Is DNA Testing the Key to Unlocking Your Wellness Potential?

Genetic testing has become a popular way to learn more about ourselves. The Human Genome Project is an international cooperative tasked with unlocking the mysteries of our DNA. They have developed tests to help us understand our origins and determine if we carry genetic markers that put us or our family at risk for health issues. Depending on the information you seek, testing can be both daunting and rewarding. Today I want to provide you with a short guide of many popular tests and what information they can provide.

Ancestry Testing

Services provided by Ancestry.com and 23andMe are excellent resources for mapping your roots and understanding your lineage. They can even help you find relatives you did not know existed. If you are looking for a way to connect with others and tell your story, then these services are what you seek.

Health Testing

An emerging trend in genetic research is in understanding how our DNA affects our health. 23andMe has expanded their offerings to provide reports related to health risks, carrier status, and the domain of pharmacogenetics. The difference between health risks and carrier status is that health risks have the potential to impact the person tested while carrier status poses an indirect risk since it can be passed on through DNA. Pharmacogenetics studies how medicines interact with a person's genetic makeup. Here is a link to the National Institute of Health's Library of Medicine for a detailed overview of pharmacogenetics.

Discovery

All of the different tests lead to one common dimension: discovery. Specifically, they lead to personal and scientific discovery. Some of the data has personal value but remains essentially raw data that cannot be acted upon. There is a major difference between knowing a fact and being able to act on that insight. As an example, the 23andMe report may indicate being at risk for diabetes, but carrying the markers for diabetes does not mean the disease will present itself. However, there is no harm in taking precautions. In fact, medical research shows that living a healthy lifestyle may give you some control over whether the disease ever impacts your life and if it does present itself, then the impact of the disease can be reduced by striving for better health.

The Data

In statistics there are three types of data: descriptive, prescriptive and predictive. Genetic data is almost always descriptive. Realistically all data is descriptive until some action is revealed to provide an actionable insight (prescriptive) or if no action is taken then it becomes predictive. The typical process for data analysis and decision making is to process the raw data so that it describes the subject and then we predict what will happen if we do nothing. If the outcome is desirable then we take no action, but if the outcome is undesirable we develop a strategy to change the course.

Changing the Course

The genetic test we offer at GCL Wellness is designed to help you take action. It does not reveal ancestry nor does it identify health risk or carrier status. Instead, it reveals actionable insights to improve your wellness. The test is not better or worse than other tests since all of the tests describe us and tell our story. Instead of explaining our eye color it tells us whether our body prefers more or less carbohydrates, fats or proteins. Whether more cardiovascular exercise or strength training is necessary. It creates a strategy to alter the course or reinforces the path you are on. Please reach out if you would like to learn more.