Over 50% of the American adult population drink coffee daily. The next time you feel bad about making your fourth trip to the break room in two hours, allow yourself to bypass the guilt of relying so heavily on the bean and remind yourself that your caffeine habit (it’s totally not an addiction) could actually be doing some good for your health. Apparently, there are health advantages to drinking the brew daily; it can even help lower the risk of developing liver cancer.
Coffee is, first and foremost, rich with antioxidants. Antioxidants, in case you may have forgotten their actual function, help prevent cell damage by blocking the activity of chemicals known as free radicals. Free radicals are produced naturally by your body as a byproduct of respiration, and can cause cell damage as well as lead to cancer. Statistics show that coffee drinking can lower that risk by up to 14%.
A study by a research team at Imperial College London analyzed 34 existing global studies on the effects of diet, nutrition, exercise and weight in regards to the risk of cancer. In total, the studies encompassed about 8.2 million adults and 24,500 cases of liver cancer.
While the exact reason as to why coffee may lower the risk of the disease is still unknown, researches speculate that it may have something to do with certain compounds present in the beverage that can help fight toxins. The report noted that studies have shown coffee to reduce the inflammation of cells, and that the effects were most pronounced on the liver.
So in case you were debating taking that extra mid-afternoon brew, go ahead! Drink up in the name of health!
