A word to future generations

DNA analysis can provide a path to peering into tomorrow.

By Kristine Nickel
| 6:00 a.m. July 13, 2017

Sarasota
Opinion

After being amused and enticed by advertising this spring for 23andMe DNA testing, I decided to take the plunge and discover the knowledge that lies in my genome. When my husband asked me what a good Mother’s Day gift would be, I piped up with, “23andMe.”

Collecting data

Are 23andMe or the other companies offering this service perfect? In researching this column, I’ve uncovered several articles that subscribe a less than altruistic motive to this line of business.

An article in Scientific American posits that 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki just happens to be married to Sergei Brin, the founder of Google.

“When it first launched, Google billed itself as a faithful servant of the consumer, a company devoted only to building the best tool to help us satisfy our cravings for information on the web. And Google’s search engine did just that. But as we now know, the fundamental purpose of the company wasn’t to help us search, but to hoard information,” writes the author.

This somewhat paranoid line of reasoning implies that there is much more money to be made selling the data collected than by selling 23andMe kits, aping the Google model of using its data for individualizing advertising to whatever else they may have cooking in their Silicon Valley complex.

For the uninitiated, 23andMe is one of three major consumer DNA tests. The others are Ancestry DNA and Family Tree DNA. The ultimate consumer, I chose 23andMe because I liked its advertising. The company is named for the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a normal human cell. Its an easy-to-navigate process. You pick it up on the internet, or at various retail stores. I chose the internet and they sent a nifty kit that explained how to fill the vial with saliva and ship it back. 23andMe has been around for a decade or so, and was even named “Invention of the Year” by Time magazine in 2008. And while they managed my expectations saying it would take up to six weeks to receive the report, it showed up in my inbox in less than a month.

The Reports Arrive

The results were a hodgepodge of weird information: I’m not part American Indian, which secretly I hoped. However, I do have the gene that gives me the ability to smell consumed asparagus in my urine. Doesn’t everyone? “What are you talking about?” asked my husband. (I guess everyone doesn’t.) I’m predisposed to weigh more than average. Yes, I really can blame those extra pounds on my genes. And, did you know that your caffeine consumption has a genetic basis? It does and mine is above average, which was another nonstarter.

I was beginning to wonder if my Mother’s Day gift was a bust. Then I thumbed to the “Genetic Health Risk Report” and was stunned to see that I had a higher risk for late on-set Alzheimer’s. Gobsmacked, the baby boomers worst nightmare was staring me in the face. How could I have forgotten that my aunt couldn’t remember who I was the last five years of her life. And, vague memories surfaced of how my grandfather’s sisters weren’t allowed out of the house alone lest they get lost going around the block. Ever the optimist, I quickly assessed all of the activities I engage in that research indicates stave off Alzheimer’s —regular exercise, a Mediterranean diet, mental and social activity. But when I woke up at 3 a.m. with visions of wandering around an assisted care facility, I decided I needed help.

Knowledge Is Power

Christina Captain, a noted local acupuncture physician and nutritionist, had mentioned months ago during an interview (I did remember that) that she helped patients interpret DNA tests. We set up a time to meet and in anticipation of that session, she had me run the raw 23andMe data through a program available on the internet called Promethease. We sat down. The first thing she said was, “Breathe.” Excellent advice. We began to look at the report in a dispassionate way.

“This is information that can be very helpful for you,” she said. “But more than that, it also is incredibly helpful for your children and grandchildren. These are mutations that travel for generations. But, what’s most important is to not take the info and freak out.”

Captain went on to make this analogy. “If genetics are the bullets that load the gun, what pulls the trigger?” She went on to share. “I was genetically predisposed to diabetes. I was very overweight. My trigger for developing diabetes was my weight and my environment of loving sugar.” She reduced her weight by more than 50 pounds and now maintains that with diet and exercise and no diabetes has emerged.

“Everyone has the power to control to a great extent their triggers. You don’t have to discharge the bullet. You have to look at this in a big picture way and know that knowledge is power,” she said.

That was several weeks ago. Am I feeling powerful with my knowledge? Yes, I am. With Captain’s encouragement, I began to do a deep dive on Alzheimer’s. While I thought I had been living in an Alzheimer’s protective way, through my research I have pinpointed several important practices I have neglected. And I am taking steps to incorporate that knowledge into my lifestyle. Just as important, I’ve begun conversations with members in my family about this mutation in my genetic code that they very well share. I’ve encouraged them to do one of the genetic tests to gain more information about their DNA.

Would I Do It Again?

Interestingly enough, I have had many people tell me that I should just ignore it — that everyone is going to get something or another. I reject that totally. In retrospect, it was the best Mother’s Day gift ever. Not only do I have the knowledge to improve my future health, but I can also clue my generations to come on how they can live healthier, hopefully happier lives.

And P.S., I also learned that my muscle composition is quite uncommon in elite power athletes. So now I can eliminate feeling guilty about all the times I’ve quit training for that marathon I was going to run. Now I can just enjoy walking my dogs around the neighborhood at a pace where we can absorb the beauty around us. And that in itself is powerful.

Kristine Nickel is a marketing communications consultant and former marketing and public relations executive. For more than 30 years, she has relieved her stress by writing features for publications across the country.