Podcast conversation (Ben Greenfield host; guest Dr. Sanjiv Chopra) about coffee and longevity. This chunk contains Dr. Chopra citing epidemiologic research (Art Klatsky, Kaiser Permanente) that examined ~120,000 patients and reported a dose-dependent association between coffee intake and lower risk of alcoholic cirrhosis: ~1 cup/day → ~20% lower risk; 2 cups → ~40%; 3 cups → ~60%; 4 cups → ~80%. Dr. Chopra frames these findings as notable but situates them within broader caution about evolving literature.
Okay, so. So really like my morning mug actually would be like three servings of coffee.
Technically, morning cup, you're. You've already ahead of the curve.
Yeah, interesting. So. So besides Voltaire though, is there actual research to back up this claim that, that four to six plus cups of coffee could be beneficial? Because I know, you know, we, like some people will say, oh, you look at the blue zones, a lot of them drink a lot of coffee or tannic substances like tea, therefore, that's what's making them live longer. But in terms of actual clinical research, has that actually been investigated?
Right, That's a very good question. And you know, if somebody listening to the show goes tomorrow or next week to see their primary care and they say, I heard this guy and he said coffee is good for you. He or she. Unless they know the entire literature, medical literature published and peer reviewed, everything in moderation. These studies come and go. That's the usual refrain. So for decades, we as a medical community were mystified. How come? There were some people drinking a pint of whiskey a day or a liter of wine a day, and at the end of 20 years, only 20% of them, at most 25%, became cirrhotic. What happened to the other people? And we said, aha, maybe it's genes, maybe it's the enzyme called alcoholic dehydrogenase. Maybe it's different in these people. And then Art Klatsky from Kaiser Permanente published a study some years ago, looked at 120,000 patients. And if you drank that much whiskey or that much wine and had one cup of coffee a day, it lowered your risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 20%. 2 cups by 40%. 3 cups by 60%, 4 cups by 80%. So dose dependent effect.
Holy cow. I don't remember if I saw that one in the book. Do you have that one in the book about coffee being protective from huge amounts of alcohol?
You know, I don't know. I hope it is, but if not, I can send to the reference.
Crazy. Yeah, send me the link if you have that one. I'll put it in the show notes for people if they want to check.
It out, I will look for it. Yeah. And then, you know, I attend on the liver transplant and the hepatology service at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I did it for years. Four weeks in the year.
