The thought of learning about my ancestors is fascinating to me! When I asked others that have taken the test what they thought, many of them said “be prepared for surprises.” Hmmmm….this almost pushed me over the edge to purchase the test, just to find out what they might be talking about!
When you go to the website, you have a choice to buy the Ancestry Service kit OR Health and Ancestry kit. The Ancestry kit is normally $99, but is on sale for $69 through August 9th. Also the Health & Ancestry kit is usually $199 and is now $139.
The test was super simple. You basically remove the little container from the kit and spit into a container (it wasn’t that much by the way.) I would NOT suggest doing it first thing in the morning when you’re dehydrated though!! The container is put into a mailing envelope and sent off to the company and you usually have your results within a few weeks.
My Genetic Health Results
According to the test, I am not a genetic carrier for the listed diseases that 23andme tests for such as Cystic Fibrosis, Familial Dysatonomia, GRACILE Syndrome, Hereditary Fructose Intolerance, etc. There are more than 40 items that they test.
Well, here were a couple of SURPRISES…
I have an increased risk (2 variants) for Age-Related Macular Degeneration. (In light of this test, I will be sure to continue my yearly eye exam!)
I have a slightly increased risk for Celiac Disease. ( I have had a few colonoscopies and endoscopies and they have biopsied me for Celiac disease, which came back negative, so I won’t worry too much about that!)
In my Wellness report, they included 8 body responses to diet, exercise and sleep.
According to my genetics…
As far as the “Alcohol flush reaction” (I am unlikely to flush, supposedly)
I am likely to consume a lot of caffeine ( I don’t drink any caffeine)
I am a light sleeper ( Maybe)
My genetic weight tends to be about average. ( Umm….I’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do)
I am likely tolerant of lactose. (Not sure about that one)
My muscle composition is common in elite power athletes ( Oh yeah, baby)
A diet high in saturated fat, will cause me to gain weight. ( That makes sense)
My ANCESTRY results
These results came as no surprise to me. My parents have told me that we have English and Irish running thru our blood for sure. So, here are the results…
British & Irish 62.4%
French & German 19.9%
Scandinavian 4.7%
Finnish .4%
Broadly Northwestern European 12.6%
Next came TRAITS reports based on my genetics…
There were some really interesting traits that they predicted- one being able to detect asparagus odor in urine. Other traits that were tested were for things like cleft chin, light or dark hair, cheek dimples, able to detect bitterness, photic sneeze reflex, finger length ratio, freckles, unibrow, etc!! I found most of these traits to be spot on. They basically predict if you have freckles, etc.
One REALLY FUNNY trait they predict is Misophonia. I had no idea what that was but apparently it is a strong disliking of chewing sounds and I’m likely to have it!! Hahaha!! Please don’t chew around me!!
The last part of the report was my ancestry timeline.
The way I see it, going back 1 to 3 generations my ancestors were from England & Ireland
Sometime during generations 2-4, I had some French and German relatives
Going back 5 to 8 generations, my ancestors were of Scandinavian and Finnish descent.
There were so many other results that I didn’t understand. They gave statistics for:
Maternal Haplogroup
Neanderthal Ancestry
Paternal Haplogroup
My DNA family- I understand this one, but I don’t have any relatives that are in their DNA computer base.
When ordering this kit, I tried to keep in mind that this was all for fun. (I know there is controversy over the validity of the results.) Well, I guess I had better start eating fish n chips and having tea time every afternoon to stick with my ancestor’s roots ….and Irish Dancing!!! Now THAT would be interesting!!!
Take care, friends!! Have a GREAT weekend!
**If you would like to get your own kit at 30% off, email me at jillonthehill1@gmail.com and I will send you a link!!!
Linking up with This is How We Roll
I did the same thing, but with Ancestry.com. They do not offer the genetic health part, only the ancestry stuff, but that was still very interesting; yes, there are a surprise or two that I will not share publicly (but if you email me, I will). I think I want the genetic health write up, just to be safe.
I found this so interesting. So glad you did it, as it confirms what I have been told about our ancestry. Fun!