Finding Out About my DNA with 23andMe
It’s a hard thing to do – forget you are adopted, especially when you have chronic health issues.
Every time you walk into see a new doctor you know you are going to get the dreaded question, is there a family history of this?
Of course, there is that never-ending question of nature vs nurture – what exactly is within your DNA and what comes from those around you.
It’s a question I wonder about every day. I love to swim, I used to be OK at it before my body gave up on me, yet neither of my parents does. Is that down to the fact my birth mothers family are very keen swimmers or just the fact my parents sent me to swimming lessons early?
There is, of course, no answer to every question I have. However, 23andMe offers a health and ancestry service which delves into health and traits as well as your ancestry.
Health Predispositions.
We all know we can have a predisposition towards certain health conditions and 23andMe uses your DNA to check you against health conditions such as; type 2 diabetes, coeliac, Parkinsons and others.
Please do note that you need to read through all the information which comes with each of the reports. They are health predispositions and NOT a diagnosis, or saying you will definitely ever suffer from it.
It is also worth noting that even if you come up as 0 on the 23andMe results, this isn’t a definite you won’t get it. After all, they are only checking certain factors and for many health issues, other factors come into play. So make sure you are fully aware and read through everything if this is something you buy.
Ancestry.
35+ reports are available when it comes to ancestry, these include; ancestry composition, maternal and paternal haplogroups and more.
Right now 23andMe uses over 1000 regions to put together your report – but keep your eye out as, as their database increases, you may see your results start to be narrowed down.
Wellness.
How does your genetics play a part in your sleep or weight?
Well, 5+ reports will delve into this question and give you some insight into how you can improve your wellbeing.
Carrier Status Reports.
If you are thinking of a family you may want to know if you carry one genetic variant for a condition.
You often won’t know you are a carrier. However, if both you and your partner both are there is often a 25% chance your child will develop the issue.
Traits Reports.
Are you likely to have curly hair, what are your earlobes like, can you taste certain bitter tastes?
This part is all about that and quite fun!
It looks for certain markers and compares you to other 23andMe users.
What to Think About.
One thing that I liked about 23andMe is that you can block access to certain results such as BRCA1 / BRCA2, Parkinsons and Alzheimers.
After all, for some of us, knowing the answers to these questions isn’t something that would do us good. You can, however at any time choose to unlock access if your situation changes.
I would 100% make sure you read through all the information provided before deciding what is right for you.
How to Buy.
You can buy either the Ancestry Service or the Ancestry and Health Service right now from the 23andMe website. Who are offering £40 of the Ancestry and Health kit just in time for Father’s Day.
You can also check out DNA Weekly which will help you decide which kit is best for you and fits within your price range. After all, they all offer something just a bit different and which one’s right for you could be different from the right one for me.
For me, it’s time to spit in a tube and send off my kit and I’ll be back with some results soon!
Have you ever taken a 23andMe test, what did you think of it, or is it something you would like to do?
I was sent a 23andMe Kit free of charge, this, however, doesn’t affect my review and feelings.
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My brother-in-law had taken a DNA test and shared the results with us. I would like to take the test too one of these days. It’d be interesting to know the results.
I hope you get the chance to take on one day!
I am really curious if these tests work 🙂 I am thinking about trying one myself. I hope you will have fun when results come 🙂
It’s interesting isn’t it – I have to admit I do wonder if they work as well. I can’t wait to see myself.
This is the most informative post I’ve ever seen on this! I only know one person of my relatives who tried it, and she didn’t have much to say. I should ask her about it. It would be interesting.
Definitely worth asking if you are wondering! It’s an interesting test and amazing they can tell so much for your spit!
I have never taken 23 and me, but I have thought of it. I never knew my father…or my siblings that I recently found. But, I know what you are saying, especially in a doctors office. I can never give an answer, which makes me feel like I am failing an important test. Looking forward to hearing about your results. Thanks for sharing!
It is hard isn’t it? So many unanswered questions! Thank you so much – I’m excited to see what they say.
I have been looking at this, I don’t know much about my father’s side of the family so this would be good to see if there are any genetic issues I need to be aware of
It’s worth looking into – definitely if you do watch out for when they have some money off like now.
