Everything that we ever were or will be is predetermined by our unique genetic signature. Our looks, taste sensitivity, allergies and illnesses we’ll develop throughout the course of our lifetime, reaction to different foods and activities, and pretty much anything you can think of is already encoded in our DNA strain.
Once you realize this, you can begin to understand the importance of DNA health testing for your personal well-being. Doctors can only detect diseases and conditions once you’ve already experienced an outbreak.
Genetic testing, on the other hand, can reliably tell you what diseases are “written” into your DNA so that you can act in advance and take appropriate measures to counteract them before they even manifest.
How DNA Health Testing Works
Diseases are most commonly caused by dysfunctional proteins. Diabetes, for example, occurs because the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin. Through exhaustive experimentation, scientists have determined the exact genetic mutations (called “Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms” or “SNPs”) responsible for diabetes. This was done for hundreds of diseases, so now we can identify potential risks based on the SNPs associated with the risk of certain diseases.
New SNPs associated with numerous diseases and conditions are constantly being discovered and scientists need to utilize the latest published data to accurately determine the potential correlation between SNPs and disease probability.
How Do Scientists Calculate The Risks?
The definition of “risk” in terms of DNA testing for health is the likelihood for a client to develop a certain condition at some point during their lifetime. The risk calculation takes the following factors into account:
- Examined genetic markers
- Comparison with the average risk for the relevant population
- Average lifetime risk for specific genders
You should note that environmental factors such as diet, smoking, stress, physical activity, direct sunlight, and alcohol and coffee consumption can also have a significant role in developing certain conditions.