The 5 Best and 4 Worst Hot Drinks for your Liver

For Fibronostics

As Autumn marches in and the days get cooler, we tend to switch from ice teas and coolers to hot drinks like coffee, cocoa and mulled beverages warming on the back of the stove. 

If you are among the growing millions with concerns about liver health, however, there is a lot of conflicting advice about coffee, caffeine, cocoa, lemon, and hot toddies. Here are the 5 best and 4 worst hot drinks for your liver health: (published site)

Coffee A recent study published in the Journal of Hepatology, confirms the benefits of coffee for preventing and maybe even reversing some liver disease. A team of Dutch scientists found that the beneficial effect of coffee on liver stiffness could be seen both in participants who had a fatty liver and those who did not.

This indicated to the authors that frequent coffee and tea intake may prevent liver fibrosis long before the signs of liver disease start to appear. 

Green Tea 

In a list of foods for good liver health, WebMd included green tea as beneficial for liver health. They named a type of antioxidant called catechins as potentially being protective against some forms of cancer, including liver. Green tea is full of catechins if you brew the tea yourself and drink it hot. Iced tea and ready-to-drink green teas on the other hand have much lower levels. 

Hot Water 

Water assists the kidneys in filtering waste products so that the liver can focus on metabolizing its own waste. While folk medicine is full of anecdotal evidence of the benefits of hot water, an article in Medical News Today lists several benefits of a cup of hot water that researchers are examining, including healthier digestion, improved circulation, weight loss, all of which can help your liver to clear the body of waste and harmful substances. 

Lemon Water 

Not too hot on the idea of plain water, try adding lemon. Not only is a hot lemon drink flavorful, a study in Clinical and Experimental Phamacology & Physiology found a compound in lemons called naringenin that calms liver inflammation. Other studies cite lemon compounds eriocitrin and vitamin C as protecting the liver from oxidants. 

Turmeric Tea 

While there is no solid clinical evidence showing that turmeric can prevent liver disease, there have been some early trials showing promising results according to Cancer Research UK  and according to an article in Medical News Today  turmeric tea may protect against liver damage and gallstones. 

4 Hot Drinks to Avoid 

On the other side of the ledger, hot alcoholic drinks such as eggnogs, mulled wines, ciders and cocoa, tend to be a witches brew of alcohol, cream, sugar and spices that all add to the work load of your liver. 

Fibronostics supports your liver health with LiverFASt , the premier non-invasive liver disease screen for early detection of fatty liver, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis.