So, I was so curious when I had heard about DNA Fit. It’s a saliva swab test that will “interpret your genetic data into meaningful fitness or nutrition insights, to help you discover more about yourself and make better informed decisions about your wellness,” and to create “genetically personalized training and eating plans.” Okay, I was sold. I paid somewhere around the ungodly price of $250 (on sale) for this data I was sure to be fascinating.
However, I was really disappointed. What I received was vague and pretty generic IMO. Here is what they told me:
I’m not sensitive to carbs and don’t do well with saturated fats, so I should do a reduced fat diet. Interestingly, I actually am preferring a high fat, low carb diet so…. yeah. Hm.
I’m lactose intolerant. I’ve never noticed that, and actually recently had a food sensitivity test and it didn’t find me lactose intolerant. So…
I shouldn’t have too much caffeine. Note: I am a caffeine whore, I love caffeine. Ummm…
I’m not sensitive to alcohol, so I can consume alcohol moderately. Well, I don’t drink.
I have a high anti-oxidant need. That I can agree with.
I have a normal need for Omega 3’s. Okay.
I have a raised need for B vitamins.
I have a normal need for vitamin D.
I have a raised need for cruciferous vegetables. That’s fine, because I love vegetables.
I am suited for more endurance activities/sports. Well, fucking kill me. I hate endurance sports and really suck at them. I’ve always been a strength and power athlete. So I guess that just shows the power of environment/epi-genetics.
I have a high injury risk. Fuck my life. I’m here now with a jacked ankle.
My recovery speed is low. Fuck my life again. Cuz I like to train a lot. And my ankle has been slow to heal. Let this not be true ugh
So…. given this information. Well… I can’t say I am going to change anything? I will still eat high fat/low carb, I will still have caffeine, I will still refrain from alcohol, I will still do strength and power sports, etc… I guess, I dunno, that I was expecting something different? I don’t know what I was expecting, but it just seemed generic to me. It didn’t delve into detail about things.
I guess I don’t even know if what I would be looking for even EXISTS because the reality of the situation is that we are finding that despite genetics, we are able to rise above what would otherwise be “mandated” by our genes through epi-genetics, which literally means rising above (epi = above) our genetics. We are discovering that environment and other factors play a significant role in how things play out. This would explain how some of the genetic results that were listed for me don’t pan out. So, just because your genes say something, it doesn’t mean that it’s true.
From this interwebs source: “Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression (active versus inactive genes) that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence — a change in phenotype without a change in genotype — which in turn affects how cells read the genes. Epigenetic change is a regular and natural occurrence but can also be influenced by several factors including age, the environment/lifestyle, and disease state.” Bam.
Another beef I had with DNA Fit, beyond the theoretical conflict (insert laughing/crying emoji [one of my favorite emojis]), was that they didn’t give me the ancestral data. I couldn’t see my heritage. I want to compare and contrast how much Lithuanian Jew I am, with other sites I’ve signed up for. (It’s true, my ancestry is significantly Lithuanian Jew, I never knew! What a shock.) Anyway, so I couldn’t see my ancestry data, and I tried to export the raw data files to a friend to do some further testing, and she couldn’t work with those files, or the files weren’t available. I can’t remember. In any case, it’s a boo. Boooooo.
In summary, if you have $300 that you don’t care about, feel free to buy the DNA Fit test. Otherwise, consider me the guinea pig that so selflessly wasted her money to tell you that DNA Fit is not the jam, and to save your money.
JAN