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Turns out there's another thing you can blame your parents for: your need for a Starbucks fix.
Yes, like receding hairlines and pendulous earlobes, it seems your daily 3 o'clock caffeine craving can also be traced back to your genes, according to new research released this week.
As USA Today reports, scientists have identified two genes that decide whether you're a double-shot-of-espresso sort of gal or a "one-cup-gives-me-the-jitters" kind of guy. Essentially, depending on whether you carry a "high-consumption" variant or "low-consumption" variant of either gene determines just how fast or slow you metabolize caffeine, and thus, just how much java juice it takes to get your motor running in the morning.
(We imagine that if you carry the "high-consumption" variant of both genes then you're probably something of a pit bull before 8 a.m.)
"It's really an incredible story," study co-author Dr. Neil Caporaso of the National Cancer Institute told USA Today. "People don't really suspect it, but genetics plays a big role in a lot of behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. And now it turns out that it has a part in how much caffeine we drink."
So why is a guy at the National Cancer Institute futzing around searching for caffeine genes?
"Because one of the genes we identified wasn't put there just to metabolize caffeine," Caporaso said. "It does a lot of other stuff, like metabolize compounds of cancer and also a whole long list of drugs. So now, we have some clear genetic markers that we can go and test to see how they might affect a host of metabolic processes."
Researchers call the genes CYP1A2 and AHR, but no doubt the marketing folks at Starbucks would like to figure out a way to call them the Venti Latte and the Venti Cappuccino.
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4-10-2011 @11:07AM karen lyons kalmensob said... if that is the case...i am a proud descendant of java man;-D
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4-10-2011 @11:26AM Christie said... It's quite possibly in the genes, who really knows. I've been drinking coffee since I was old enough to hold the coffee cup. At a very young age I was a grouch until I had my fix. Love it ;~D
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4-10-2011 @11:49AM Rick said... Yeah, I had to quit drinking coffee. It made me beat up people! To a pulp!
4-10-2011 @12:32PM Idon'tKNOW-MayBe said... i suppose genes could be the reason for most anything , but I like a cup of coffee because I like the way it tastes , don't have to have a cup thank God or I'd end up like Rick and beat people up for the flavor is that good to me to have it taken away - maybe I'll just get Rick to beat you guys up I am getting along in my years - good post RICK - guess you can tell I liked it - good sense of humor need more folks like you in this world .
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4-10-2011 @4:11PM hank said... how can your genes seek something never experienced in nature up to now? crap nonsense in science drag. brought to you by people seeking money to cure you of all sorts of non ailments
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4-10-2011 @4:42PM Cambier lingua said... Think of it this way. Your taste buds and olfactory resepticals were formed as part of your individual heritage or because your unique genes. Your taste bud and smeller are more attracted to one taste or smell over another. Maybe sweet over savory. It's why one person likes one cologne, another person can't stand it. If your dad liked bananas, even if you never met your father or knew his taste preferences you may have the same inherited banana-loving proclivity. And that's in the genes dufus. Think beyond the inside of your forehead. It sn't a conspiricy to get money.
4-10-2011 @7:42PM mike said... I agree with Hank. It is hard to explain a genetic craving for things never available to any ancestor. Imagine first bananas or coffee brought to Iceland. Would be needed generations for demand?
As for tastes inherited from fathers, Cambier lingua remeber: "Mater semper certa est, pater incertus est". Atributing genetic causes for behaviour is walking on thin ice. The next step is asking the question: "Are these genes prevalent in some groups and/or races?" If so, what to do if the genes seem harmful to society? And the Pandora's box is open. Who pays for these (expensive) studies and why?
4-10-2011 @4:10PM hank said... quick take off those jeans immediately
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4-10-2011 @4:35PM Cambier lingua said... typical pee pee doo doo male. Brain stopped growing at about age nine.
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4-10-2011 @5:15PM Mary said... I never liked the taste of coffee until I was about 30 years old. Coffee for me was an acquired taste, as was mustard. Since I turned 50, I have started to like an occasional beer. I find that as I have aged, I am less attracted to super sweet drinks and more into natural flavors in beverages that border on the slight edge of being just a little bitter. I grew up drinking sweet tea made with sugar, but I now hate sugar or sweeteners in my tea. I also like my coffee black, unless I have a chocolate craving, then I might add a teaspoon of instant cocoa to the coffee which turns it into a mocha that rivals anything Starbucks makes. It is also cheaper.
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4-10-2011 @5:18PM Mary said... My husband once drank an entire pot of coffee by himself. I found him in a fetal position on the kitchen floor with the shakes. Our oldest son felt really sick after downing almost an entire pot of coffee. Now they leave some for me.
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4-10-2011 @8:54PM cyndi said... i love coffee!
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4-11-2011 @12:50AM Kim said... This could make sense, but I think there's other things that play into it. I LOVE coffee. I drink a lot. But part of that's because when I was little (like 3 years oldish) my nana/grandma would sit with me, chat, have some sort of baked good, and coffee together. I was going to be "well over 6 feet tall" and it stunted my growth. So now as an "adult" when I drink coffee I think of my nana. It's sorta' a moment with her I don't get anymore. And I've told people if I couldn't have coffee I would have a really hard time because a.) the whole caffiene thing and love the taste, but b.) I'd miss my moments with my nana.
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4-11-2011 @3:06PM Chris said... Do we really need to always and only mention Starbucks when we speak of coffee? Coffee has been around for HUNDREDS of YEARS and Starbucks has been around for like 30.
I swear I hate cultural media.
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4-13-2011 @11:34AM AM~Erica said... What's interesting is that neither of my parents drink coffee. They cannot stand the taste of it. However, my brother & I are coffee drinkers. My grandparents drank it however. My husband drinks a bit of coffee, too...which his dad drank coffee ALL of the time. My mother-in-law cannot stand the smell or taste of it. So my husband proves the gene thing a bit, but it's weird with my brother & I...unless it skipped a generation. I have aunts that drink it, so maybe that counts?
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4-13-2011 @12:51PM Maureen said... This makes sense for me..my mom drank coffee daily...my dad on the other hand is a coffee fanatic..I take after him :) Craving some now actually! lol