F2F Class Notes (Celeste) [W/R]***

Homework

Finish reading the article and write a short summary or opinion piece about drinking coffee.

Writing exercise

Alkaline
Lemon water tastes sour, but actually it is alkaline. – perfect!

Acid
If people are in under pressure for a long time, their bodies will produce acid easily.

Rub anyone the wrong way
I am bad at comforting people, I tend to rub them the wrong way. – perfect!

Carcinogen
We should be more careful/cautious with processed food, there might be carcinogens in them. – perfect!

Bycatch
Fishing industry is modifying fishing gear to fewer bycatch. – The fishing industry is modifying fishing gear to lessen bycatch.

Byproduct
A lot of pet food contain discarding animal byproducts. – A lot of pet food contains discarded animal byproducts.

Reading

http://www.gbhealthwatch.com/newsletter.php?target=2015-05-26.html

Depending on your genetics, drinking coffee can be beneficial or harmful to your health

We each respond differently to caffeine based on our genetic makeup. Some of us may need to drink several cups of coffee to function normally throughout the day while others remain jittery hours after drinking a single cup. This range of reactions can be largely attributed to differences in how efficiently we metabolize caffeine and variations in genes that control this metabolism.  Differences in caffeine metabolism can also have more serious health implications due to the way it impacts risk for cardiovascular disease.

Health benefits of drinking coffee

Coffee is a vehicle for social interaction, bringing people together across the globe. It also provides energy and helps us focus and stay alert. Epidemiological studies have shown that coffee consumption reduces risks of the following:

  • Heart failure (not to be confused with heart attack)
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Liver diseases including liver cancer
  • Depression

Coffee, both with and without caffeine, is known to possess strong antioxidant properties which may be one of the main reasons behind its associated health benefits.

Heart attack risk and too much caffeine

About 95% of the caffeine we consume is metabolized by the CYP1A2 enzyme in our livers. Genetic variants in the CYP1A2 gene determine whether caffeine can be harmful or beneficial to our hearts.

People who have at least one C allele at rs762551 in their CYP1A2 gene (so called, “slow caffeine metabolizersâ€) are at increased risk of hypertension and heart attack when consuming 2 or more cups of coffee per day. This is especially pronounced in heart attack occurrence in people under 50. For this population, there is a four-fold higher risk of heart attack in C allele carriers who drink 4 or more cups of coffee per day compared to those who don’t drink any. On the other hand, people with two A alleles (so called, “fast caffeine metabolizersâ€) show reduced risk of hypertension and heart disease when consuming more than one cup of coffee per day. Slow metabolizers are found in approximately 44% of people of African descent and 33% of people of European and East Asian descent.

TBC

Boost your caffeine metabolism

The CYP1A2 gene can be induced to produce more enzyme so you can metabolize caffeine more efficiently. Foods that are known to induce CYP1A2 include:

  • cabbage
  • cauliflower
  • broccoli

How does caffeine make us more alert and energetic?

Caffeine and its major delivery agent, coffee, is often consumed to provide energy when feeling tired or sluggish. Caffeine works by antagonizing adenosine receptors (ADORA1 and ADORA2) in our brains. Typically, these receptors are involved in signaling our brain when it is time to sleep. However, when inhibited by caffeine, our bodies instead are launched into the “fight or flight†response, which increases blood sugar levels and a general state of alertness. Genetic variants in the ADORA2 gene influence how caffeine affects us.

Vocabulary

jitter/jittering/jittered – small uncontrolled movement
jittery -adj
eg. My hands jitter after 2 cups of coffee.

implication.s n- the effect that an action or decision will have on something else in the future

Epidemiology  n.- study of how diseases are f0und, spread, and controlled by groups of people