Tea and Coffee Influence Disease Risk via DNA Methylation (2024)

  • DNA Methylation
  • Caffeine Fix Showdown: The Impact of Coffee and Tea on DNA Methylation and Disease Risk

While a mug of dark roasted coffee can jump-start your day and a cup of fragrant tea may soothe frayed nerves after a grueling session in the lab, a highly-caffeinated new study now shows that these hot beverages also impact human health by influencing DNA methylation.

Previous caffeine-fueled studies have provided contrasting views on how coffee and tea impact human health, although epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) studies examining the effects of coffee and comparing coffee and tea consumption have served up stimulating results. Now, a parched posse led by Mohsen Ghanbari (Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands) has undertaken a large-scale EWAS meta-analysis of coffee and tea consumption in blood samples isolated from around 16,000 middle-aged and elderly European/African American individuals from fifteen different cohorts in the hope establishing a link between how we get our caffeine fix and human health.

So get your favorite receptacle ready and put the sugar and cream on standby (a choice of non-dairy milk available upon request!) and savor the data emanating from this study by Karabegović and colleagues:

  • Meta-analysis of coffee consumption reveals significant associations with differential DNA methylation at eleven CpGs
    • High coffee intake correlates with:
      • Lower methylation at CpGs annotated to the AHRR gene (previously reported) and the F2RL3, GFI1, and IER3 genes, which may influence the risk of cancer/cardiovascular disease
      • Higher methylation at CpGs that annotate to the FLJ43663, HDAC4, and PHGDH genes
  • One of the coffee CpG sites (cg14476101) significantly associates with PHGDH (encoding phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase) expression and fatty liver disease risk
    • These findings combined with those of previous studies indicate that coffee intake alters PHGDHgene expression and liver function by altering the methylation of cg14476101
    • PHGDH knockdown in liver cells alters the expression of lipid-associated genes (decreased LPL and increasedLDLRandABCA1), suggesting that the regulation of PHGDH expression impacts lipid metabolism in the liver
  • Meta-analysis of tea consumption failed to reveal any significant associations, although two CpGs associated with the CACNA1A and PRDM16 genes displayed nominal associations

Is anyone else thirsty? While this caffeine-laden study suggests that a double espresso may beat a cup of Earl Grey (hot!) when it comes to inducing DNA methylation alterations that modify disease risk, the authors hope to confirm and expand their findings by next evaluating coffee brewing methods and different age groups/ancestries among other potential confounding factors.

For more on how your hot caffeinated drink of choice may influence both your DNA methylation profile and health, head over to Nature Communications, May 2021.

Tea and Coffee Influence Disease Risk via DNA Methylation (2024)

FAQs

Tea and Coffee Influence Disease Risk via DNA Methylation? ›

Linking DNA Methylation Alterations to Coffee and Tea Consumption. Epigenetics can mediate the effects of dietary and lifestyle factors on disease onset, and two previous epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) reported the association of DNA methylation status at certain CpGs

CpGs
Methylation of CpG islands stably silences genes

In humans, DNA methylation occurs at the 5 position of the pyrimidine ring of the cytosine residues within CpG sites to form 5-methylcytosines. The presence of multiple methylated CpG sites in CpG islands of promoters causes stable silencing of genes.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › CpG_site
with tea or coffee consumption (Ek et al ...

Does coffee affect methylation? ›

These findings, combined with those of earlier EWAS, indicate that coffee intake alters PHGDH gene expression and liver function by altering the methylation of cg14476101.

What foods affect DNA methylation? ›

Super-charged Methylation Foods
  • Dark leafy greens. When you think folate, think foliage. ...
  • Cruciferous vegetables. Aside from being detoxification superfoods, crucifers are also considered methylation adaptogens thanks to their sulforaphane and folate content. ...
  • Liver. ...
  • Beets. ...
  • Beans and legumes. ...
  • Okra. ...
  • Mushrooms. ...
  • Seeds.

