Apparently drinking high volumes of coffee… 
…every day may ward off non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – even among the obese.
We are all aware of the world’s growing obesity crisis, which is seeing increasing numbers of people at risk of fatty liver disease – a serious condition that can be fatal. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is usually linked with being overweight, was considered rare until recently. However, with today’s sedentary lifestyles and poor diets, it is estimated that one in five people in the UK and a third of US people are now in the early stages of the disease. It can eventually result in life-threatening cirrhosis, which is the condition most commonly associated with alcoholism.
Now a new study has suggested that drinking high volumes of coffee every day could help ward off this non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, even for the obese.
Using mice, scientists found that the mice with a high-fat diet had less signs of the disease if they were given a daily dose of coffee; the same as six cups of Espresso for an 11-stone (70kg) human. The mice given the coffee also put on less weight than others fed the same diet, the study found.
The Italian research team presented the findings at the International Liver Congress in Barcelona, saying it thought that coffee improves the structure of the intestine.
The team, from the University of Napoli, said that coffee consumption increases levels of a protein named Zonulin, which lessens the permeability of the gut. This improves the intestine’s ability to filter harmful substances, which would otherwise pass into the blood stream and then to the liver, where they cause damage.
People with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can develop scarring of the liver, also known as fibrosis, which can lead to life-threatening cirrhosis.
The team said that doctors could eventually utilise the power of coffee and transform it into a medical treatment.
Researcher Vincenzo Lembo said: “Previous studies have confirmed how coffee can reverse the damage of NAFLD but this is the first to demonstrate that it can influence the permeability of the intestine.
The results also show that coffee can reverse NAFLD-related problems such as ballooning degeneration, a form of liver cell degeneration.”
Professor Laurent Castera, secretary general of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, commented: “Italy is famous for its coffee and this Italian study has reinforced our knowledge of the link between it and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
“Although not suggesting that we should consume greater levels of coffee, the study offers insights that can help future research into and understanding of the therapeutic role coffee can play in combating NAFLD.”
Who’s for coffee?