A new study has found that drinking coffee reduces liver cancer risk, which is in turn increased alcohol consumption and obesity. Liver cancer is currently the second-leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
Coffee consumption reduces the risk of liver cancer, but also that of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers are not yet sure why coffee seems to keep at bay these conditions, but according to this new study, the rates of cancer were 29 percent lower in coffee consumers when compared with non-coffee drinkers.
The research suggests that while drinking alcohol can considerably increase the risk of liver cancer, the risk is much higher for people consuming more than three drinks per day.
The study also shown that more than two alcoholic drinks per day mean an increase of the risk of breast and esophageal cancer. The scientists who carried out the study analyzed at data from 34 different research groups, which involved more than 8.2 million people from all around the world.
Liver cancer is a disease that is on the rise in the United States. Almost 69 percent of Americans are currently overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This is the first time there’s been such a clear signal from a rigorous, systematic review on the links between obesity increasing risk of liver cancer and coffee decreasing risk,” said Stephen Hursting, Ph.D., M.P.H., a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The research was undertaken by doctors from the World Cancer Research Fund International’s Continuous Update Project (CUP), in partnership with the American Institute for Cancer Research. The study gathered data from 24,500 cases of liver cancer.
The scientists also discovered that eating fish and engaging in exercise reduce liver cancer risk, but added that these conclusions need more research to be confirmed.
The group also claims that there is strong evidence that being obese or overweight increases the risk of the disease. Another factor that raises the risk is consuming foods contaminated by a kind of mold called aflatoxins. Aflatoxins can form on improperly stored food mostly in warm climates and can contaminate cereals, peanuts, spices, dried fruit, chilies and black pepper.
To prevent liver cancer, a healthy weight and limit alcohol should be maintained, the study added.
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