It's Official - Caffeine Prevents And Slows Liver Fibrosis / Cirrhosis, Cancers

haidut

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I have posted quite a few studies on the effects of caffeine in preventing and even reversing liver disease, even as serious as late stage cirrhosis / fibrosis. However, all of these studies were done on animals and the official medical position was that there was no evidence caffeine would do the same in humans. Well, that position has changed. The official report from WHO now says that caffeine can prevent a wide range of liver diseases including NAFLD, alcoholic hepatitis, hepatitis C & B, fibrosis / cirrhosis, and liver cancer. It also says that caffeine can reverse many of the these conditions and for people with very advanced fibrosis / cirrhosis caffeine can probably slow down the progression to the point where it would not have in impact on their expected lifespan.

Now drinking coffee can protect against most liver diseases

"...Last week the World Health Organisation withdrew its previous warnings on the link between coffee and bladder cancer, and instead said the drink could, in fact, help protect against certain cancers that affect the womb and liver. The British Liver Trust today adds to the growing weight of evidence around the health benefits of drinking coffee, publishing an 83-page report summarising all existing research on the subject. It concludes that coffee protects against fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis – all severe conditions which can be fatal. And for those who already have liver disease, drinking coffee can slow its progression."

"...Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – which is usually associated with being overweight – was until recently considered rare. But modern sedentary lifestyles and poor diets means an estimated one in five people in the UK are now in the early stages of the disease, which can eventually lead to life-threatening cirrhosis, a condition more commonly associated with alcoholism. Recent research, however, has suggested that drinking around six espressos, or three large cappuccinos, each day could ward off non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, even among the obese. Other major causes of liver problems include blood-borne viruses – such as hepatitis A, B and C – which can cause permanent liver damage and increase the risk of liver cancer. The World Health Organisation, which published its report in the Lancet Oncology medical journal last week, found that the risk of liver cancer decreases 15 per cent for each cup of coffee per day."

"...Experts are not certain why coffee seems to have such a protective impact on the liver, but there is growing evidence that when caffeine enters the body, one of the molecules it is broken down into – paraxanthine – may slow the growth of tissues that damage the liver."

And while the article says that "experts" are not sure why caffeine has such a strong protective effect, I'd venture a guess that it may have something to do with caffeine being an antagonist on the serotonin 5-HT2 "receptor". Antagonism on 5-HT2 has been shown to be behind the anti-fibrotic effects of drugs like terguride, lisuride and cyproheptadine.
Caffeine Is A Serotonin Receptor Antagonist
 
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Mufasa

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Wow, awesome :)

Is caffeine the likely mechanism that coffee is helpful, or could other molecules in coffee play a role?

I wonder if caffeine topical could also be helpful in reversing fibrosis in the scalp, seen in balding. I hope so, because I apply Solban everyday on my hairline :)
 

Tarmander

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Coffee really is so much more then caffeine. I have had 6 espressos in one day and felt relaxed, calm, and in the moment. I have taken caffeine pills and felt strung out, cracked out, and on my way out.

Edit: although I will say that caffeine pills helped me build tolerance for coffee much quicker. So they aren't totally useless.
 

Mufasa

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Coffee really is so much more then caffeine. I have had 6 espressos in one day and felt relaxed, calm, and in the moment. I have taken caffeine pills and felt strung out, cracked out, and on my way out.

Yeah, haidut posted a mechanism for that recently.

As I have mentioned on the Danny Roddy shows and on many threads in this forum, cortisol synthesis depends on the enzyme 11β-HSD1 and it converts the inactive cortisone into the active cortisol. Big Pharma is in hot pursuit of an effective and selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor as a treatment of obesity, diabetes, Cushing syndrome, depression, mania, and a few other serious conditions. The study below investigated the 11β-HSD1 inhibiting effects of compounds in espresso coffee. It found caffeine to be neutral in regards to 11β-HSD1 and an unknown compound in coffee to be a strong inhibitor. The unknown inhibitor of 11β-HSD1 in coffee seems to be very water soluble but given that there are several thousand such compounds present in coffee it would take some time and effort before it is isolated. For the record, cocoa powder was not an effective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor.

