Craving coffee is embedded in our DNA
Our need for caffeine has been scientifically proven to be part of our actual genetic make-up.
A recent study by conducted by scientists from the University of Edinburgh, Trieste, the Burlo Garofolo Pediatric Institute in Italy, the Erasmus Medical Centre and PolyOmica has pinpointed the exact gene which is thought to responsible for how we metabolise and therefore break down coffee.
Analysis of a range of varying coffee drinkers was conducted in the Netherlands, with the team of researchers looked at the genetic information from 370 people living in a small village in south Italy and 843 people from six villages in north-eat Italy.
Simply working out the amount of coffee that each participant drank, those studied were surveyed on their drinking habits and how they consumed our caffeinated beverage of choice.
Primary analysis of this group found that people with a minor variation in the PDSS2 gene tended to consume fewer cups of coffee than people without the variation. This meant that those with the gene change drank on average one fewer cup of coffee each day.
The study was replicated by the researchers with a larger group of 1731 people in the Netherlands, with a very similar result being found. The Dutch group consumed slightly more coffee, but this could be a result of the type of coffee drunk by the different participants.
Dr Nicola Pirastu, a Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute, said: “The results of our study add to existing research suggesting that our drive to drink coffee may be embedded in our genes. We need to do larger studies to confirm the discovery and also to clarify the biological link between PDSS2 and coffee consumption.”
So although preliminary, we have some evidence that our caffeine and coffee drinking habits are in fact, affected directly by our DNA.
The best thing about this research is that we now don’t even need an excuse for our coffee drinking habits, our actual DNA is telling us we NEED more coffee!
And if you call yourself a coffee connoisseur, then maybe you’ll want to stave your carvings with our range of top class speciality micro-lot coffee? Yeah, give it a go. We know it will hit the spot.