rinking two or more cups of a coffee a day can ward off liver diseases, according to researchers at Monash University.
Two cups a day have been found to reduce the damage caused by hepatitis C by up to 13 per cent.
Four cups have been found to reduce the signs of fatty liver disease – the most common liver disease affecting about 40 per cent of Australians – by as much as 24 per cent.
The study of 1100 liver disease patients at the Monash Health Clinic showed that even when other risk factors such as weight, alcohol consumption and smoking were taken into account, coffee was able to reduce the impact of their conditions.
Dr Alex Hodge, a liver disease specialist at Monash Health, revealed the findings of the study this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in San Francisco.
"Certainly moderate amounts of coffee, depending on the liver disease you're looking at, seem to be associated with less liver damage and probably less liver fat, as well," he told Fairfax radio station 3AW.