That said, many people like myself don't experience any sides on high caffeine dosages from supps. I prefer caffeine supps because I already drink 5L of liquid, and adding 10 cups of coffee to that seems like an overkill of liquid to me.
 

Birdie

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Good one. Thanks haidut. Forwarding this one.
 

lindsay

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Coffee FTW :): I was going to ask if coffee is superior to just caffeine, but then I read through the thread notes. What about black tea? I know it's no coffee, and I rarely drink tea, but I'm curious if it contains some of the beneficial compounds for the liver? Although, I am sure the beans are where it's at. Now I have a good excuse to keep making that cold brew and espresso :):
 
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haidut

haidut

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Just wanted to point out that the study on coffee and cortisol found that even caffeine-free coffee extract inhibited cortisol, so you don't have to load up on regular expresso if you cannot tolerate caffeine. Btw, since coffee is rich in vitamin B3, the study found the cortisol-inhibiting compound to be water soluble (like B3 is), and the studies I posted on B3 lowering cortisol it could very well be vitamin B3 behind these beneficial effects of coffee. But until we know more, I would focus on the coffee extract. Instant coffee would be great way to get this compound in high doses.
 

milk_lover

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Instant coffee would be great way to get this compound in high doses.
I found this website (Coffee (instant coffee) | Whole Food Catalog) that claims 1 tablespoon of instant coffee (the amount I usually drink per cup) has around a whooping 700mg B3 and 1300 mcg biotin. Are those values real? :woot:
So coffee on hair does provide more than the caffeine for hair health. Caffeine, magnesium, B3, and biotin are all arguably good for hair.
 
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haidut

haidut

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I found this website (Coffee (instant coffee) | Whole Food Catalog) that claims 1 tablespoon of instant coffee (the amount I usually drink per cup) has around a whooping 700mg B3 and 1300 mcg biotin. Are those values real? :woot:
So coffee on hair does provide more than the caffeine for hair health. Caffeine, magnesium, B3, and biotin are all arguably good for hair.

That is a little suspect. I am getting a quote for about 28mg vitamin B3 in 100g of instant coffee. Can't open your link so don't know if we are talking about the same type of coffee.
 

GAF

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Here is the report referred to above.
 

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Peater Piper

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At this point, I'm doubtful that caffeine has much to do with the majority of coffee's benefits. There's a few conflicting reports, but generally, people that drink decaf have the same reduced risk for liver issues. Coffee seems to reduce the risk of intestinal permeability by raising levels of ZO-1. Coconut oil also protects the liver by reducing intestinal permeability caused by ethanol exposure. Since alcohol primarily damages the liver through endotoxemia, coffee, like coconut oil, may protect the liver by reducing the bacterial load through gut barrier modulation.

Increase in coffee consumption could provide protective effect in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

The production of H2O2 from coffee consumption may have an antiseptic role as well.

Coffee drinking increases levels of urinary hydrogen peroxide detected in healthy human volunteers. - PubMed - NCBI

Then finally, of course, you have the various micronutrients and polyphenols that could be beneficial. Something I rarely see mentioned is that coffee contains a-amylase and a-glucosidase inhibitors (namely the polyphenols and tannic acid). If it's being consumed with meals then there's a likelihood it's causing carbohydrate malabsorption, or at least a delayed absorption, which would lower the glycemic index and total calories of the foods consumed. From Peat's perspective, this is probably not a good thing since he prefers highly digestible carbohydrates and eschews resistant starch and fiber, but it's interesting that the majority of cultures have taken to food products that also inhibit the carbohydrate digestive enzymes, from coffee, to tea (all kinds, but especially green tea), to herbal teas, many spices, vinegar, etc.
 

Birdie

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I always remember Ray's saying that decaf is okay when somebody asked him.
 

