Coffee affects DNA in muscle, study suggests

You might think that no matter what you do, your genetic DNA will not be affected, but in a sense, this idea is wrong. In March, in the journal Cell Metabolism, published by Cell, researchers report that when men and women who are not physically active change their DNA instantly after a few minutes of exercise. More surprisingly, the study suggests that caffeine in the coffee we drink in the morning may affect DNA in muscles in the same way.

Exercise basically does not change the genetic code in human muscles, but the chemical properties and structure of DNA molecules in these exercise muscles change in very important ways. These changes in the precise location of DNA appear to be early events in genetic reprogramming of muscle strength, and ultimately early changes in muscle structural stability and metabolic benefits from exercise.

Juleen Zierath of the Karolinska School of Medicine in Sweden said: our muscles are really malleable, which is what we often say "supplement what you eat" / "absorb what you eat". Muscles will change what you do, which is allowed to happen, and if you don't use it properly, you will lose this function.

The DNA changes discussed here are epigenetic modifications, which involve the acquisition or deletion of chemical markers of DNA and known sequences As, GS, TS and Cs. The new study shows that after a period of exercise, there are fewer chemical markers of DNA in skeletal muscle than before exercise (especially methyl group). These changes of DNA in muscle participate in the process of "turning on" important genes needed for muscle to adapt to exercise.

When the researchers observed muscle contraction in laboratory utensils, they saw a similar loss / depletion of DNA methyl groups. A similar phenomenon occurs when isolated muscle tissue is exposed to caffeine.

Zierath explained: caffeine does not mimic the process of exercise that causes muscles to contract, and she does not recommend that anyone drink a cup of coffee at the gym. Because it is easy to misunderstand that the benefits of exercise may have something to do with drinking coffee.

In a broad sense, the findings provide more evidence that our genomes are more dynamic than previously thought. Epigenetic modifications can turn genes on and off in a very flexible and convenient way, allowing the DNA in our cells to adjust accordingly to changes in the environment.

"exercise can be used as a medicine, and maybe jogging can change our genome and make us healthier," Zierath said. For those who do not exercise, the study also points out that caffeinated drugs may also replace exercise and have a similar effect.