What’s your story? Discovering your ancestry is one of the best things you can do for yourself, allowing you to not only figure out who you are but where you came from. With a DNA testing kit you can unravel the mystery of your identity by revealing your family’s heritage, as well as genetic anomalies that may make you predisposed to certain illnesses and conditions. Whether you are a breast cancer risk or Alzheimer’s risk, your genetic testing can reveal a whole lot more than you might expect. For personal or medical reasons, a DNA testing kit can be an incredibly helpful and useful tool for tracing your family’s background. The top three DNA testing kits include Ancestry.com, 23andMe and MyHeritage. For more information, check out these most frequently asked questions about the top three DNA testing kits.
When you order a DNA testing kit, you’ll receive the kit by mail in a returnable box. Some kits such as MyHeritage use a cotton swab sample from your cheek that takes just 2 minutes to coat, others such as 23andMe use a tube that you spit into. You then mail back the sample back and get your results in just weeks.
Depending on the kit, a DNA test kit like MyHeritage or Ancestry can reveal your heritage and ethnicity that you can use to get a better idea of who you are and where your ancestors came from. 23andMe not only provides this kind of information, but they will also provide health information that can tell you your risk of certain diseases, as well as other genetic traits like eye color.
DNA tests are not always 100% accurate. For instance, they may claim that one of your fingers is likely to be longer than the other, when they may in fact not be true. Another risk to consider is that some insurance companies may take into consideration your information. For example, if you find out you are an Alzheimer’s risk, you may need to pay higher premiums for your health insurance. However, you can optout of certain specific pieces of information.
DNA tests are completely private and secure. If you don’t want to share any of your information, you do not have to. The MyHeritage laboratory is CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited and uses multiple layers of encryption so that nobody discovers your info.
DNA testing can be a helpful tool in unveiling your family tree as it can be used to connect with other people. With your DNA test, you can find family that you may not even know about, provided they have their information public. You then can compare information and create a more accurate map of your family’s history.
DNA testing is remarkably affordable, when you consider the hours of work you would put into it searching through family and public records. DNA test kits can get you all the information you want for under $100 in most cases.
Discounts are available throughout the year that will make DNA testing even more affordable. For example, right now you can get the MyHeritage kit for just $59, while the AncestryDNA kit costs just $79. Also for a limited time, you can get up to $30 off Ancestry and Health testing from 23andMe.
Studies can be a great way to get a kit for free. 23andme has been known to conduct testing for individuals with certain illnesses in order to map the DNA of carriers of certain conditions. If you participate in one of these studies, you can get the kit and the testing at no cost to you. However, you will need to participate in surveys and other study requirements. If you are currently not aware of any studies going on, it may be worth it to reach out to 23andMe to find any possible studies that might be going on.