According to a review published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics of multiple existing studies, increase in the consumption of coffee could help reduce the risk of developing alcohol-related cirrhosis.

Researchers, who analyzed nine studies that evaluated the link between coffee intake and cirrhosis risk, said that drinking only two more cups of coffee every day could decrease the vulnerability of suffering from the liver condition by 44%.

The nine studies included over 430,000 participants. The length of the studies differed, however, the longest one ended after tracking participants for 20 years. In eight out of the nine examined studies, the researchers discovered that increasing coffee intake by two cups a day was linked to a statistically notable decrease in cirrhosis risk.

Published on January 25, the review is the first meta-analysis that has shown coffee’s potential protective properties.

While speaking to CNN, Dr. Oliver Kennedy, who carried out the research belonging to a team at Southampton University in the United Kingdom, said that the team brought together the data of the present studies for the calculation of a quite precise link between coffee and cirrhosis risk.

They discovered that cirrhosis risk was lower at higher levels of coffee intake. Kennedy said, “For example, compared to no coffee, 1 cup per day was associated with 22% lower risk of cirrhosis and 4 cups per day was associated with 65% lower risk. However, there may be an upper limit beyond which there is no further benefit”.

Kennedy added that while coffee could decrease the risk of cirrhosis, it won’t totally counteract the injurious effects of excess alcohol intake.

Cirrhosis is a problem that worsens the liver by swapping healthy tissue with scar tissue that interrupts the flow of blood.

According to the National Institution of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the liver disorder is usually caused by excessive alcohol intake, immune diseases, obesity, chronic hepatitis infections, and diabetes, and the damaging condition can be deadly.