Who am I?

Who am I? Great question, I’d say- especially this year. You might think with my adventuring, Myers-Briggs-ing, and recent certification as an NLP Practitioner (oh yeah, I also did that- now taking bookings to change your life), I’d be a layer closer to the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and fully self-actualized. The trouble is (in great clichéd form), the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. So to combat my confusion of my present and near-in-future self, I paid some money and did a test that would give me some cold hard facts.

This idea came about after watching some informative TV programme examining health, where the show spoke about a DNA test you could purchase and send off for analysis of various traits, genetic conditions, and likely ancestral lines. Of course I didn’t even think about it, paid my money, and a short while later had a centrifugal tube at home to spit into.

As iterated by the hesitancy of the presenter of the TV programme, this test has the potential to be life changing. Not only does it tell you what eye colour (likely blue) or ear wax type (likely wet) you should have as warm up tests to build trust in the analysis, the test gives an indication of your genetic predisposition to muscle performance (sprinter), responsiveness to common medical drugs (hepatitis C treatment response reduced), and possession of genetic variants associated with higher risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s (variants absent; typical risk).

Undoubtedly many people would worry about finding out if they carry genes for Cystic Fibrosis or a higher likelihood of Cardiomyopathy (again, both variants absent), but if you have the knowledge upfront, wouldn’t you choose to make some positive changes in your life? Wouldn’t you want this information upfront to make smarter choices? It’s often heard: if only I knew earlier… then I would have done something differently. Well you have the ability to do that now. For me I wasn’t worried about what the test might reveal, rather I was/ am worried about what the company is going to do with the rest of my spit sitting in some DNA bank at headquarters. I feel sorry for the rest of the world if they so choose to robotocize this robot to Kristyn 2.0.

So what’s in my jeans and in my genes?! Sigh- I know.

·         Apparently I can blame that last 6 pounds I will never be able to lose on my genes. Building on that, I am predisposed to getting fat from a high fat diet and am likely to have a slightly larger waist circumference than typical. In short- I can put fat on easily. But, have a base pairs that indicate I should easily stay within my BMI and respond well (lose weight) to exercise. To the gym!!

·         Variant absent; typical risk for the major genetic diseases (Alzheimer’s, Dystonia, Hypercholesterolemia, Breast Cancer, Cardiomyopathy, Parkinson’s)- if I get these in my life, I only have myself to blame and not my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad!

·         I (may) have a reduced response to Hepatitis C treatment, but a typical response to other major treatment medications.

·         Variant absent for the nasty genetic diseases you wish to not give your children.

And the fun stuff:

·         Sensitive to sweaty odors and bitter tastes

·         Increased episodic memory, meaning I don’t forget what we’ve done together

·         High sensitivity to the sound of chewing (misophonia), which is why you’ve probably seen me scowl at you for slurping your soup or chomping on a carrot (a-hem).

·         High odds of detecting asparagus odor in my … well, you know

·         Less than 1% chance of having ginger genes

Furthermore and perhaps most interestingly, the results indicate your likely origins! Bombshell alert in the family tree! Wee-woo-wee-woo!! Not only is “an estimated 2.7% of my DNA from Neanderthal”- which is apparently smack-dab normal for European origin DNA (hint hint), my DNA contains 0.3% Native American DNA (that dig is for my Grandmother) which I would think is proof enough to be too far from obtaining Metis status, AND is mostly Italian!

What?! Someone has some explaining to do. The breakdown is as follows:

43% of my DNA is Southern European (Italian, Balkan, Iberian, etc), with the highest percentage of my DNA coming from Italian ancestry (9.9%). When I was in Rome, my tour guide said you could trace Roman ancestry through whether or not your earlobes are attached or floppy, in my case attached- and I do tan well.

Next up is Northwestern European @ nearly 30% of my DNA including French, German, British, Irish, and Scandinavian. French/ German weighing heaviest at 5.5%. A bit of a relief, I’d say with a last name of Carriere. And the Polish genes (clearly my Mom’s side) coming in at 9.3% in the Eastern European category (coupled with Ukraine and other such countries).

Using my best Procrustes interpretation of the data and trying to pinpoint who is from where, I have decided that I am composed of the following cultures:

Italian- 9.9%

Polish- 9.3%

Balkan- 8.3%

French/ German: 5.5%

Iberian- 5.5%

One step further still is that now that my DNA is in a database, I can be linked to potential family members. Of course the linkage depends on who has actually completed the test, and even in the past month in which I have had the results, the number of “cousins” has grown. Again- if you were single and looking for a life mate, wouldn’t you want to know upfront the genetic stock you were contemplating?

At the moment the infographic tells me that I have 421 “matches” including 1^st – 6^th cousins and the bulk of which are registered as living in the east of Canada/ Northeast United States (makes sense from what I do know about my paternal family tree). What is again in line with my paternal family tree lineage is that when I filter to 1^st – 3^rd cousins, the 24 results I am matched with are in Quebec along the St Lawrence… oh yes, and the two in France. No Italians registered. No Polish registered. Just a bunch of knowledge thirsty Franglais. Très intéressant, non?!

So if you are interested in finding out what you may already know, as well as what might be the unknown, the company that I used is called 23andme: https://www.23andme.com/en-gb/.

A bit pricey for the test, but they offer discounts when you buy more than one kit. For me to know/ have an idea about what genes (good & bad) I might be passing on in the future, it made the test a no-brainer; as well as being able to do what the website says and “engage in your health care” by understanding your susceptibility to treatments or diseases. And finally, who doesn’t want to know about the cultures that make up who you are today- at least that knowledge makes for an interesting chat with your grandparents the next time you see them.