Ideonaut

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Coffee really is so much more then caffeine. I have had 6 espressos in one day and felt relaxed, calm, and in the moment. I have taken caffeine pills and felt strung out, cracked out, and on my way out.

Edit: although I will say that caffeine pills helped me build tolerance for coffee much quicker. So they aren't totally useless.
I always amazed when I see people don't know the difference between "then" and "than."
 

jyb

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Coconut oil also protects the liver by reducing intestinal permeability caused by ethanol exposure. Since alcohol primarily damages the liver through endotoxemia, coffee, like coconut oil, may protect the liver by reducing the bacterial load through gut barrier modulation.

That's not coconut oil specifically but saturated fatty acids generally, longer chains found in dairy fats for example can have other protective effects against endotoxin caused by ethanol.

Dietary fat sources differentially modulate intestinal barrier and hepatic inflammation in alcohol-induced liver injury in rats. - PubMed - NCBI

There is a long list of studies like this, usually using a mix of beef tallow & MCT as saturated fat and comparing against other diets including PUFA, and other non-fat variables in the diet (type of bacteria and blood glucose condition).
 
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Peater Piper

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That's not coconut oil specifically but saturated fatty acids generally, longer chains found in dairy fats for example can have other protective effects against endotoxin caused by ethanol.

Dietary fat sources differentially modulate intestinal barrier and hepatic inflammation in alcohol-induced liver injury in rats. - PubMed - NCBI

There is a long list of studies like this, usually using a mix of beef tallow & MCT as saturated fat and comparing against other diets including PUFA, and other non-fat variables in the diet (type of bacteria and blood glucose condition).
My main point regarding the coconut oil is that it stops the endotoxin migration through maintaining tight gut junctions, and coffee may offer a similar benefit, which could be why it's so good for the liver (easing endotoxin burden). Long chain SFAs still allow the endotoxin into the blood stream, though they can offer protection through various mechanisms at that point, but it's more ideal to prevent the endotoxin migration in the first place. Also, from the study you posted, "ethanol-induced downregulations of intestinal occludin and zonula occludens-1 were normalized by MCT but not CB." That's ZO-1, which coffee was shown to upregulate in the study I posted above, so very similar action to coconut oil. Thus, a diet of coffee plus some MCTs should be an effective treatment for leaky gut, plus their antimicrobial actions to reduce endotoxin in the intestines, and if coconut oil is being consumed for the MCTs, the long chain SFAs should provide some protection for any endotoxin that does enter the bloodstream.
 

jyb

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Thus, a diet of coffee plus some MCTs should be an effective treatment for leaky gut, plus their antimicrobial actions to reduce endotoxin in the intestines, and if coconut oil is being consumed for the MCTs, the long chain SFAs should provide some protection for any endotoxin that does enter the bloodstream.

It's complementary, the studies usually use a varied saturated fatty acids profile to show the benefits.
 

lindsay

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My main point regarding the coconut oil is that it stops the endotoxin migration through maintaining tight gut junctions, and coffee may offer a similar benefit, which could be why it's so good for the liver (easing endotoxin burden). Long chain SFAs still allow the endotoxin into the blood stream, though they can offer protection through various mechanisms at that point, but it's more ideal to prevent the endotoxin migration in the first place. Also, from the study you posted, "ethanol-induced downregulations of intestinal occludin and zonula occludens-1 were normalized by MCT but not CB." That's ZO-1, which coffee was shown to upregulate in the study I posted above, so very similar action to coconut oil. Thus, a diet of coffee plus some MCTs should be an effective treatment for leaky gut, plus their antimicrobial actions to reduce endotoxin in the intestines, and if coconut oil is being consumed for the MCTs, the long chain SFAs should provide some protection for any endotoxin that does enter the bloodstream.

So what you are saying is, Coffee "bulletproofed" with CO or MCT's instead of cream would be super fantastic! I might try this sometimes. While I adore my cream in my coffee, I bet it would be delicious with virgin coconut oil. Maybe I will give it a try when I can be close to a toilet ;)
 

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