I've always been interested in my family tree and heritage. Hearing family stories about long-gone ancestors was always fun, but it was abstract too. I could never really know how much was accurate or what had been embellished or misremembered over time. 

When I heard from a close friend about 23andMe and the genetic testing they offer, I was excited. She told me about how surprised she was to see traces of her ancestry outside of Europe. This intrigued me. What would this ancestry test confirm or deny about those stories? I couldn't wait to get the test and find out.

Here is my 23andMe review of the Health and Ancestry Test.

23andMe Health and Ancestry Test Review

When I looked at the services they offer, though, I chose to go beyond the basic ancestry test. I did the 23and Me Health and Ancestry test, thinking that if I was going to do this, I might as well do it the whole way. Who knows what might turn up? Three days later, the collection kit arrived in the mail. It doesn't take any blood. You just have to spit into the tube, register the tube, and mail it back. It's amazing how easy it was. Sure enough, about six weeks later, I got an email from 23andMe telling me that my test results were available in my online account.

As I assumed, my largest percentage was European, but I was interested that most of that was assigned to Broadly Southern European and very little to Broadly Northern European. And just like my friend, I was surprised to find a higher percent outside Europe than I expected. For me, this was particularly high in the East Asian & Native American category, which I would never have predicted. 

I had no idea we had so much of it in our family. And the Ancestry Composition report is only one of the five Ancestry reports! I also got to learn stuff like how much Neanderthal I have in me (very little, apparently) and what my DNA is like (pretty cool, it seems). The depth of the 23andMe reports is really astounding.

But since I chose to do the 23andMe Health version as well, I had the Genetic Health Risk reports, Wellness reports, Traits reports, and Carrier Status reports too. It was a relief to learn that I don't have the e4 variant that is associated with an increased risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease. 

On the other hand, I learned I have a genetic likelihood for lactose intolerance. That's something I'd never considered, even though I don't eat much dairy and have never liked it. Realizing there is a genetic reason for that was a pleasant surprise from 23andMe. Save on your own pleasant surprises with 23andMe coupons to save on your report.

The 23andMe Traits reports were some of the most fun. I learned that I'm likely to avoid early hair loss. More incredibly, it turns out that my dislike for people chewing (misophonia) has a genetic basis. Even my desire to wake up late every day comes from my genes. The best part is that these are all just some of the highlights of what the 23andMe reports told me. There's so much information for me to take my time working through and learning about. 

And I'm really learning about myself!

Overall Review of 23andMe

I absolutely recommend 23andMe, and in particular the Health and Ancestry test, to anyone who thinks they might be interested in what they could learn. I'm sure there will be surprises you couldn't possibly predict, and the only way to find out what those are is to have the test done yourself!