Does coffee cause epigenetic changes to your DNA? ›

In the past decade, the epigenetic effects of coffee ingredients have been revealed, whereby coffee is able to impact the epigenome by modulating DNA methylation/demethylation, histone modifications, and ncRNA expression (Table 1), and potentially linked to the development of various human pathological conditions.

What effect does caffeine have on DNA isolation? ›

Caffeine prevents the binding of intercalating small molecules to DNA by forming hetero-association complexes with the molecules. For example, caffeine has been shown to displace fluorescent intercalators such as EBr, propidium iodide, and 7-aminoactinomycin D from genomic DNA previously stained with these dyes.

What foods should you avoid for methylation? ›

What Not to Eat for Methylation Support. The following article focuses on what not to eat to promote methylation support. Below, we will demonstrate what not to eat to improve DNA methylation including charred foods, added sugars, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated fats, alcohol, and folic acid fortified foods.

Does caffeine damage DNA? ›

Caffeine potentiates the mutagenic and lethal effects of genotoxic agents. It is thought that this is due, at least in some organisms, to inhibition of DNA repair.

What reduces DNA methylation? ›

Interestingly, they noted that high intake of green vegetables and folate was associated with lower DNA methylation, expressed as less than two genes methylated [51].

What is the most common symptom of poor methylation? ›

Fatigue is perhaps the most common symptom of problems with methylation. Other symptoms or conditions can include: Anxiety. Depression.

Can stress affect DNA methylation? ›

Chronic social stress induces DNA methylation changes at an evolutionary conserved intergenic region in chromosome X.

How does coffee strengthen your DNA? ›

Chlorogenic acid, one of the main components of coffee, is a powerful antioxidant that can inhibit DNA damage from free radicals. It protects our body against impaired cellular damage and lowers the risk of cancer. Further studies will be necessary to verify such results.

What 3 things can cause epigenetic changes? ›

The environmental factors that can promote epigenetic mutations in humans are similar to known risk factors for cancer, including diet, lifestyle, and exposure to toxic substances.

Is it genetic to like coffee? ›

Researchers at Northwestern University released a study that shows coffee drinkers who prefer the bitter taste of black coffee have a genetic variant that also reflects faster caffeine metabolism.

Does caffeine inhibit DNA repair? ›

Caffeine inhibits DNA repair and induces growth arrest but protects against apoptosis.

Does coffee inhibit collagen synthesis? ›

Results. Caffeine inhibited collagen biosynthesis in a dose-dependent manner. The mechanism of this process was found at the level of prolidase activity. Caffeine significantly inhibited the enzyme activity.

Is coffee bad for HPV? ›

While the biggest risk factors in developing mouth and throat cancer are alcohol use, tobacco use, and infection with the HPV (human papillomavirus), coffee drinking seems to be something of a deterrent.

What interferes with methylation? ›

Your body needs certain enzymes and nutrients, especially folate and B vitamins, to carry out the methylation cycle. Oxidative stress and inflammation are capable of interfering with the process. This means that a healthy diet and lifestyle are both key for optimizing methylation.

What slows down methylation? ›

Problems start arising when methylation is not optimized, meaning, it's happening slower than it should be (or the opposite: it's happening too fast!). In general, the methylation cycle slows down when it doesn't have enough methyl-supportive nutrients and speeds up when it has too many.

What decreases methylation? ›

Lifestyle changes can have an impact on methylation patterns. For example, smoking can decrease methylation on a gene called AHRR . But quitting smoking has been shown to increase methylation of AHRR, which means that former smokers can return to the same AHRR gene expression as non-smokers over time.

What impairs methylation? ›

The two most important nutrients in methylation pathways are B12 and folate, but other nutrients such as methionine, cysteine, taurine, DHA, zinc, magnesium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, betaine, choline, and sulfur also play a role (10). Inadequate intake of any of these nutrients can impair methylation.

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