Genetic determinants of liking and intake of coffee and other bitter foods and beverages

Coffee is a widely consumed beverage that is naturally bitter and contains caffeine. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of coffee drinking have identified genetic variants involved in caffeine-related pathways but not in taste perception. The taste of coffee can be altered by addition of milk/sweetener, which has not been accounted for in GWAS. Using UK and US cohorts, we test the hypotheses that genetic variants related to taste are more strongly associated with consumption of black coffee than with consumption of coffee with milk or sweetener and that genetic variants related to caffeine pathways are not differentially associated with the type of coffee consumed independent of caffeine content. Contrary to our hypotheses, genetically inferred caffeine sensitivity was more strongly associated with coffee taste preferences than with genetically inferred bitter taste perception. These findings extended to tea and dark chocolate. Taste preferences and physiological caffeine effects intertwine in a way that is difficult to distinguish for individuals which may represent conditioned taste preferences.

Description of The Event of Anemia in Women of Real Age of Coral Cadets in Ciseeng, Bogor City 2021

Nutrition is one of the determining factors to achieve excellent and optimal health. Anemia is still a nutritional problem in the world, especially in developing countries, including Indonesia. Anemia is a condition in which a person's hemoglobin (Hb) level in the blood is lower than normal. Infertile women are one of the groups at risk for anemia. Several research results in several regions in Indonesia show that the prevalence of anemia infertile women is still high. We aim to describe the incidence of anemia in women of childbearing age in Ciseeng, Bogor, 2021. Using a qualitative study design, employing FGD, in-depth interviews, and active observation. All informants suffer from moderate anemia with Hb levels between 8.7 g/dl to 10.8 g/dl and have several symptoms or signs of anemia, namely 5L, dizziness, fatigue, pale nails, lips, and eyelids. The lack of iron-containing foods and the presence of tea in the breakfast menu of the informants is one of the factors that make the informants suffer from anemia, due to the disruption of iron absorption by the tannins contained in tea. Most of the informants have abnormal menstrual patterns and this is one of the determinants of the incidence of anemia experienced by the informants. An overview of matters relating to the incidence of anemia in women of childbearing age at youth organizations in Ciseeng Bogor, including a description of nutrient intake, breakfast behavior, tea/coffee drinking behavior, menstruation, nutritional knowledge. All key informants had Hb levels below 12 g/dl, ie 8.7 – 10.8 g/dl. Three informants had Hb levels below 10 g/dl, 12 others had Hb levels 10-11 g/dl. The results of this Hb examination indicate that all informants suffer from anemia which is classified as moderate anemia according to the classification of anemia according to WHO.

Illusory Feelings, Elusive Habits: Explanations of Behavior Overlook Habits

Habits underlie much of human behavior. However, people may prefer agentic explanations that overlook habits in favor of inner states such as mood. We tested this misattribution hypothesis in an online experiment of helping behavior as well as an ecological momentary assessment study of college students’ everyday coffee drinking. Both studies revealed a substantial gap between attributed and actual influences on behavior: Habit strength outperformed or matched inner states in predicting behavior, whereas participants’ attributions for their behavior emphasized inner states. Participants continued to overlook habits even when incentivized for accuracy, as well as when making attributions for other people’s behavior. We discuss how this attribution pattern could adversely influence self-regulation.

Mendelian Randomisation Study of Smoking, Alcohol, and Coffee Drinking in Relation to Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Previous studies showed that lifestyle behaviors (cigarette smoking, alcohol, coffee) are inversely associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The prodromal phase of PD raises the possibility that these associations may be explained by reverse causation. Objective: To examine associations of lifestyle behaviors with PD using two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) and the potential for survival and incidence-prevalence biases. Methods: We used summary statistics from publicly available studies to estimate the association of genetic polymorphisms with lifestyle behaviors, and from Courage-PD (7,369 cases, 7,018 controls; European ancestry) to estimate the association of these variants with PD. We used the inverse-variance weighted method to compute odds ratios (ORIVW) of PD and 95%confidence intervals (CI). Significance was determined using a Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold (p = 0.017). Results: We found a significant inverse association between smoking initiation and PD (ORIVW per 1-SD increase in the prevalence of ever smoking = 0.74, 95%CI = 0.60–0.93, p = 0.009) without significant directional pleiotropy. Associations in participants ≤67 years old and cases with disease duration ≤7 years were of a similar size. No significant associations were observed for alcohol and coffee drinking. In reverse MR, genetic liability toward PD was not associated with smoking or coffee drinking but was positively associated with alcohol drinking. Conclusion: Our findings are in favor of an inverse association between smoking and PD that is not explained by reverse causation, confounding, and survival or incidence-prevalence biases. Genetic liability toward PD was positively associated with alcohol drinking. Conclusions on the association of alcohol and coffee drinking with PD are hampered by insufficient statistical power.

