DNA sequencing is now accessible for everyone. At the very least it can tell you how your body reacts to certain diet and exercise types to help you optimize your strategy. At best it can quite literally save your life. 

23and Me – And Why You Should Get A Genetic Sequencing Test

If you’ve read our article on men’s health blood biomarker and testosterone testing, you’ll know that we’re firm believers that the best way to optimize performance is with regular testing. There’s simply no other way to put it – if you’re not measuring the things that you’re trying to improve then you have no way of knowing whether or not your strategy is actually working.

And there’s a lot more to biohacking measurements than just the number on the scale.

One component of this that runs in parallel with blood testing is genetic sequencing tests, but up until recently these tests were cost-restrictive to the majority of users.

Not anymore.

Nowadays there are two major companies that provide affordable full-gene sequencing tests which help you analyze your genetic strengths and weaknesses: Ancestry.com and 23andMe. 

We prefer the latter, specifically the 23andMe Health + Ancestry package, since we find the results are more geared towards health and wellness as opposed to ancestry alone.

23andMe has set up an extremely easy-to-use process through where they send you a testing kit in the mail, you send them back a saliva sample by using the pre-paid postage package, and they do all the rest.

They upload the results to your account where you can see their analysis of your genetic sequence results (explained in terms that anyone can understand), as well as recommendations for how to change or improve your behavior based on these findings.

These tests check for key markers related to your own wellness predispositions (muscle type, fat storage tendencies, etc.) as well as markers that show a higher risk for certain conditions like coronary heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

And, arguably the most important component, they also check your carrier status for 40+ genetic conditions which if left unknown could potentially affect you later in life or be passed on to your children.  

Here’s a few highlights of what the 23andMe Health + Ancestry package can tell you:

Health Predispositions (10+ reports including):

• Atrial Fibrillation – Genetic likelihood for a type of irregular heartbeat.
• Coronary Artery Disease – Likelihood for certain types of arterial plaque buildup. 
• Cholesterol Tendencies (HDL & LDL) – Genetic likelihood of developing low HDL (“good”) or high LDL (“bad”) choleterol. 
• High Blood Pressure
• Kidney Stones – Gene markers that lead to increased risk of kidney stones
• Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease – Genetic likelihood of a condition where fat builds up in the liver. 
• Sleep Apnea – Condition where breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep. 

Wellness Factors (5+ reports including):

• Cat/Dog Allergy
• Caffeine Tolerance Predisposition 
• Deep Sleep Traits 
• Genetic Weight – How your genetics affects metabolism and fat storage.
• Lactose Intolerance 
• Muscle Composition – Fast vs. slow-twitch muscle fiber tendency.

Carrier Status (40+ reports including):

• Cystic Fibrosis
• Sickle Cell Anemia 
• Tay-Sachs Disease
• Glycogen Storage Disease

On top of all these health and wellness results, the 23andMe Health + Ancestry package also provides a full ancestry profile, which on top of simply being interesting can also be used towards performance optimization.

This report allows you to see a full breakdown (down to the 0.1% threshold) of what geographical region your genetic makeup reflects. They then augment this data with recommendations for health traits and characteristics that could be of high likelihood based on your results. 

The combination of the health and wellness data, genetic disease predispositions, carrier status, and overall ancestry data make the 23andMe Health + Ancestry package the most comprehensive biohacking genetic test that we’ve found. 

But… there’s a way to take it even a step further.

Enter, Rhonda Patrick.

Rhonda Patrick’s Advanced Analysis & Reporting Tool

If you’ve read much on this site then you probably know that we’re big fans of Dr. Rhonda Patrick. If not, you can find our full profile of Rhonda here.

Here’s the short version:

She did her graduate research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where she investigated the link between mitochondrial metabolism, apoptosis, and cancer. She trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute with Dr. Bruce Ames, where she investigated the effects of micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) inadequacies on metabolism, inflammation, DNA damage, and aging, and whether supplementation can reverse the damage.

She frequently engages the public on topics including the role micronutrient deficiencies play in diseases of aging, the role of genetics in determining the effects of nutrients on a person’s health status, benefits of exposing the body to hormetic stressors such as through exercise, fasting, sauna use or heat stress, or various forms of cold exposure, and the importance of mindfulness, stress reduction, and sleep.

In short, Rhonda is one of the most well known and trusted names in the fields of health and longevity.

And when it comes to genetic testing she’s actually developed her own data analysis tool for analyzing 23andMe DNA results – available on her website here.

The advanced report focuses on the genes that Rhonda Patrick believes have the greatest influence on your healthspan – and the genetic traits that carry actual consequences.

The report explains what each gene’s function is, how your particular genotype may affect a gene’s function, and how this may affect health optimization strategies.

You can see a demo of the report below, and can find a full sample report on Rhonda’s Found My Fitness site here.

Rhonda offers two purchase options for the reporting tool which are both extremely fair-priced. The first is priced at $25 flat for the comprehensive report alone, and the second is a $15/month subscription model that includes lifetime updates for new genotypes (along with a bunch of other perks).

You’ll see those details below, and you can learn more and purchase a report here.

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