Coffee Habits Shaped by DNA Variations, Researchers Find

[bananas]

Source: Bloomberg

Whether coffee makes a person anxious or helps boost their memory may come down to their DNA, according to research that suggests further studies on caffeine should be customized to a person’s genetic profile.

A study reported today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry found six genetic variants associated with coffee drinking. The variants help explain why the same amount of coffee can have different effects in different people, said Marilyn Cornelis, the report’s lead author.

“If we can understand some of the individual differences that underlie differences in response or overall intake, it could have important public health implications,” said Cornelis, a research associate in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Caffeine, the world’s most widely used drug, has been linked to improvements in memory and protection against the destruction of brain cells. It can also lead to nervousness, anxiety, restlessness and gastrointestinal upset.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-07/coffee-habits-shaped-by-dna-variations-researchers-find.html

[bananas]

1. Lead researcher didn't like coffee, now wants to cultivate the habit!

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/10/java-in-the-genes/

Java in the genes
Insight on effects of coffee consumption in consortium’s findings
October 7, 2014 | Editor's Pick
By Alvin Powell, Harvard Staff Writer

An international research team has found six new genes underlying our coffee-slurping ways.

The work, led by Marilyn Cornelis, a research associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found a total of eight genes, two of which had been identified in prior work by Cornelis and others. Two of the new genes were related to metabolism of caffeine and two were related to its psychoactive effects.

The two remaining genes are related to lipid and glucose metabolism, but their role in coffee consumption is unclear. They present a possible avenue of investigation, Cornelis said.

<snip>

Though there has been disagreement over coffee’s health effects in the past, Cornelis said evidence of its benefits has been mounting. In fact, Cornelis herself — who never liked coffee — has been persuaded to try to cultivate the habit.

“I’m not a coffee drinker; I hate the taste of it,” Cornelis said. “If there were more people like me in the study we wouldn’t have found those genes.”

<snip>

[loudsue]

2. I'm having my second cup of half-caf right now.

As a person gets older, their reaction to caffeine sometimes changes back & forth. I know a lot of people over 60 who can't handle as much caffeine as they did when younger. Many adults over 50 cannot drink the new power drinks that younger people drink.

[bananas]

3. None of the identified genetic variants was related to how intensely a person tastes coffee

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/dna-linked-coffee-drink-26010996

DNA Linked to How Much Coffee You Drink
NEW YORK — Oct 7, 2014, 4:20 AM ET
By MALCOLM RITTER AP Science Writer

How much coffee do you drink every day? One cup in the morning? Or do you gulp it all day?

Scientists have long known that your DNA influences how much java you consume. Now a huge study has identified some genes that may play a role.

<snip>

The two other newly implicated genes were a surprise because there's no clear biological link to coffee or caffeine, Cornelis said. They are instead involved with cholesterol levels and blood sugar.

Marian Neuhouser, a nutrition researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and study co-author, said identifying genes related to consumption may one day help doctors identify patients who need extra help in cutting down on coffee if recommended. For example, pregnant women are advised to consume only moderate amounts of caffeine because of risk of miscarriage and preterm birth, she said.

None of the identified genetic variants was related to how intensely a person tastes coffee, and Cornelis said that surprised her.

She doesn't drink coffee, she said, because she can't stand the stuff.

[pipoman]

4. Not all coffee is created equal. ..

Pricessing, roasting, a thousand preparation techniques, additives, etc. All affect the effect on the drinker. This will require some controlled samples...

[merrily]

5. All I know is, I used to tease my mom about her addiction to/love for coffee and now

I am the same. I enjoy my two morning cups enormously and don't function as well without them.

I also shared her love of cigarettes, but mercifully managed to quit. Not before health consequences, though.

[hobbit709]

6. I am a caffeine-based lifeform. I average 8-10 cups a day.

But I only drink good coffee. Most commercially sold coffee is littler better than floor sweepings

[closeupready]

7. +1. Also, did you ever notice that while domestic instant coffee

is undrinkable, European versions are quite good (if not great)?

[hobbit709]

8. Instant coffee is coffee?

[salib]

13. Yeah. They must have been on one helluva good vacation

To say that about Nescafé in Europe.

[Kalidurga]

29. no

it makes "coffee flavored" water though.

[joshdawg]

10. Floor sweepings is an apt description of commercial grade coffee.

It can also apply to "instant coffee."
I too, drink only good coffee. Have tried many brands but always go back to my number one.

[northoftheborder]

28. What is your favorite coffee?

I'm a one or sometimes two times a day coffee drinker. That's not much, but I have gotten very particular about the freshness of the coffee. The only roaster in my area went out of business, and I am without good coffee. Even if I grind the beans myself, I can tell the difference in the freshly roasted from the usual retail beans. I used to buy Gevalia by mail, but I wasn't as discriminating then. I can't stand Starbucks coffee, by the way. However they are carrying more choices now in their bagged bean offerings, and maybe they are fresher than the grocery.

