23 and Me...Health and Ancestry

[shawnner]

While not LCHF, it's health related. I think most of us on the board have more interest in health than the average bear!

My wife and I decided to give this a try, but it'll be a couple weeks for results. I was just interested to see if anyone one the group and tried it.

The kit promises to provide feedback on traits that may predispose you to certain conditions like cancer, Alzheimer's, etc. While spooky, it's not a diagnosis but does give an incentive to modify lifestyle to reduce other contributing factors.

I'm also excited to learn of ancestry. Family records show we immigrated to the US from Ireland in the 1850's. Hoping that I own controlling interest in Guinness 🙂

Whether you've used the kit or not, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[MikePollard]

What kit?

[shawnner in reply to MikePollard]

Hi Mike, Sorry I wasn't very clear. It's a Health and Ancestry DNA kit from 23andMe. They provide reports regarding health issues related to familial history. Many health concerns could be addressed through a proper diet.

[Hidden]

I take it you are talking about an Ancestry DNA test?

[shawnner in reply to Hidden]

Hi Hylda, Sorry for the confusion. I responded to Mike in a previous question/post.

[SewMore]

You asked what I think, here goes.

I’m reluctant to share my DNA - who benefits from this database that they create from my sample? There must be some major profiteering going on there.

It’s different than donating blood or tissue, where I hope a patient immediately benefits.

Receiving a diagnosis, from the company, like an Alzheimer risk, with no possible treatment? Not for me. What would be the point of knowing? Is it ethical to have such an axe hanging over you?

Is the database going to drive up life insurance and health insurance premiums in the future - absolutely.

I understand you might find it fascinating to see the family tree bit, but I’m thinking that’s just a carrot to get your DNA into a database and make money and profit out of it.

Perhaps I’m just showing my age and I just need to get with the program, but you did ask for my thoughts 😊

[shawnner]

Solid points. I thought it over for the last year and finally decided to do it. After the year I landed on 51% positive / 49% negative. It seems to me that my DNA could be collected at many points in life... surgery for example. The one point I'd argue is that "there's nothing we can do"... many healthy lifestyle choices will prolong the years of vitality. I'm 57 and see people my age hobbling around like they're 87. Thanks for weighing in with your honest thoughts 😀

[SewMore in reply to shawnner]

Thanks, yes, you have made a good point that a prognosis can offer further encouragement, I did record a documentary about how to live to a 100 the other day on my PVR, I’ll have to watch it, I imagine it helps to keep on keeping on, rather than accepting our fate. Good luck, and keep on making the healthy choices 😊

[shawnner in reply to SewMore]

Right on! I accepted my date for years (afib since 33 years old). Had a grandbaby last year and have a string drive to be here for her growing, graduation and wedding - I used that as motivation. I lost 70#, look and feel 100% better Some docs on YouTube helped me a lot (Sten Eckberg, Dr Eric Berg, Dr For Brewster).Good luck to you as well!

[sunny369]

I have had quite a few adventures which started with 23&me, but I didn't do the health report. I just didn't really fancy thinking about predispositions, I thought it would probably just frighten me, so I didn't do it. I just did the basic test, which says things like 'you might prefer salty foods' (wrong, I have such a sweet tooth!) or 'you might not like Cilantro' (true, I hate it!) I think these things are just a bit of fun really and clearly aren't significant.I originally did the 23&me test because I was looking for my biological father who I had never known. In this quest I did testing with several other DNA sites too. I found out a lot about my family I would never have found or known without the DNA testing and it was an incredible journey, with some strange twists and turns, and I am glad I did it.

One thing I would say though, you never know what you might find out. you need to go in to it with your eyes open, knowing there could be surprises