In the 18th century, Gustav III, a Swedish King carried out an early example of a comparative study using twins. He was convinced about the dangers of coffee and decided to test it out. He selected a pair of identical twins sentenced to death – and advised one to keep drinking 3 pots of tea daily and the other to drink an equivalent volume of coffee every day.
In this n=2 twin experiment, the coffee drinking convict is said to have lived even longer than the tea-drinker (who lived to the age of 83 years), and probably the royal family was surprised. But years later, today, it is well known that coffee is a psychoactive chemical that is legally allowed. Moreover, coffee is consumed by many and is known to be good for health, especially for liver health.
It is generally well known that alcohol, another psychoactive substance, causes liver disease. Today, the leading liver disease in the world is MASLD or metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease, which is a disease where fat accumulates in the liver, sometimes scarring it, something causing it to fail and sometimes even increasing risk for liver cancer. MASLD is common in the population, especially in people with obesity and diabetes. Well unlike alcohol, coffee is good for MASLD – it reduces fat in the liver, prevents scarring and may even protect from liver cancer.
Surprisingly, the benefits of coffee on the liver do not accrue from caffeine alone. The polyphenols in the coffee add to the benefits. Thus, even decaf coffee seems to offer liver protection. The benefits of coffee occur irrespective of whether it is Arabica or Robusta, espresso or simple black coffee.
However, coffee with milk and sugar can add carbs – and thus may not be as healthy as black coffee.
Coffee exerts its liver protection through appetite suppression, direct blockade of liver fat, metabolic, ant-oxidant and anti- inflammatory as well as numerous other effects. About 3 cups of coffee per day is healthy for the liver.
Notably coffee is not entirely safe in excess, it can cause insomnia, jitteriness, increased heart rate, systemic toxicity and even dependency. But as someone more intelligent than me has quipped, no coffee addict usually robs a bank to buy more coffee! We discuss the various nuances of coffee and other caffeinated beverages in this issue of DH.
Interestingly the story of coffee dates to the 9th century. Kaldi, an Ethiopian goatherd, found his goats dancing and jumping wildly after eating the fruit of the coffee plant. After experimenting it on himself and confirming the psychoactive results, he took it to a monastery, where these stimulating effects reportedly confirmed. Eventually it was discovered that coffee is not a bean, but a seed of a coffee fruit. And thus began the story of coffee, a simple plant-based beverage, today consumed by a billion people.
Coffee is useful adjunct to liver health, but it is important to remember that there are far more important factors: correct diet, proper exercise, health monitoring and where necessary, medications. A combination of all these strategies can keep you dancing on your road to health and fitness.
Dr Unnikrishnan AG
Editor
