Thursday 10 September 2015

23 & Me

This is a slightly different one for us, but 23 and Me really caught our eyes at the Superdrug SS15 press day earlier this year.
23 and me
They take a little of your DNA (spit, if you really want to know) and analyse it to explore your genetics - that's health and ancestry, and being nosy little parkers we just wanted to give it a go!

Ancestry
F: Let's start light and check out ancestry. The test is based on thousands of different genetic markers matched to former studies done on human genetics to determine your exact ancestral make up. Different groups of people migrated many thousands of years ago around the world, and the presence of different variants within these markers allows the smarties at 23 and Me to see where you’re from in percentage.

We both enjoyed reading our ancestry - Lauren is bonafide British homegirl (a hint of French, Scottish and Irish) but I'm a little more exotic with only 36% British heritage. I knew I had a decent French heritage in there, but the Jewish surprised me a little (but only a little, my Grandmother's maiden name was Eke, which is definitely Jewish). Check out our groovy little charts if you want to know more...!


Health
F: Going on to health - this is based strictly on genetics, and of course does not take into account external factors such as lifestyle, environment, etc. Even if you don't have present health conditions,  it can tell you how quickly your body will metabolise certain drugs, as well as inherited conditions, traits, and genetic risks. I didn't find out anything that affects me day-to-day, so Lauren will take you through that bit a little more...

L: I made no hugely remarkable discoveries- but it did pull out things I already had confirmed so I do completely trust its competency to show you honest things! My lactose intolerance, high levels of stomach acid (yuck) and all of the relevant chemicals that I use to counter balance these things were showing up.

F: For future reference, I found I had a slightly increased risk of Alzheimers disease. It didn't shock me - 2 out of 4 grandparents of mine have/had the disease - but I wanted to know a little more. After a consultation with 23 and Me, they explained a little more in-depth on it - bear with me! So, those with Alzheimers tend to have a genetic marker which can be identified as E2, E3 and E4. I have one copy of E4 Alzheimers which increases my risk by 22% of Alzheimers - but by 85 years of age. If I make it to 85? Well let's just say I'm not too worried.

The Fun Stuff
These are the silly things that are fun to tell people - we had a giggle looking through! You can click through on each to find out how they knew we both had straight hair (or that Lauren was 80% red haired) for example, which was really interesting. Have a look through...!
Felicity's traits 
L: Finally, what is quite cool is that you can see extended family members who have joined in, and it tells you how they are related- so I've got 3rd cousins in Scotland for example- which isn't hugely of interest for me, but if you were super into finding out about your family heritage, I can imagine they would come in useful!

Thanks to Superdrug for letting us review, and to 23 and Me for the extra help!
Felicity & Lauren

3 comments

  1. I had the same e3/e4 result... it's not 22% it is 3 times more likely before the age of 85. Plus you are female so added risk. The e4 also has been shown to make us more resistant to the benefits of omega oils.

    So make sure you're hitting the gym, eating clean and doing memory exercises! ...we need to help our odds :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had the same e3/e4 result... it's not 22% it is 3 times more likely before the age of 85. Plus you are female so added risk. The e4 also has been shown to make us more resistant to the benefits of omega oils.

    So make sure you're hitting the gym, eating clean and doing memory exercises! ...we need to help our odds :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. "APOE e4 is associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease. About 25 per cent of the general population inherits one copy of APOE e4. This increases their lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by a little more than two times, on average. People with APOE e4 also tend to develop Alzheimer's at a younger age"

    ReplyDelete

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