DNA testing: interesting and revealing

Yestserday , a tennis friend asked me for recommendation on DNA testing, i thought might be useful for someone else who might be interested. 

One of my long life pursuits is self-discovery, isn't my (or yours) body and mind a hugely complex and mysterious universe by itself,  it is full of wonder and surprises  and secrets (maybe dark or bright! ) ,  life may or may not be meaningful but searching for an truthful answer to fundamental questions brings the meaning and  delight to our existence.  Bio science is a great tool to help us to gain more understanding toward ourselves. 

I had dna testing in 23andme and selfdecode.com last year, ancestry tracing in 23andme was so fascinating  and fun, the discovery made me feel excited, i am actually only 78% Chinese after all!  ...I didn't know that before.  23andme kept sending me many dna relatives, 4th , 5th cousin overall the places , it made me feel so connected to all the living strangers on Earth,  after all we all came from the same ancestors , mostly homospien and maybe with 2%  or less of mixed neanderthals genes. If you have not heard Neanderthals story, it is interesting to know. In fact many modern chronical diseases came from   Neanderthals genes, including those with serious Covid infections. 

I dislike politics and politicians , it serves the purpose of dividing people and create hatred, thanks to music, sports, bio science, these  help to unite people instead. 

selfdecode.com reveals a lot more details  comparing to 23andme health wise, , physical health ,  mental and cognitive functions, personality, etc.  I have ADHD ,  though i never had formal diagnosis, but it is a confirmation for me, genetic testing shows i  have 92% percent high risks than general population :(  however, ADHD doesn't mean one could not focus, in fact i have laser/hyper focus on things i am interested in , when i am working on problem-solving , i could sit for hours and hours without moving , in a way it is not great for physical health. selfdecode reveals many areas with great precision and interesting detailed analysis. 

Just side note, dna test is not a medical diagnosis , it gives a risk percentage profile , it certainly can bring great insights , and gives people an awareness that we might be  prone to certain illness/conditions later , taking steps towards a better lifestyle for future disease prevention is  definitely a beneficial thing to do. 

a few more things about certain traits in the report :

response to stress - warrior

physical activities - less active 

memory performance - increased

sedentary behavior - less sedentary 

sensitivity -  increased
open - openness to experience - increased
diligent - conscientiousness - increased
hunger - decreased
power performance- increased
 

Genentics doesn't tell the whole story for one person, genes interact with the environment and one's life style , certain genes can get turn on or off, a very  complicated interaction, it is only a perspective from biological point of view.