Many adults cannot survive their days without their morning coffee every morning, there are many rumors about whether the consumption of coffee is good or bad. There are negative aspects of coffee without a doubt, but there was a recent study that proved coffee’s positive contribution. A study done by the University of Southampton shows that regular consumption of coffee could reduce the risk of liver cirrhosis, a condition of 
scarred liver resulting from long term or persistent use of alcohol or viruses like hepatitis C. Liver cirrhosis is dangerous because it can increase the risk of liver failure and lead to cancer; around one million people die from liver cirrhosis.
The research consisted of nine long-term studies with a large subject pool of half a million men and women. The result showed the subjects who drank two cups of coffee per day were at a lower risk of cirrhosis by 43 percent. The researchers said that in context of liver disease, coffee appears to have numerous protective aspects. According to the University of Southampton web page, Dr. Oliver Kennedy who led the study concluded, “Coffee appeared to protect against cirrhosis.” He also commented: “This could be an important finding for patients at risk of cirrhosis to help to improve their health outcomes. However, we now need robust clinical trials to investigate the wider benefits and harms of coffee so that doctors can make specific recommendations to patients.”
According to the research team, compared to the subjects who did not drink coffee at all, the ones who at least drank one cup each day had about 22% lower rate of getting cirrhosis. Furthermore, as the consumption increased, the rate decreased accordingly. Subjects who drank two cups showed a 43% decrease, three cups 57%, four 65%, and so on. Although this study confirmed the positive protection against cirrhosis, Dr. Oliver Kennedy admitted that due to the large subject pool, the research team is unsure of the different types of coffee of consumption. Thus, although the correlation is clear, there is still uncertainty in which element within coffee that actually promote the protection.
The original document is available at http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?page=2&branch=NEWS&source=LA&category=lifenleisure&art_id=4115870
Edited by Sooahn Ko
