I had posted quite some time ago about submitting a tube of saliva for analysis and that I would share the results. As a female I can only get results for my maternal line but there was still loads of interesting information to read and I am still going through all of it. Here are some highlights:

• I am 2.9% neanderthal which is a bit concerning since that is 0.2% more than the average European user of 23andme
• I am 95.5% European – no surprise there and 0.1% of east asian and native american and also sub-saharan african
• I am a H2a2a and H is the most common group for Europeans especially in Scandinavia. H2a is common in Eastern Europeans and H2a1 is highest in Slavic speaking people such as Russians and Ukrainians – this aligns accurately to my maternal grandparents

The most useful part of the test was the medical information (of course used as guidance not gospel). Here are some of the insights:

I have an elevated risk for:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Age-related Macular Degeneration
• Rheumatoid Arthritis

Oddly it says I have a lower risk for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis which I actually have but it is understandable that they are basing it on people who share my ethnicity and genotype.

When looking at inherited conditions I seem to be free of anything that I could have inherited including the BRCA Cancer mutations that they can detect. Good news!

There is also a whole section on your response to drugs which can be helpful when getting prescribed something by the doctor.

They also have some traits that aren’t as meaningful as health risks like:

• I don’t have alcohol flush which means booze would taste bad
• Asparagus Metabolic detection – so being able to smell asparagus pee – if you have this you know what I mean!
• My earwax is wet (ew!) and my eye colour is likely blue

I recommend taking the spit test – you might find something out about yourself that could be helpful in the future. Check it out