Brewing Better Health: How Coffee Influences Metabolism and the Gut Microbiome

Type II Diabetes (T2D) is characterized by chronically elevated fasting blood glucose and is a result of chronic insulin resistance. Epidemiologically, the relationship between habitual coffee consumption and T2D has been examined and is contended to be inversely associated with T2D risk. It is widely thought that the gut microbiome is linked to T2D because dysbiosis, which may be caused by chronic overnutrition, increases the inflammatory state. Increased ratios of Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes are consistent in individuals with obesity and T2D. Our lab found that matairesinol, a polyphenol found in coffee, inhibited Firmicutes growth and promoted Bacteroidetes growth. We thus determined the effect of other chemically related compounds on this phenomenon. Many efforts in pharmaceutical research target cellular proteins in skeletal muscle, liver, adipose, and renal tissues that are involved in glucose uptake, homeostasis, and reuptake. However, novel approaches to promoting healthy gut flora and attenuating diet-induced gut dysbiosis are limited.