In a study among people with hepatitis C, drinking coffee (about three cups a day) was associated with slower disease progression and less liver damage. Separate research found that people who drank more java were less likely to develop diabetes. How coffee helps is unclear, but researchers have found no similar effect from tea, so it’s probably not the caffeine that does it.

These studies relied on “self-reporting”—people’s own accounts of how much coffee they drank each day. And coffee consumption was associated with, not the cause of, better liver health. But for those of us who love our coffee, these results are good news a-brewing.