According to recent research, high intake of vitamin E may significantly reduce the risk of liver cancer, even in people with family history of the disease. The results were the same for dietary intake and supplement consumption.

The researchers examined data from the Shanghai Women’s Health Study, which took place between 1997 and 2000, and the Shanghai Men’s Health Study, which took place between 2002 and 2006. In total, 132,837 people participated in the study.

To determine vitamin E intake, the researchers administered food-frequency questionnaires. They found that the individuals who consumed the most vitamin E had a noticeably lower risk of developing liver cancer than those who consumed the least vitamin E.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Shanghai Cancer Institute and Vanderbilt University. Their results were published online ahead of print on July 17, 2012, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin with high antioxidant content. Previous studies have shown that vitamin E is associated with lower cholesterol, healthier skin, maintaining a proper hormonal balance, and preventing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

More and more research is emerging suggesting that coffee may be beneficial to your health. Most recently, a study published in the February 2012 issue of Hepatology is the first to show the connection between coffee consumption and a decreased amount of connective tissue (fibrosis) in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (“NAFLD”).

The researchers, who are based at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, interviewed 306 adults who had been diagnosed with NAFLD about their coffee intake. They also conducted ultrasounds in order to place the participants in four categories: no fibrosis, steatosis, NASH stage 0-1 and NASH stage 2-4. NASH is the most extreme form of NAFLD.

They discovered that the participants in the NASH stage 0-1 group got 58% of their caffeine from regular coffee, whereas the NASH stage 2-4 group (the more advanced disease group) got only 36% of their caffeine from regular coffee.

The conclusion? Coffee consumption decreases the build-up of connective tissues in the liver of people with NASH. The researchers stated that more studies need to be conducted to determine the ideal amount of coffee that should be consumed as well as the exact connection between caffeine and liver disease.

Coffee has been linked with a wide range of health benefits, including a reduced risk of developing diabetes, prostate cancer, cirrhosis, liver disease and oral cavities. Additionally, many studies have also shown that people who drink coffee regularly are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. These benefits are generally attributed to the powerful antioxidants found in coffee called polyphenols.

Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland recently found that adding more berries to your diet may reduce disease-causing inflammation as well as the risk of developing metabolic disorders such as diabetes.

Their findings were published in the March 2010 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The researchers recruited 31 women with an average age of 43 to take part in the 20 week dietary intervention study.

The participants were additionally randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group was given 163g of an assortment of northern berries (buckthorn berry, lingonberry, bilberry and black currant) in conjunction with the dietary intervention. The second group only underwent the dietary intervention.

At the end of the study, the participants in the berry group saw a 23% reduction in a well established marker of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) called alanine aminotransferase. They also saw increases in levels of adiponectin, a protein hormone that is essential for various metabolic processes.

NAFLD is the build-up of excess fat in the liver cells which can result in inflammation of the liver and even lead to liver failure. Currently 40 million adults in the US alone are suffering from the debilitating and potentially fatal disease.

Since berries are high in flavonoids and phytochemicals, their health benefits extend much farther than protecting your liver and helping to avoid deadly metabolic diseases. Various berries have been linked to everything from decreasing the risk of bladder infections, improving your vision and reducing the risk of some cancers.