i have known for decades that i react badly to caffeine. like many people i get jittery and sleepless, but i also suffer debilitating muscle spasms in my back and neck.
i quit drinking coffee 30 years ago, even though i quite like the taste and the lift. i also avoid tea and chocolate. i suppose you could say, “well, boo hoo for you, randy.”
probably some of you already have.
but i recently discovered the genetic basis for my being such a basket case through a commercially available dna test and health report. i also learned that my gene variants could have serious implications for how i react to certain prescription medications.
that is a thing worth knowing.
people who have the c variant of the cyp1a2 gene are likely to be slow caffeine metabolizers. according to my 23andme genetic test i have two copies, one from each parent.
having multiple copies of a gene variant can have all kinds of effects on how they are expressed in an organism like a human journalist.
the second variant, ahr, governs “chaperon” proteins that act to flag potential poisons like caffeine and expedite their destruction, according to ubc professor corey nislow, the canada research chair in translational genomics.
apparently, i have two copies of the less useful version of ahr as well.