A study from the University of Coimbra, published in the journal Nutrients, suggests that higher intake of coffee—particularly its components like caffeine and polyphenols—could alleviate the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in overweight individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
NAFLD is a condition characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver, leading to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and potentially liver cancer.
T2D is a chronic condition affecting glucose metabolism. Both disorders often co-exist and can exacerbate each other, contributing to an unhealthy metabolic state.
Researchers surveyed 156 middle-aged borderline-obese participants, including 98 subjects with T2D. Participants provided 24-hour urine samples to quantify the levels of caffeine and other metabolites.
This approach offers a more accurate measure than self-reported intake and aligns with a recent shift in methodology.
Key Findings
Reduced Liver Fibrosis: Higher levels of caffeine were associated with less liver fibrosis among participants.
Lower Fatty Liver Index Scores: Higher levels of non-caffeine coffee components were significantly associated with reduced fatty liver index scores.
Overall Improvement: For overweight T2D patients, higher coffee consumption was correlated with a less severe form of NAFLD.
Why Coffee?
While caffeine has been previously linked to decreased liver fibrosis, other components in coffee like polyphenols are believed to reduce oxidative stress in the liver.
This not only lowers the risk of liver fibrosis but also improves glucose homeostasis, which could benefit both NAFLD and T2D patients.
John Griffith Jones, Ph.D., the study’s corresponding author, notes that this is the first study to demonstrate that both caffeine and non-caffeine coffee components are associated with reduced NAFLD severity in overweight people with T2D.
Given the increasing prevalence of obesity, T2D, and NAFLD, these findings are significant and could potentially alleviate the burden on healthcare systems.
Conclusion
This groundbreaking research provides new insights into the potential role of coffee components in mitigating the severity of NAFLD and T2D, encouraging further studies in this area to validate these findings and explore the mechanisms involved.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies that not all whole grain foods could benefit people with type 2 diabetes, and green tea could help reduce death risk in type 2 diabetes.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about unhealthy plant-based diets linked to metabolic syndrome, and results showing Mediterranean diet could help reduce the diabetes risk by one third.
The research findings can be found in Nutrients.
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