Can drinking coffee improve fatty liver? Nutritionist's 3 best things revealed

Is your liver getting fat? According to research, the prevalence of fatty liver in Taiwan is as high as 26% to 34%, which is much higher than hepatitis B and hepatitis C. This means that 1 in every 3 to 4 people has "fat in the liver". If left untreated for a long time, the patient may suffer from the tragic fate of the "liver disease trilogy"! It is said that one of the keys to eliminating fatty liver is modern people’s favorite drink - coffee, but is coffee really that magical? Let’s hear what the nutritionist says!

Do only fat people have fatty liver? Don’t worry too early, skinny guy!

When fat accumulates in liver cells and accounts for more than 5% of the liver's weight, it is called "fatty liver." Nutritionist Cheng Shijia said that in recent years, Chinese people have been affected by "sedentary lifestyle", "Western diet" and "genetics", and with the prevalence of metabolic diseases such as obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and hypertension, the number of patients with "non-alcoholic fatty liver disease" (NAFLD) remains high due to triglyceride synthesis and fatty degeneration in the liver.

It is worth noting that not only overweight or obese people are prone to fatty liver! Even if you have a standard body shape or even slim, you may still develop hidden obesity due to your love of sweets (lots of carbohydrates) or sugary drinks (fructose), resulting in a situation where your weight and BMI appear normal but your body fat is already above the standard. This phenomenon of "all show and no substance" will greatly increase the risk of developing fatty liver.

Can drinking coffee really help reverse fatty liver disease?

If fatty liver is not detected and treated early, incorrect diet and bad lifestyle habits can easily lead to continuous stimulation of the liver to produce inflammation and oxidative stress, which in turn increases the risk of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and liver cancer, creating a vicious cycle and even leading to unpleasant diseases such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, etc.

Fortunately, fatty liver disease can be reversed! In addition to losing weight, increasing exercise, adjusting your lifestyle and diet, it is rumored that drinking coffee can also prevent and improve fatty liver. Is this true? Nutritionist Zheng Shijia said that indeed, recent literature shows that drinking coffee can prevent the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, especially reducing the severity of fibrosis in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In terms of intake, studies have shown that the recommended amount is 3 to 4 cups of coffee per day, each cup of 240c.c.

Nutritionist shares secrets on how to eliminate fatty liver with coffee

Coffee contains a variety of bioactive ingredients, such as caffeine, chlorogenic acid, cafestol and fatty acids. Caffeine can reduce liver function indexes (SGOP, SGPT) that are abnormally elevated due to fatty liver. Chlorogenic acid has a strong antioxidant capacity. In addition to protecting the liver from fat accumulation and oxidative damage, it can also reduce the metabolic risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, coffee oil contains cafestol, which will increase the bad cholesterol LDL in the body and should be filtered out as much as possible.

In this regard, nutritionist Zheng Shijia believes that the simplest way is to choose black coffee that has been filtered through filter paper and does not contain sugar (too much sugar will be stored in the body in the form of fat) or creamer . If you are sensitive to caffeine and experience discomfort such as palpitations, it is recommended that you drink white coffee (espresso + milk) or latte (espresso + milk + milk foam) instead, using the dilution of milk to reduce the discomfort caused by caffeine.

To reduce fatty liver, coffee has two other great “allies”!

In modern nutrition science, there is increasing evidence that increasing macronutrients in the diet can improve non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In addition to the coffee mentioned above, nutritionist Zheng Shijia introduces two more natural ingredients that help eliminate fatty liver, namely fatty fish and nuts.

(1) Fatty fish: For example, mackerel, tuna, salmon, sturgeon, sardines, herring, trout, etc. These fish consume marine plants to synthesize omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids rich in fish oil can reduce liver lipid accumulation, improve insulin sensitivity and have anti-inflammatory effects.

(2) Nuts: Nuts are rich in antioxidant vitamin E, dietary fiber, high concentrations of plant sterols and polyphenols (such as phenolic acid, ellagic acid and flavonoids), which can reduce the concentration of bad cholesterol and free radicals in serum, improve dyslipidemia, and liver fat cell degeneration and inflammation.