[joshdawg]

30. I've been drinking Gevalia for some twenty years now.

It's my favorite although I have at times bought coffee from Green Mountain.
Starbuck's is over-roasted, bitter, and over-priced.
No matter how many choices they have, I will not drink Starbuck's coffee.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

11. Ditto on the life form.

10-24 cup habit a day here. Sadly, my fortunes took a turn for the worse 5-6 years ago, so I have to drink a lot of floor sweepings these days.

[TBF]

9. I do like coffee and think there is definitely a genetic component -

I seem to have some ADHD symptoms (I've learned after having children with same) and stimulants often help sufferers of ADHD. That's neurological and may be part of what he is seeing. Caffeine calms me rather than causing anxiety.

[wolfie001]

12. Anxiety among today's adults working or seeking work is caused by....

....crappy pay and job insecurity. A good and strong Union movement would alleviate this problem ASAP. Ya hear that Silicon Valley? Apple? Fakebook?

[MillennialDem]

14. Bah - why no link to those who don't drink coffee?

[WhiteAndNerdy]

18. I'd love to know if there's a genetic component --

-- to my absolute hatred of the smell of coffee. It makes me feel sick and light-headed just to smell it. Nasty stuff.

[MillennialDem]

20. Agreed. One guy I know hates the taste but loves the smell. I hate the taste AND the smell

[Myrina]

23. Was wondering the same thing ...

Tried to cultivate the taste in high school and just cannot stand it. Blah. And I truly don't understand the addicts who get all jonzey at the thought of a new Starfux opening or the 'flavor of the season'.

My last mgr practically mainlined the shit and she was the most uptight, unpleasant person I've ever met.

[Dont call me Shirley]

15. Without coffee morning is just not awake.

[pinboy3niner]

16. I love this topic!

[Aerows]

33. I used to drink coffee

Of course I took it black, no sugar, and in a 32 oz mug when I was in college. I remember being in Calculus at 8am with a professor that stuttered while I'm sitting there on a caffeine high for days "You ... take a function. Then ..de..rive it, using a trig..o..nometric for.mula".

How I managed to pass that class without having a nervous break down, I'll never know.

I don't drink coffee anymore. I drink unsweetened Iced Tea.

EDIT: I bought two tea plants Camellia Seninsis

[jwirr]

17. This will not help me. When I drink coffee I get anxiety, restless and if I drink to much - like 4

cups a day I get something like a hangover. I have always assumed I was allergic to coffee.

[backscatter712]

19. It's what I use to turn myself into a Mentat...

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java the thoughts acquire speed,
The hands acquire shaking,
The shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

[Dustlawyer]

21. I hated coffee until my future ex-wife bought me a Carmel Machiatto. Then she bought a

Coffee maker that grinds the beans and brews the most wonderful liquid. I am hooked now, but only 3 cups in the morning, none during the rest of the day. Still date the ex-wife, lol.

[packman]

22. Coffee, coffee

YOU GOT COFFEE


[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Javaman]

24. Smart Coffee! too late, already trademarked it!

as I did: the old bean, caffinator, coff-E. you get the idea. lol

[pinboy3niner]

27. Well, I beat you to Dummkopfee

So there!

[bikebloke]

25. I wonder about the genetic link.

I'm the only one in my family who doesn't drink coffee (or maybe they bought me from gypsies who stole me from another family . In my entire life, I've had two cups of coffee, which I drank out of politeness 30 years ago when travelling.

I do like the aroma of coffee beans in the store, though.

[Aerows]

32. I drink tea

Iced, to be exact, and I've switched to decaf about 4 years ago and can't tell the difference in taste. I like it unsweetened. And by the gallon .

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. I wonder if liking or not liking the taste is also genetic?

It's known that not liking some vegetables because they seem to taste bitter is genetic. I, apparently, have the gene for hating Brussels sprouts; to me they taste like rotting garbage soaked in gasoline. But I love good coffee, and it doesn't make me jittery, just alert (without it I'm just a lethargic Brussels-sprouts-hating lump). I know a lot of people who just hate the taste of coffee, which to me is inexplicable. So maybe it's something you are born with.

[Aerows]

31. Everyone in my family drinks coffee

I'm a tea fanatic.

Smells like BS to me.

[whistler162]

34. Sounds like a repressive gene kicked in,

in your case.

[Lionel Mandrake]

35. Coffee was essential for one mathematician's creativity.

An in-joke among mathematicians defines a mathematician as a machine that transforms coffee into theorems.

Paul Erdős (1913 – 1996) was the most prolific mathematician of the 20th century. Erdős once did an experiment on himself. He stopped drinking coffee for a month, and found that he was unable to do creative mathematics until he started drinking coffee again.

[reflection]

36. All I know is this:

1) Coffee is the greatest substance on the planet. It may be a god in bean form.

2) It helps me poop.

Yay coffee!