Coffee is a very popular, and so is chocolate. Recently a study has found that both coffee and chocolate are good for liver especially when the liver is infected by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and HCV (Hepatitis C Virus).
The study found that patients coinfected with HIV and HCV who reported eating chocolate daily and drinking three or more cups of coffee a day had lower levels of ALT and AST. AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase) are the two common liver enzymes that are the markers representing the inflammation in the liver and we can know their level by blood tests. People with HIV and/or hepatitis C have routinely checked ALT and AST levels.
An article published in the January 2014 issue of Journal of Hepatology describes how drinking more coffee and eating more chocolate may be associated with lower levels of liver enzymes in people living with HIV and hepatitis C (HCV).
The key to these observations are the presence of polyphenols, or a type of anti-oxidant that have anti-inflammatory properties. Similar polyphenols are found in both coffee and chocolate, and it appears that higher levels of these anti-oxidants are what are lowering ALT and AST levels.
The study showed that drinking three or more cups of coffee daily, and eating chocolate each day, were each associated with more normal levels of ALT. When combined, they represented a 40–50% lower lever of abnormal liver enzymes.
Also drinking more coffee each day was associated with more normal AST levels. But researchers said these results need to be confirmed by further experimental and observational research.
