Genes may determine whether you like taste of alcohol, study finds
Genes may determine whether you like taste of alcohol, study finds
In this Wednesday, April 17, 2013 photo, two bottles of Papas Pilar Rum are on display at the Miami Rum Festival. The rum is being introduced at the festival to the general public. Rum: It's not just the alcohol that made you queasy in college. And it's not all the same. Thousands of people are expected to attend the weeklong festival that begins April 15 in Miami to sample more than 200 kinds of rum and discuss industry trends. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Whether or not you like the taste of alcohol may be in your genes, new research suggests.
In the study, people with one version of a bitterness taste receptor gene said they found an alcoholic drink to be less bitter-tasting than those with a different version of the gene, according to the findings published today (Sept. 23) in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
"The two genes, that had been previously associated with [alcohol] intake, also associated with differences in the perception of ethanol," said study author Dr. John E. Hayes, of the Sensory Evaluation Center at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park. "The reason this work is significant is because it fills in this gap, because no one had shown in the lab that the alcohol actually tastes differently depending on which [version of the gene] you have."
People who find the taste of alcohol less bitter may be more inclined to start drinking, Hayes said, which could have implications for identifying those at risk of becoming problem drinkers . "It seems unlikely the taste of alcohol matters at all once someone is alcohol-dependent," Hayes said, although he noted this was speculation on his part. "Still, taste genetics may be an important risk factor before someone becomes dependent."
Humans have 25 genes that encode for taste receptors on the tongue that perceive bitterness, Hayes said. He and his colleagues looked at variants in two of these genes, called TAS2R13 and TAS2R38, in 93 healthy people of European ancestry, as well as variants in a gene called TRPV1, which codes for a receptor involved in perceiving "burning" or "stinging" sensations in the mouth. [ 7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health ]
The study participants rated the overall intensity of a drink that was 16 percent alcohol, which they sipped and then spit out, and also scored their taste sensations for three minutes after a cotton swab soaked with 50 percent alcohol solution was applied on the back of their tongue.
There were three places in the TAS2R38 gene where a change in the gene's code was associated with bitterness perception, the researchers found. Everyone carries two copies of the gene; in the study, those with two copies of the most sensitive version of the gene perceived the alcohol to be the most bitter, and those with two copies of the least sensitive version of the gene found it the least bitter, and other individuals fell in between.
"We would expect about 25 percent of the population to have two of the really sensitive forms, 25 percent insensitive, and 50 percent in the middle," Hayes said.
People's versions of the TAS2R38 gene have also been linked to their food preferences, and the gene is believed to explain why a minority of people are "supertasters," who are more averse to bitter veggies like kale and cabbage, as well as beverages like coffee and grapefruit juice.
Past studies suggest that having just one of the more sensitive versions of TAS2R38 is enough to suppress people's alcohol intake, Hayes noted. He pointed to a 2004 study that found people with two sensitive forms of the TAS2R38 gene reported drinking about 134 drinks a year, versus 188 drinks per year for those whose two copies differed from each other, and nearly 290 drinks per year for those with two copies of the less-sensitive version.
The researchers also found that one variant of the TAS2R13 gene and three variants of the TRPV1 genewere associated with how intense the alcohol tasted to the study participants.
Hayes said he and his colleagues would like to conduct a prospective study that follows college freshman over time to see if the bitterness taste genes influence their risk of becoming future problem drinkers.
But it's important to remember, he added, that a host of cultural and environmental factors contribute to a person's drinking behavior. Still, he said, "the idea that one little biological factor could seemingly have such a large role is pretty stunning."
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can't help myself on this one,...I'll let these jeans determine whether or not I like alcohol....
ROFL !!
hmm...I wear jean most of the time, and I don't drink...maybe I'm just weird!!
It may seem strange, but now I see the explanation for why I never did like the taste of alcohol. When I was younger I might have drunk whisky for the purpose of getting high, or wine with dinner, but not because I loved it. For a long time I would drink red wine only because I understood that a glass of it was good for my health, but again, not because I loved it. I was never a beer drinker and the only time I enjoyed having an ice-cold bottle of beer was when I had just finished 18 holes on a hot day. Now I never drink alcohol at all except when I get to drink what I DO enjoy, what I call Gull Lake Coffee* - coffee mixed with Bailey's Irish Cream.
*When I had a cottage on a lake called Gull Lake in Central Ontario, we would go sit on the dock and watch the sunrise over the mist rising from the water and listen to the call of the loons. while drinking a big hot cup of Gull Lake Coffee. I still dream of those times.