23andme.com23andme.com AND MY QUEST FOR GENETIC KNOWLEDGE
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m delving into all sorts of new medical knowledge about myself. Today’s conversation is going to discuss my next step, taking a geneology test. (I’m currently in step 2-Waiting!!)
First step: Go to 23andme.com and order your test.
Second step: Have patience while you wait the 3-4 weeks it takes to get all your geneology and raw data back from them.
Third step: Upload your raw data
Fourth step: Take your results to your doctor and have them read them for you.
In my case, I ordered my test and had it back in the mail that afternoon. I knew that this first step was only going to tell me about my genealogy and where I came from. Since I’m adopted, that was cool with me. I really wanted to know that stuff anyway.
But more importantly, what kind of genes did I have and which ones were not performing as they should? Which ones were mutated, and knowing this could I possibly reverse some of the negative impacts on my body by taking plant-based supplements or changing my environment, stress-level or diet? I’ll explain more as the process continues, I promise.
My first email from 23andme.com came yesterday. My first set of results were in. It wasn’t a lot of data yet but enough that I wanted to share with you. Basically my maternal lineage came in. I’m proudly a T2a1a, a subgroup of T2. This basically means that my mother comes from Europe or the Near East, highly concentrated in the Baltic Sea area. Her lineage most likely is not from the African Region as T2s are uncommon in that area. Upon reading further, almost all groups that have shared on 23andme have maternal lineage from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or Belgium. My father’s lineage is not available due to basic math–we get 23 chromosomes from each of our mother and father. The 23rd pair from our mother is XX, of which we get the X. The 23rd pair from our father is XY, of which we get the X, making us female. Only the Y chromosome traces the lineage from our father. All other 22 chromosomes are treated the same from both our mother and father. So, once I get my health results back I’ll be getting results from both sides. Kind of a bummer, I didn’t know that!! So, I won’t know where my father’s lineage traces me back to. Only if one of them did an analysis with 23andme.com would I know more about my father. But then I would know a lot more, right?
Stay with me while I wait and I’ll share my entire experience with you all.
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