Coffee review

How much coffee you can drink is determined by your genes.

Published: 2025-08-21 Author: World Gafei
Last Updated: 2025/08/21, Why can some people drink several cups of coffee a day, while others can't stand one cup? Genes determine people's demand for coffee, according to a study published in the British journal Science report. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK and colleagues in Italy and the Netherlands first investigated the genetics and coffee drinking of Italians, including 370 from a village in southern Italy.

Why can some people drink several cups of coffee a day, while others can't stand one cup? Genes determine people's demand for coffee, according to a study published in the British journal Science report.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK and colleagues in Italy and the Netherlands first investigated the genetics and coffee drinking of Italians, including 370 from a village in southern Italy and 843 from six villages in northeastern Italy. The results showed that coffee consumption was associated with a gene called PDSS2. People with DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) mutations in this gene drink an average of about 1 cup less coffee a day than other people.

The researchers then examined the genes and coffee drinking of 1731 Dutch people and came up with similar results. Due to the different coffee drinking habits of Italians and Dutch, the effect of genes on coffee consumption is slightly different between the two countries.

The researchers analyzed that the change in this particular gene may inhibit the ability of cells to break down caffeine, causing caffeine to stay in the body for longer. People with mutated genes are less tolerant to caffeine and drink less coffee.

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