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Ancestry and Health
review on December 3, 2018
by Rebecca Fishwick
At a Glance
Summary
I was impressed by the level of detail included in CRI Genetics’ Health report. Their 16 Wellness reports included plenty of information about my metabolism and the way my body stores fat, which I felt would be useful if I wanted to diet to either lose or maintain weight.
There were also several Traits reports, which seemed to be more for fun, since it isn’t really critical for me to know whether I have wet or dry earwax! Still, these were interesting, and I was pleased with the amount of detail supplied about each result for both the Wellness and Traits reports.
Full Review
CRI Genetics was founded in October 2016, and is led by Alexei Fedorov, Ph.D., a genetics researcher with more than 35 years’ experience. Based in Santa Monica, California, the company aims to unlock the information in our DNA and present it in a way that’s interesting, useful, and easy to understand, and can help you to improve your life.
Please note that reviews of the ancestry-related aspects of the test can be found here.
Product Expectations
The CRI Genetics website was bright and busy. I saw that their DNA test would look for 642,824 markers in my genome, and that my report would be available in eight weeks, “or your money back”. I could order either their ‘Ancestry’ test, or their ‘Ancestry + Health’ test, which I read would provide me with “A Complete Genetic Picture” of myself.
There were assurances that my information would be kept secure: once CRI Genetics received my sample, they would remove all identifying information and encrypt my data. They stated that they would not share my information without my explicit consent.
I also found that – if I wished – I could request that my genetic data be deleted and destroyed.
I saw that my kit would be delivered within five days of purchase, and that I could send the samples back in a prepaid envelope. Within eight weeks, I’d receive an email telling me my results are ready.
Ordering Experience
Before ordering, I decided to look through the terms and conditions and privacy policy. I saw that CRI Genetics would not disclose my information to third parties, unless I had opted to take part in their research project.
I ordered the kit online and was given the option of paying with a debit/credit card or PayPal. They would ship anywhere in the US, but not overseas. There was an additional shipping fee.
The kit arrived by mail within a few business days of ordering and looked just like the one pictured on the website. It arrived intact, and was good enough quality that I’d have been happy to give it as a gift. It included instructions about how to take a DNA sample (using the cheek swab provided). It took less than a minute to take a sample which was really easy and painless.
Before returning the kit, I had to register it online using the kit number found on the bottom of the box. I had to agree to the Terms and Conditions in order to register, and there was also an optional Consent Form. Reading the form, I found that signing it meant I consented to the CRI Genetics Research Project, which would give the company further license to use my genetic data for research, which may be published in scientific journals.
The kit included an envelope with prepaid postage, so it was simple to send my DNA sample back to the lab. I got an email confirming that they had received my sample and, only two weeks later (they specified six to eight as standard), I received another email with a link to my results in my online account.
The Results
After logging in, I was taken to my results dashboard. I had ordered both the Ancestry and Health reports, and all of my results were viewable here. In addition to my ancestry results, there was a grand total of 16 Wellness reports, and 10 Traits reports.
A snippet from the Wellness section on my results dashboard.
Results Section: Wellness
I could select the different results shown on my dashboard to learn more about them. My caffeine sensitivity result, for instance, showed that I have a slow caffeine metabolism (shown below).
My caffeine sensitivity result.
They recommended that I consume no more than one cup of tea or coffee per day, and avoid caffeine after 2pm. I saw that CRI Genetics had identified three points in the CYP1A2 gene associated with caffeine sensitivity. Apparently, it was a variation in position rs762551 that had given me greater sensitivity to caffeine, for which my result was AC.
Details about my caffeine sensitivity result.
There was plenty of information about caffeine sensitivity and how we metabolise caffeine. I read that sensitivity to caffeine is a dominant trait, and so you only need to inherit the associated genetic variant from one parent in order to have slower caffeine metabolism.
I could also see what percentage of CRI Genetics users received each result, which helped me to get an idea of how common my genetic results were for each item.
Amongst my other Wellness results, I also found that I was susceptible to high caffeine consumption, meaning I might feel more compelled to drink coffee. Again, it was recommended I limit my caffeine intake.
Other results included lactose tolerance, which showed whether or not I was likely to be able to digest milk as an adult, which could be useful for people who are unsure whether they are lactose intolerant.
Many of the results were to do with aspects of health related to diet, exercise, and nutrition, including fat storage, predicted BMI, triglyceride levels, and insulin resistance.
Three of the results were advertised as new, and so I took a look at these. The first was “Exercise and Losing Weight”. My result for this was that regular physical activity would help to lower my BMI. This is something that’s true for everyone, and so I wondered whether they had meant that physical exercise would help lower my BMI more than most people’s.
Another new item was “Weight Control”. My result showed that I might have difficulty maintaining a healthy weight once I’d reached it. It was recommended I make an effort to continue to live a healthy lifestyle after reaching my desired weight in order to maintain it.
The last new item was “Protein or Fat Diet”. It was found that I would benefit most in terms of weight loss from a low-fat diet, and so my diet should consist of less than 25% fat if I wished to lose weight. It was recommended I fill up on vegetables and low-glycaemic carbs in order to feel full.
Results Section: Traits
The traits results were kind of miscellaneous, and I supposed were based on what the latest publicly available research had linked to specific genetic variants. One result was for whether I had wet or dry earwax, another was for body odour, and another was for the ability to smell B-ionone floral fragrance.
A snippet from the Traits section on my results dashboard.
One result was for sun sensitivity, which I thought could be quite useful for making people aware of how much thought they should be putting in to protecting themselves from the sun.
As with the Wellness reports, there was plenty of information about genetics and sun protection, including an “Interesting Facts” section (shown below).
Facts about sun sensitivity included in my result report.
Other results included likelihood of having red hair, hair thickness, eye colour, food cravings, and whether you get drowsy after eating.
Summary
I was impressed by the level of detail included in CRI Genetics’ Health report. Their 16 Wellness reports included plenty of information about my metabolism and the way my body stores fat, which I felt would be useful if I wanted to diet to either lose or maintain weight.
There were also several Traits reports, which seemed to be more for fun, since it isn’t really critical for me to know whether I have wet or dry earwax! Still, these were interesting, and I was pleased with the amount of detail supplied about each result for both the Wellness and Traits reports.
Please note we received the DNA health reports free of charge.