Habitual Tea and Coffee Consumption and Mean Reaction Time Among Qatari Adults

Background: Tea and coffee consumption is associated with cognitive function in some studies. Objective: We aimed to identify tea and coffee drinking patterns and their association with mean reaction time among Qatari adults. Method: The study included 1,000 adults aged 20 years and above attending the Qatar Biobank Study (QBB). Habitual tea and coffee consumption during the previous year was assessed by questionnaire. Tea and coffee drinking patterns were identified using factor analysis. In a computer-based self-administered touch screens test, mean reaction time (MRT) was used as an indicator of cognitive function. Results: The mean age of the participants was 35.8 (SD 10.3) years. Herbal tea and regular coffee consumption was inversely associated with MRT. In the multivariable model, compared with non-consumers, the regression coefficients for MRT were –34.3 (–65.4, –3.3) and –37.9 (–71.0, –4.7) for daily consumers of herbal tea and regular coffee, respectively. Of the two tea and coffee drinking patterns identified, pattern 1 (high consumption of tea, Arabic coffee, and herbal tea) was not associated with MRT but pattern 2 (high loadings of instant coffee, regular coffee, and Karak) was inversely associated with MRT in the unadjusted model. There was a significant interaction between pattern 2 and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in relation to MRT. Pattern 2 was inversely associated with MRT among those with a low LDL. Conclusion: There was an inverse association between regular coffee and herbal tea consumption with mean reaction time. There was an interaction between Western coffee pattern and LDL.

A Decade of Research on Coffee as an Anticarcinogenic Beverage

Coffee consumption has been investigated as a protective factor against cancer. Coffee is a complex beverage that contains more than 1000 described phytochemicals, which are responsible for its pleasant taste, aroma, and health-promoting properties. Many of these compounds have a potential therapeutic effect due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, and anticancer properties. The roasting process affects the phytochemical content, and undesirable compounds may be formed. In recent years, there have been contradictory publications regarding the effect of coffee drinking and cancer. Therefore, this study is aimed at evaluating the association of coffee consumption with the development of cancer. In PubMed, until July 2021, the terms “Coffee and cancer” resulted in about 2150 publications, and almost 50% of them have been published in the last 10 years. In general, studies published in recent years have shown negative associations between coffee consumption and the risk or development of different types of cancer, including breast, prostate, oral, oral and pharyngeal, melanoma, skin and skin nonmelanoma, kidney, gastric, colorectal, endometrial, liver, leukemic and hepatocellular carcinoma, brain, and thyroid cancer, among others. In contrast, only a few publications demonstrated a double association between coffee consumption and bladder, pancreatic, and lung cancer. In this review, we summarize the in vitro and in vivo studies that accumulate epidemiological evidence showing a consistent inverse association between coffee consumption and cancer.

Association between hypertension and coffee drinking based on CYP1A2 rs762551 single nucleotide polymorphism in Taiwanese

Background Hypertension increases the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is related to caffeine metabolism and the risk of CVD among coffee drinkers. CYP1A2 rs762551 influenced the risk of stroke among hypertensive patients. We examined the relationship between hypertension and coffee drinking based on CYP1A2 rs762551 SNP in Taiwanese adults. Methods We used data contained in the Taiwan Biobank database (2011–2018) and included 19,133 participants having complete information on hypertension, rs762551 polymorphism, coffee intake, etc. The risk of hypertension was determined using multiple logistic regression. Results Coffee intake was significantly associated with a lower risk of hypertension. The odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI), and p-value were 0.877, 0.807–0.954, and 0.0032, respectively. CYP1A2 rs762551 was not significantly associated with the risk of hypertension, but it had a significant interactive association with coffee drinking (p value = 0.0303). After stratification by rs762551 genotypes, the inverse coffee drinking-hypertension association was retained, but significant results were observed only in those with the AC + CC genotype (OR 0.678, 95% CI 0.722–900, p value = 0.0001). According to the combination of coffee drinking and rs762551 genotypes (reference group: no coffee drinking and rs762551 AA), the coffee drinking-AC + CC group had a lower risk of hypertension (OR 0.888, 95% CI 0.789–0.999, p value = 0.0483). Conclusion Coffee drinking, particularly among individuals with the CYP1A2 rs762551 AC + CC genotype was associated with lower odds of hypertension.

Market Expansion of Caffeine-Containing Products: Italian and Argentinian Yerba Mate Consumer Behavior and Health Perception

Mate is the most consumed beverage in South America. There is interest in expanding yerba mate sales into the old and new markets by promoting its health properties and energizing effects. The research study aims to explore Argentinian and Italian purchasing and consumption behavior and perception of yerba mate. The exploration includes agro-food chain stakeholders’ views, and consumers’ habits, perception, knowledge of yerba mate in relation to other market positioning caffeine-containing products. Data collection includes qualitative method, such as interviews with agro-food chain stakeholders, that is producers, processors, consumers, and quantitative consumer survey. Data collection was carried out in Argentina and in Italy. Results show that in Argentina yerba mate consumption is driven by habit and tradition, and in Italy yerba mate is mostly unknown. Consumers tend to drink yerba mate in Argentina and other caffeine-containing beverages in Italy to socialize, and as source of energy. Consumers have little awareness of yerba mate antioxidant properties. Yerba mate provides the energy of coffee drinking, and the taste and pleasure of tea drinking. Italian consumers’ key challenge to yerba mate drinking is the longer time it takes, compared to the usual espresso. Italians perceive it as an energetic or relaxing beverage, with a consumption experience similar to tea and infusions. There is need to update commercialization strategy of yerba mate in Italy.