DNA Test Kit: Health + Ancestry Personal Genetic Reports

I don't usually write reviews, but when I'm excited by a product, I'm happy to do that! As a supplement fanatic, which can waste HOURS in the aisles of different supplements stores, I was very excited to find about Vitagene. I already gave a try to other companies like 23andme and wanted to check if I can get better insights into my health. In other products, I got very general assumptions and those were good but not good enough for me, I needed more guidance and in-depth recommendation on how to actually use the data that's based on my DNA. To my surprise, Vitagene provides a handful of data points and recommendation that you can actually use to reach your goals. Here are some of my takeaways: 1. The first experience - I got this box in 1-day with free delivery fees (thanks, Amazon Prime!). In oppose to other services, they ask you to swab inside your cheeks - I find it way easier and simpler than spitting tons of saliva to a vial. Before sending back the DNA samples, I activated my account and once completed, you send the DNA samples back (for free) to their lab. 2. Supplements - this is a big one. Based on my DNA and the questionnaire they tailored different recommended supplements, which makes it very unique and exciting for me since I never had any supplements personalized specifically for me. It's like getting the VIP treatment. 3. Dietary recommendation - As a vegan, I searched the internet for DAYS to find a good dietary plan, especially when I do intense workouts. What a great surprise to see many menu options based on my DNA and lifestyle - that's incredible. Only for these menu recommendations, I would pay for a nutritionist double than what I paid for the Vitagene product. 4. Skin type recommendation - that's like a bonus for me. Instead of going to a skin doctor or someone at a cosmetic store to recommend me about products that fit my skin type, I get an accurate overview of my skin type, potential, and others. Now I can do my market research for creams and other products while being more knowledgeable. 5. Ancestry report - it's similar to other services, in my honest opinion, I already know where my ancestors came from, so that part was less important for me. I was more excited about the health benefits that you can get using this service rather than anything else. If you care about your health and want to personalize your supplements consumption and dietary routine based on your DNA - this is the only service in the market that provides high-quality reports AND solutions all in one. Great idea and execution! Will continue with my supplement subscription as I find it more cost-effective with better quality than what I used to have before Vitagene.

In purchased one of these for myself and another for my mother. I had high hopes from this test but after weeks upon weeks of waiting for the results, we were disappointed to say the least. You should not purchase this kit if you want anything other than a basic "where ya from?" DNA analysis. I should have stuck with an actual ancestry kit. Anyway so my mom and I both found out that we are Caucasian Europeans. Imagine that! Take a other $80 and yell me what color our hair is! What this test should be used for is health. It's nothing that a Dr. couldn't tell you from a physical but it's cheaper and more convenient I suppose. But even that didn't give me much to go off of because you fill out this long survey online that give you all of the health crap anyway. Q: Do you feel depressed at times? A: yes, sometimes. Result: you may suffer from depression and may benefit from taking St. John's Wort, on sale now at our shop for only $19.95. It's a silly kit. You get what you pay for.

As a knowledge junkie, I had already taken the Ancestry DNA test and run that through Prometheus to see my health data before I bought the Vitagene test set. What intrigued me the most about Vitagene and is unique in the DNA test world is its ability to bridge your ancestry information with your health. How does where we come from affect our diet and longevity? Plus this kit was an easy cheek-swab test, so why not, right? Though this kit didn’t exactly give me the key to the “fountain of youth,” it did give me really valuable insights into my health and how I should alter my current diet and exercise routine to live my best life. For example, I now can see how I metabolize caffeine, carbs and fat (hint: keto life isn’t for me), and I have finally solved my diet dilemma: am I affected by lactose or gluten? Solved! I also really appreciate that they give example meal plans based on the information they gave me. It can be a lot to “digest” all at once, but the online format makes it really easy to understand. The supplement recommendation section was actually very empowering. I had already done quite a bit of research on my own about what supplements I should be taking and seeing that Vitagene recommends what I’ve been taking is really reaffirming. They even recommended one additional supplement which I’m excited to try out. Yay. ☺ The genetic traits report is also very interesting. I have always had dry skin and have taken omegas to try to help, but it never seemed to do much good. The report shows that I am naturally getting the omegas I need from my diet and that a supplement in vitamin E might be better for me. Interesting! The genetic traits section has the most interesting information on exercise; I’ve included a few screenshots. What mine shows is that I am likely to exercise more often and, though I have low ability to build muscle and am highly likely to be sore from exercise, “power and endurance” exercises will be effective for me when trying to lose weight. Neat. Overall, I’m very happy with the test results and am excited to test their recommendations. I think my family would find these really interesting as well -- I’m interested to see if my siblings have similar or very different diet/health recommendations since we are all very different looking. I wonder if at the core we are all the same. There might be some Vitagene kits in their stockings this year. ☺

I tried out this service, it had a good price and offered me a balance of health + ancestry info. I bought two kits: one for me and one for my wife. My wife's arrived first and I must say that we were disappointed because it felt too generic. It mostly tells you regions you're originated from and the diet and exercise recommendations are also a bit macro. Nonetheless, when I received mine I was better impressed by two things: 1. How it confirmed things I knew about my ancenstry and others I only hypothesized 2. How it confirmed some suspicions I had over health lifestyle choices + results in my life. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars but Amazon doesn't let me.