Have you ever wondered why coffee has different effects on various persons? Well the answer relies on your genes. A recent research has found that there are six genes that are linked with customary coffee drinking.
The study was conducted by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital that discovered that the six genes are responsible for the various reactions of the body to coffee.
Marilyn Cornelis, a research associate in nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health states that six genes are the reason for the various reactions of people with caffeine or coffee. There are some people who hate coffee because of its taste while some people enjoy coffee more than others.
The researchers conducted study in over 120, 000 coffee drinkers from African American and European origin and the study reveals that two variants of genes, BDNF and SLC64 cause positive effects of caffeine.
There are also genes near GCKR and MLXIPL, that didn't show any metabolism and neurological effects on caffeine while genes POR and ABCG2 that are found to be related in caffeine metabolism.
The result of the research on effects of genes on coffee was presented online on October 7, 2014 in Molecular Psychiatry.
The research suggests the effects of the six genes not only for coffee, but also to other drinks that contain caffeine.
"My response to a cup of coffee might be very different to someone else's response to the same cup," Cornelis stated.
Lead author and one of the researchers in the study, Marilyn Cornelis explains the relevance of their study:
She stated that since coffee and caffeine are known to provide healthful and undesirable effects, their study will be useful in identifying groups of people who would benefit in lessening or increasing their caffeine intake for attaining their best health.
Rachel Poole, a postdoctoral graduate at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, a non-profit Scientific Institute involved in research on the senses of taste and smell said that before, coffee and tea were the chief sources of caffeine.
But with the advent of new product containing caffeine, it is good to study the genes that drive the caffeine intake.
The study confirms that people who drink coffee more are more likely to metabolize it faster due to their genes.
However, more research should be done to explain further the other factors that influence consumption of coffee. Poole added sugar and milk when added to coffee could alter the reaction of the drinker to caffeine.
Cornelis also states that after identifying the genes that influence coffee cravings, their next study will focus on the answers whether these genes could influence development of certain diseases.
