Science researchers have released a new study that finds you should increase your coffee drinking. Deaths from chronic liver disease (CLD) including cancer are increasing worldwide. This timely study says that three to four cups of coffee a day will lower your risk of developing liver diseases. 

It doesn’t matter what kind of coffee you drink: decaf, half-caf, three-quarter caf, or regular. According to the BMC Public Health journal published Tuesday, June 22nd there are lots of health perks for coffee drinkers.

Researchers from the University of Southampton in England led by Dr. Oliver Kennedy studied the daily coffee consumption habits of nearly half a million people in the UK. Rather than live testing, they reviewed data compiled in Biobank. The biomedical database and research resource were compiled using participants followed for nearly a dozen years. 

When people’s coffee-drinking habits were cross-referenced with instances of liver disease, researchers were surprised. Subjects who drank three to four cups of coffee daily benefitted. And they were “21% less likely to develop chronic liver disease, 20% less likely to develop chronic or fatty liver disease, and 49% less likely to die from chronic liver disease than non-coffee drinkers.”

Dr. Kennedy et al found that instant coffee provides very little benefit compared to ground coffee. The difference is because ground coffee has higher levels of kahweol and cafestol. These are the antioxidants with the most anti-inflammatory properties.

“Coffee is widely accessible, and the benefits we see from our study may mean it could offer a potential preventative treatment for chronic liver disease,” said study author Dr. Oliver Kennedy.

“This would be especially valuable in countries with lower income and worse access to healthcare and where the burden of chronic liver disease is highest.”

It turns out that coffee lovers have the right idea. All coffee is good for you. And your liver will thank you for every cup you drink.