd never get to sleep againπŸ˜ͺπŸ˜ͺπŸ˜ͺ, and would have to set up a weekly standing order at Amazon for my coffee pods 🀣🀣🀣, Still the laxative effect might help with my HE 🀣🀣🀣

David

I find it strange though that the British liver trust endorse it.

β€’ in reply to

c1jam - me too. Maybe there was a 'commercial incentive'. A problem with great, helpful organisations who don't charge membership, and who get no funding from government, they have to get their money from somewhere. If all the members here gave the cost of one cup of coffee a month to the charities that provide a 'free to user' service there'd be less need for charities to take money from commercial organisations promoting their products.

CocoChannel profile image
CocoChannel

I need to do research in my day job so find pretty much all of these studies questionable at best, but this coffee thing does seem to have real albeit limited evidence with references to back it up.

britishlivertrust.org.uk/wp...

It doesn’t say what improvements might be seen, though, so to state the obvious I’d say a decent diet and exercise come streets ahead of any benefits coffee will offer.

β€’ in reply toCocoChannel

a decent diet and exercise plus a few cups of coffee too. can't do any harm.

CocoChannel profile image
CocoChannelβ€’ in reply to

No, of course not πŸ™‚ unless it’s a Starbucks/Costa Grande Latte with its 250+ calories of sugary foam.

The study advises any caffeinated coffee was OK surprisingly, but tea didn’t produce any similar benefits.

β€’ in reply toCocoChannel

Its a shame it wasn't an Irish coffee lol

Adelou profile image
Adelou

There is an episode of food unwrapped that includes coffee & it's affects on the liver.

The number of cups depends on your size of cup 😊

β€’ in reply toAdelou

Thanks for that Adelou.

this is what was said on the program..

Professors Jonathan Fallowfield (Senior Clinical Fellow and Honorary Consultant Hepatologist at CIR) and Peter Hayes (Head of Division of Health Sciences and Hepatology/Gastroentology) featured in a recent episode of the Channel 4 Programme 'Food Unwrapped' (Series 14, Episode 6), which aired on 16th July 2018.

They filmed a segment in the Royal Infirmary and Chancellors building on their research into coffee and liver health.

In the programme, Professor Peter Hayes recommends that a diabetes patient suffering from liver scarring drink coffee as a way to combat cirrhosis.

"Something seems to be within coffee that calms the liver down and reduces inflammation," explains Professor Hayes in the programme.

"The evidence suggests that it's caffeine blocking the scar-forming cells in the liver from laying down all this scar tissue," responds Professor Fallowfield, when the presenter asks him what it is about coffee that's so helpful. He goes on to explain that it has to be caffeine derived from coffee, as the same health benefits are not seen from the caffeine contained within tea or energy drinks.

Makessa profile image
Makessa

Well, that's pretty anazing! I have always been a coffee fiend, usually black with a little creamer in my iced coffee in the summer. Yum! I was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cirrhosis with portal hypertension. Scared to do much excersing due to vein rupture. Yea, I'm pretty unnerved. Never did much drinking, always have had well balanced meals aside from too many sweet treats.

I've been pretty healthy most of my life and BAM....out of the blue, I guess I'm dieing. They say my liver is 100% scarred. Apparently, that can't be reversed. Any advice out there my friends?

Jo

β€’ in reply toMakessa

Makessa - I'm so sorry to read this. What you say is exactly what concerns me about claims that coffee is good for the liver. If it leads a person to eating more sugar than they would if they had not had coffee (and this isn't controversial) it will damage the liver over time. Advice Jo, same as I give myself, live in the moment, it is absolutely the only one that I have. Best wishes

β€’ in reply to

Obviously its black coffee without sugar.

β€’ in reply to

c1jam - Not sure what you mean here?

β€’ in reply to

You mentioned sugar as regards to having coffee

ballie52 profile image
ballie52

There was a few studies that proved that coffee actually can have a beneficial effect on scarring of the liver!Apparently it's supposed to slow down progression of fibrosis!

They did a study and it showed mild regression on people that were drinking a good few cups of coffee a day..I don't like coffee but would be willing to give it s go if in fact these studies are showing results.

β€’ in reply toballie52

Definitely worth a try while we wait and hope for a cure

Warrior1 profile image
Warrior1

My hepatologist endorsed coffee consumption as highly beneficial to the liver and i drink 6 cups daily and sometimes 8 ( tassimo pods ). He said that is only a good thing. Coffee is a natural antioxidant and there have been numerous scientific research sources backing up its benefits to the liver. So, i'm sold anyway. I was diagnosed F3 (15.1 Fibroscan) last november and i'm a recovering alcoholic 2 years 8 months in, also in remission for cancer. Exercise if possible daily - walking for me - plus veg/fruit/low protein, avoid sugar/salt (hepatologist said they're very bad for liver, as most on here know) seems to be recommended by all the experts, again as many of us know.

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