All The Fun Stuff You Get in the Ancestry.com DNA Test

*** This post is not sponsored or affiliated with ancestry or any DNA organization. This is simply my opinion and experience.***

Have you ever thought of taking a DNA test with a place like ancestry.com to find out what your genes have to say about you?

I originally got mine a few years ago, as a birthday present from Alan’s parents. This was super exciting. I already had a solid family tree built on ancestry.com, so I did have a general idea that I am mostly English/Scottish/German/French.

When I received my DNA results, I was able to see the exact percentages of where I am from. Everyone looks at my red hair and ruddy complexion and think “Ireland.” But Irish is one of my smaller percentages. I am like a mixed breed dog. Ha! I am a northern European melting pot.

When I was doing my actual genealogical document research, I also discovered French ancestors as well as one Creek line. As you can see, they do not show up in my percentages, but you have so many lines of ancestry. Plus, there is the whole genetic recombination thing. That does not mean that they are not my ancestors.

But the DNA test actually tells you way more than that!

I did not realize just how much information you can get from it until I used it more and more over time.

Just this week I discovered a new section of my results called “traits.” This is a complete list of the traits ancestry.com tested for, besides which countries your ancestors came from.

Traits:

-alcohol flush

-asparagus metabolite detection

-birth weight range (your birth weight, not your babies’)

-bitter sensitivity

-caffeine consumption

-cilantro aversion

-cleft chin

-earlobe type

-earwax type

-eye color

-facial hair thickness

-finger length

-freckles

-hair color

-hair strand thickness

-hair type

-iris patterns

-lactose intolerance

-male hair loss

-omega 3

-savory sensitivity

-skin pigmentation

-sprinter gene

-sun sneezing

-sweet sensitivity

-unibrow

-vitamin C, D, and E

-wisdeom teeth

So was it right??

Mostly. A couple of things were incorrect. It said that my hair color is blonde. Either there are environmental factors that go into hair color, or they have not figured out how to read all those genes yet.

It also said I have attached ear lobes, but I have the free hanging kind. Interesting.

Did I learn anything worth knowing in this?

YES!

It is reassuring to know that I am probably not lactose intolerant and that my body is probably normal for balancing amounts of vitamins. I also enjoyed seeing that my hair type is wavy. Maybe one day I will try that “curly girl method” after all.

Reconnecting with Family Members

This is another feature of ancestry.com. The more you fill out your family tree, the more beneficial this is. You will turn up with hundreds or thousands of distant cousin DNA matches. Without a tree, you will never know how you are related to any of these people.

A year ago a first cousin I have not seen since about age five uploaded his dad’s DNA. He is now my closest match on ancestry.com, so I sent him a message through ancestry. We were able to catch up on where his side of the family is nowadays. That was an awesome benefit!

Meanwhile….I am waiting excitedly for my DNA Health test results.

That is a totally separate test. On the health section of my Ancestry.com profile, I have already found a few wellness results there that I guess they got from my original sample. Those were super reassuring results about how my cardiovascular functioning should be top notch.

My results under the health section that I have gotten so far reminded me of the importance of taking care of yourself. I have not done a stellar job of that. My ineffective methods for handling stress have been hard on my heart and my weight. Apparently, stuffing your face and freaking out when you are unable to be perfect are bad for your health. Moving all the time, sending your husband to war repeatedly, and having four children were also stressful life factors…ha!

But what is life without some yummy stress, and our little boys are definitely more than worth it.

I think we can all agree that the best word for 2020 (besides Rona) is anxiety.

The health version of ancestry does test for a long list of genetic disorders though. I will be able to tell more about that once I get all of my results in, within a few weeks.

Have any of you taken one of these tests? We would love to hear about your experience below in the comments.