Coffee may reduce severity of liver disease

Scientists in Portugal found that caffeine and polyphenols in coffee may help reduce the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D).

They believe that caffeine, polyphenols, and other coffee compounds might counter oxidative stress in the liver.

Their study, sponsored by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), relied on 24-hour urine samples in addition to self-reported data. This allowed experts to detect levels of caffeine and non-caffeine compounds, which was not possible with questionnaires or interviews.

The findings appear in the journal Nutrients.

Corresponding author John Griffith Jones, Ph.D., is the Senior Researcher at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the University of Coimbra, Portugal.

Dr. Jones and his fellow researchers said: “The risk factors for NAFLD and T2D are highly congruent, and include obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, insulin resistance and inflammation of both liver and adipose tissues.”

Lifestyle and diet changes across the globe have led to higher obesity rates. A Nature Reviews Cardiology article Trusted Source reports that excess body fat is “the strongest risk factor for developing diabetes”.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) happens when the body cannot produce or use the hormone insulin as it should. This condition elevates the level of glucose in the blood, so not enough energy-supplying sugar can get to the cells.

Public health experts predict that obesity-related T2D cases may surge to 300 million by 2025. The link has given rise to the term “diabesity”.

NAFLDTrusted Source, the most common liver disease, is closely interrelated with obesity, insulin resistance, and T2D. It happens when too much fat accumulates in the liver, an increasingly common consequence of insufficient physical activity and an unhealthy diet.

NAFLD is a chronic disease with no known cure. It can progress to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and other severe liver problems.

NAFLD often develops with no symptoms and has no known cure.

Until this work, most studies involving coffee intake, T2D, and NAFLD have depended on data from self-reported questionnaires. While confirming coffee’s protective capability, findings have been plagued with conflicting conclusions.

In recent years, researchers have been developing methods for measuring coffee compounds in urine and other body fluids.

In other studies, coffee metabolites — byproducts of the breakdown of coffee in the body — have been associated with a lower risk of T2D, possibly by modulating the metabolism of lipids (fats) in the body.

MNT