My gastro doc told me years ago to drink coffee and always has encouraged me to drink more. Unfortunately, I have to moderate as it may cause stimulated glandular tissue in some women and I have had that flare up and have to be careful. 

I saw this article today and thought I'd add it here and bump up this old thread. 

http://nws.mx/1mqsRMS

JILL,

   Brits stop drinking Tea?   Next the Brits will be saying that Americans speak English - never happen.....

cheers, lee

Thanks for posting this, Malcolm, very encouraging news for coffee drinkers!  As Tim (hrsetrdr) mentioned, the subject has been brought up several times before, and most recently by Tig on this thread...

http://hepcfriends.activeboard.com/t56216915/caffeine-and-liver-disease/

I must say I`ve been fairly skeptical about it in the past but the evidence does seem to be pointing more in this direction.

Lee makes an interesting point about whether the caffeine content in tea would have the same beneficial effect, and as a British tea drinker I`d be interested in knowing this too!  The article has this to say on that subject...

"Non-coffee caffeine was shown to protect liver against fibrosis in both TAA- and Ccl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats (16, 19, 26). On the other hand, several studies demonstrate that decaffeinated coffee is also protective, but to a lower extent than caffeinated coffee in experimental animals (13, 19). Taken together, it appears that there are noteworthy holes in the animal liver fibrosis literature; there are simply not enough data to make firm conclusions about the relative importance of coffee caffeine content. At present, while it is premature to assume that the major effect of coffee is mediated by caffeine, the preponderance of evidence would suggest that this is the case."

And it also goes on to say..

"...if we assume that the antifibrotic effects of coffee are mediated by caffeine, then should patients also be offered equivalent `doses`of tea, caffeinated soft drinks, or even caffeine pills? The latter two do not seem to be consistent with contemporary health practice, and probably for good reason. Thus, at present, we would suggest that any recommendations be limited to coffee..."

So maybe we Brits should try and change our tea drinking habits after all! 

Hi Malcolm,

I remember Margo posting a link  about coffee back during my tx; good news for me as I love coffee, but my gastro doc had told me to limit my intake to <2 cups / day.  Maybe he  worried that the lab results would be skewed, and not accurately represent actual liver condition.  ?

Hey Malcolm

I read that article as well a couple days ago, seems to substantiate what several other reports have said, Since last fall I increase my coffee to six 8 oz.cups I even when out I bought my own coffee machine apart from my wife's to make sure I had enough.

Hard to say if its reducing my inflamation and therfore lessening cirrhosis but I noticed my urine is less yellow during the day if that means anything?

Here is a small excerpt from the article:  "Are we ready to "write a prescription for coffee", as asked by Torres and Harrison in a recent commentary article? (1) Most likely, the answer is yes. Our rationale is as follows. First, there is sufficient evidence to provide biological plausibility for coffee as an anti-fibrotic. Second, coffee (for most individuals) is a pleasant addition to the diet, without profound adverse effects and possibly some other health benefits (again for most individuals). Lastly, other anti-fibrotic treatments are simply lacking; they are in the pipeline, but not yet available clinically. - See more at: http://hepatitiscnewdrugresearch.com/how-does-coffee-prevent-liver-fibrosis.html#sthash.TTfZoeir.dpuf "

matt  

Malcolm,

  Thanks for posting -  I drank ~20 cups a day during working yrs and now down to 2 cups in the morning - it would be tough getting to the prescribed 4.   So the Brits with their Tea would not get the same effect even though caffeine seems to be the key ingredient?  Time for British with Liver disease to throw the tea overboard.......?    ah, not called for......

cheers, lee

Hi all,

I have always dismissed the association between caffeine and liver fibrosis, but this new article makes me wonder.

While working, I drank ~10 cups of coffee a day, but steadily progressed to cirrhosis. Since retirement, I'm down to 1-2 cups/day amd maybe I should increase this. Every little bit helps. Cheers.

http://www.natap.org/2014/HCV/hep27032copy.pdf