My parents just did this this year, so interesting. Can’t wait to see what your results are!
Oh that is awesome I bet it was interesting seeing each side.
This is an awesome device and test. I would like to know more about my DNA too!
It is amazing how much they can tell you these days!
My husband was adopted at the age of 6 weeks. He’s never had the slightest interest in knowing anything about his biological family which is something I’ve never understood. We also get the questions about family health history and he has to say he doesn’t have a clue.
It is amazing how different you can find it when it comes to being adopted. Some people don’t seem to be bothered by it for me it was something that really affected me in so many different ways.
This kit makes things so easy. If I want to find out my background I will buy this kit
Good luck if you do decide to go for trying one.
I had something similar done at the doctor (which was well over $5,000) so these at home kits are an awesome way to get results for the at-home users. Thanks for sharing this great info!
Oh wow that is crazy! It is amazing that so many things can be done now from home.
My friend is adopted and as an adult she developed some serious health issues. She needed to investigate to find out her birth parents in order to figure out what was wrong with her
Oh gosh 🙁 that is awful. It is scary how you don’t know things when you are adopted which knowing could have helped so much.
I hadn’t really thought about health history in regards to adoption. I bet that really is hard to now know! It’s so cool that we can find out things about our DNA that were never possible just a few years ago even!
It is so hard – it’s something everyone asks. Even my orthodontist as a kid asked about it as my teeth were bumpy at the bottom and apparently that could be linked to something in pregnancy?!
I’m definitely curious about this! But I’ve already had family members on both sides of my family who have done it so I don’t know if it’s worth it at this point.
You never know! It’s up to you though of course, sometimes it can feel like it’s all been gone over I’m sure.
We did 23 and me last year! The whole family did it and it was so fascinating to see the results!
Oh wow I bet it was amazing to see them as a family and compare how you all differed.
This sounds pretty amazing. I haven’t taken this test. My son is really interesting in getting it done.
It is interesting everything it shows – I can’t wait to delve into it.
I would love to find out more about my ancestry – this looks like a really good kit.
It is amazing all the different things they have included within it.
I have been thinking about doing something like 23andMe. It would be really cool to know more about my DNA.
It is amazing the things they can tell isn’t it!
This is certainly interesting and the test gives you so much information. I would probably be a little scared to do this test in case I found something out I did not know already. However it most certainly sounds useful and worth doing if you wanted to know about any underlying health conditions etc.
You can turn it on and off so you can choose not to know everything, also, of course, you can just do the ancestry without the wellbeing as well.
I have always wanted to buy one of these DNA kits to find out where my real roots are. I didn’t know that they can show what diseases you are predisposed to, that’s a really beneficial fact.
It is amazing isn’t it – you can choose to buy it with that or without 🙂
This is so interesting! I’ve been really curious about doing something like this. I had no idea you can get trait reports too. Me and my 3 sisters all look very similar to my mum, so it would be interesting to see if we got similar results.
Ohh that would be interesting to see when you know things like that!
Thanks for posting about this. I have really wanting to try this out mainly for pure curiosity. I just wasn’t sure exactly how it all works.
There is something in so many of us I think that makes us want to know lol.
This is really interesting! I really do love learning about my family. We do have a good idea where we came from because we have a genealogist in the family but I still would love to do something like this and just see where it takes me.
Oh I bet it is so interesting having someone like that in the family!
I’ve seen these advertise on TV but right now I can’t afford to do this. I’m curious however as to what results I would get.
It is interesting isn’t it – makes you wonder about a lot of things.
This is a great way to get info on health issues that may run in the family that you don’t know about. I’ve had my DNA done but I’d love to have the health info.
Most definitely I’m not sure if I’m going to access some of it yet – I might have to talk that over with the OH as I would hate for it to make me anxious.
I have been wanting to try this! I’m curious! My parents did it, but I want to see what my results would be.
Most definitely it would be interesting to see how it changes down the line.
Really intrigued to see how you get on! I’d love to do this but I know I would panic so much if I had a bad resultn