Last summer I had dinner with one of my closest friends. She and her daughter were telling me about having their DNA tested and discovering relatives that they didn’t know they had. In addition, my friend was adopted and was trying to find out some medical history about her biological family. Hearing all about the discoveries that they made got me curious about my own DNA connections.
Back in July Amazon was having a Christmas in July sale and had the 23 and Me DNA test kit on sale. I immediately ordered the DNA and Health Kit and waited anxiously for it to arrive. I spit into the little tube, followed the instructions and mailed my kit in for analysis. I then had to wait 6-8 weeks for my results to come back.
23 and Me has two different tests. One is for just DNA and Genealogy. The other, as mentioned above includes the DNA, Genealogy and Health testing. Because both of my parents have already passed away, I thought I’d do the test that includes health information to see if there was anything the test might reveal that I needed to be aware of rather than the “genealogy only” test.
It took about 6 weeks for me to receive an email telling me that my results were available. I tore the email open, connected to the site and nervously scoured my results wondering what I would find. I was so nervous to see the health results knowing that they could reveal something that I might not want to know. However, when I did the testing I did agree to all of the testing.
I quickly scanned all of the results on my phone knowing that I would decipher every word when I got back to my computer. To be honest, I was completely relived to read that I don’t have any of the genetic variants for the diseases that they test for. In addition, I don’t have the genetic variants to influence my risk for the health conditions that this dna test reports on.
When reading your results of these tests, people need to remember that other factors can also affect your risk of developing these conditions, including lifestyle, environment, and family history.
Overall, I was very impressed with the 23 DNA Health and Genealogy test that I took and would recommend it to others who want to get more information about their risk for certain health issues based on dna.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post where I plan to reveal the DNA relatives and ancestry results portion of my test. I will give you a preview in letting you know that I discovered at least one relative that I didn’t know about…
Have you taken a DNA test like this? If not, are you planning to take one in the future?
Check out these test kits for yourself (affiliate links):
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Hi Stacie, interesting post. I’ve been searching for my ancestry off and on for years now. My granny once told me we have Mexican ancestors but the history is not clear. I think I’ll save myself some time by checking out a DNA kit next year. Otherwise…
Watch for the test kit to go on sale. It’s such a fascinating tool available to us these days. You just need to be prepared for whatever it reveals. Some answers may still not be clear though, which is so frustrating to me. Take care! Stacie xo
I’m glad that your test results came back with no markers for diseases they test for. I have friends including my significant other who took the test. In terms of ancestry, my friends who were Jews like I am, just got back results like “98% Ashkenazi Jew”, and I know that already so I will pass. I am also a little concerned about the privacy issues around the genetic health info, but that’s just me.
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I love that we have this technology available to us, and so affordably!
I find these kits so interesting and can’t wait to hear more of your results. My brothers and sister and I haven’t done this but I think we should all do it at the same time so we can compare.
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I’ve been curious to try this. Excited for your reveal!
My sister did it first then I did mine last spring. We did AncestryDNA and I got the kit on sale too.
My husband and I are actually wanting to do this so I’m early awaiting part 2 to see how well it works.
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It’s so fascinating, but can be very confusing too… Stacie xo
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I guess I am just strange this would be the last thing that would interest me. I have a cousin who is into DNA etc and this would be perfect for him
That is interesting. I’m thrilled with all of it. I find it to be so fascinating. Thanks for stopping by! Stacie xo
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