The controversy regarding coffee is a long one, compiled of questions like, can drinking coffee stunt growth, can it be used as a dietary supplement to boost metabolism, and can the caffeine found in coffee be correlated to cancer? In a more recent study conducted within the last twelve years, researchers have found some positive news for individuals suffering from liver damage. A few examples of individuals that are at a high risk for liver disease are alcohol abusers, individuals with an infection (hepatitis), and those suffering from obesity or fatty liver disease.
According to the Specialty Coffee Association, approximately 100 million Americans consume 3.1 cups of coffee everyday. The two most common reasons for drinking coffee is first for the taste and second for the boost of energy produced from the caffeine. The nutritional value of coffee is not well researched, so the importance of this study is that it primarily focuses on the beneficial effects of caffeine and coffee on liver enzymes. In Europe and Asia, studies have been conducted researching the inverse relationship between serum levels of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GCT) and coffee consumption. Though not very accurate, GCT is used as a common marker to measure alcohol intake and determine liver damage. Another more accurate marker is alanine aminotransferase (ALT), which is used to break down food into energy. Normal levels of ALT should be low, though as liver damage increases, it will release more ALT into the blood stream causing levels to rise.
Researchers Ruhl and Everhart conducted a study in the United States that included 5,944 participants. Participants were required to qualify for at least two of the criteria listed, which included having at least two alcoholic drinks per day, hepatitis C or B, diabetes, or a high BMI (26.9). Participants had ALT samples tested weekly and reported their daily consumption of coffee, including any tea and soda consumed. Participants were organized into four categories, those who consumed no coffee, less than a cup, one to two cups, and more than two cups per day. The results yielded were very clear, participants who consumed more caffeine daily, had a lower ALT activity level.
The limitations of this study were that the concentration of caffeine varied between different brands of coffee, and between caffeinated drinks in general. This could mean that participants were either overestimating their caffeine consumption or underestimating it. Regardless of these limitations, the research was proven to be significant in understanding the beneficial relationship between consuming caffeine and preventing further liver damage.
Reference: Coffee: Good, Bad, or Just Fun? A Critical Review of Coffee’s Effects on Liver Enzymes. (2006). Nutrition Reviews, 64(1), 43–46. Retrieved from http://dml.regis.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=19407197&site=ehost-live&scope=site
I would be interested to know exactly how caffeine affects ALT. Supposedly, caffeine is desired because of it s "quick-boost" affects as described but would this be because caffeine is somehow inducing the ALT to produce energy? Since ALT is an indicator used to observe liver damage, it does not directly state that there is not liver damage when ALT is low. Therefore, by drinking caffeine, you could mask the liver damage in the screening. For example, most of the participants have a high probability to have liver damage and the study proved that by consuming caffeine that their screening came up closer to little liver damage as compared to without caffeine. I would say that caffeine is actually harmful to a persons awareness than actually helping against liver damage.
ReplyDeleteThis was so insightful since I heard the exact opposite in the past: that coffee can potentially have negative health affects. However emerging research is supporting the contrary and in 2016, the WHO officially lifted coffee from the list of potentially carcinogenic foods and designates coffee as potentially protective against cancer of the uterus and liver. The World Cancer Research Fund International concurs that coffee consumption was linked with a lower risk of several types of cancer.
ReplyDeleteI have been a believer that there are benefits to drinking caffeine, mainly from coffee, for a while now. I am not a big fan of energy drinks, but there has been a lot of evidence that caffeine and the many other ingredients found in coffee can have many physiological benefits, including reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease and improvement in liver enzymes, like ALT, as stated above. However, a lot of these studies have been observational or retrospective studies, so future studies will need to be done in order to possibly find significant data to support these correlations. Caffeine can have negative side effects, such as increased anxiety, and the biggest drawback is that caffeine is an addictive substance, but I believe the benefits of coffee/caffeine consumption are significant and can outweigh the possible negative side effects. So go grab your venti iced caramel macchiato with a shot of espresso and reap the benefits!
ReplyDeleteAlso this video about coffee is pretty cool (and the guy also makes a lot of other interesting videos): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVE5iPMKLg
References:
Wadhawan, M., & Anand, A. C. (2016). Coffee and Liver Disease. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology, 6(1), 40–46. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jceh.2016.02.003