16 quirky traits you didn’t know you inherited

Sure, skill determines your ability to make it down a tough trail in one piece, but your genes influence whether you even want to be there in the first place. In a study of 500 intermediate to expert skiers and snowboarders, researchers found that those who had a specific genetic marker were more likely to take risks on the slopes than those without it.

The likelihood that a diet will work might have more to do with your genetic makeup than the “magic” of the diet itself, according to a study on mice reported by the Genetics Society of America. The real-world (and human) takeaway? “Since there are different optimal diets for different individuals,” says researcher William Barrington, Ph.D, “this underscores the need for precision nutrition, which would identify optimal dietary patterns for each person.” The bottom line? One diet doesn’t fit all, and it may not have anything to do with your willpower.

Here are 20 reasons your diet may have failed. 

If your Terrible Twos were a little more intense than normal, it may have been your parents’ fault – but not because of their shoddy parenting skills. According to researchers at the University of Montreal, frustratingly aggressive behaviours like hitting, biting and kicking in early childhood have more to do with genetics than environmental factors. Luckily, this behaviour won’t necessarily continue, as long as it’s dealt with mindfully and carefully. In fact, a 2017 study found that while early aggression may be an inherited trait, after the age of 6, it’s more about environmental factors and a parent’s, well, parenting.

Here are 17 forgotten manners every parent should teach their child.

Do you believe your friend’s excuse for bailing on plans tonight? Genetics might be partially responsible for your answer to that question. In a study of twins, researchers at the University of Arizona found that trust is 30 per cent heritable. If you’re more suspicious? Well, that’s because of your prior (and probably negative) experiences. Distrust, according to the study, is not an inherited trait and “appears to be primarily socialised.”

Here are 11 things parents say that ruin their kids’ trust. 

Let’s talk about pee for a second. You may have heard – or know all too well – that asparagus can make a person’s pee smell funny. What you may not know is that it may make everyone’s pee smell funny because our bodies turn asparagusic acid into chemicals that contain sulphur. So why can’t some people smell it? It could be due to a single genetic mutation on a cluster of genes that affect olfactory receptors, meaning that the inherited traits that affect your sense of smell could be the true culprits here.

Yes, that cookie tastes really good – but it may taste even better to you or your child. A study at the University of Guelph found that nearly 80 per cent of preschoolers carried at least one of the genotypes that makes them want to snack on sweets instead of veggies. Similarly, a prior study examined a variation on the TAS2R38 taste-receptor gene, which causes vegetables like Brussels sprouts and kale taste more bitter to certain people. How did that affect their diets? Those who didn’t experience the bitter taste ate 200 more servings of vegetables per year.

If you never quite look on the bright side, it’s not necessarily because life has beaten you down. Your OXTR gene, which affects the receptor for the love and bonding hormone oxytocin, could be responsible. According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, people with a certain variation on that gene “were less optimistic, had lower self-esteem, and felt less personal mastery” than people with a different set of them. That said, while this inherited optimism or pessimism may influence your outlook on life, it’s not the only determining factor.

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Source: RD.com