NutraHacker Review: What can raw data tell you about your DNA?

Overview

1. Products: NutraHacker offers six reports based on DNA testing, including a COVID-19 report and some limited health recommendations.
2. Cost: Some very limited services are available for free if the user already has raw genetic data. To receive a report, customers must pay $20-$85 for each one.
3. Reports: NutraHacker provides six reports: Detoxification and Methylation, COVID-19, Carrier Status and Drug Response, Celiac, Depression, and Fitness.
4. Raw data access: The service does not currently supply users with DNA testing kits to access raw data.
5. Privacy: NutraHacker promises not to share any genetic data uploaded to the service with anyone else. Additionally, they state that the data is encrypted and stored in a separate location from the contact information of the user.
6. Alternatives: SelfDecode – For under $100, SelfDecode offers personalized health recommendations based on the analysis of up to 83 million genetic variants.

Pros

• NutraHacker provides a free, but limited, COVID-19 genetics report if the user uploads their own data and finishes an anonymous survey
• The landing page is clean and simple
• Risk factors are color-coded intuitively in the reports

Cons

• Reports are complex and full of jargon
• No personalized blog or access to a network of practitioners
• Single reports cost up to $85 each
• Lack of scientific references when health recommendations are present
• Limited number of SNPs analyzed

About NutraHacker

There is very little public information about NutraHacker. It was founded in 2013 by UCLA graduates, Jonathan Vinea and Mark Wagoner. The LLC is currently registered in Long Island, New York.

The primary mission of the company is to provide DNA analysis and answer questions about the health implications of certain genotypes. NutraHacker currently claims to analyze 195 SNPs.

Review of NutraHacker Products & Features

NutraHacker provides six different reports: Detoxification and Methylation, COVID-19, Carrier Status and Drug Response, Celiac, Depression, and Fitness.

They do not offer testing; users must provide raw genetic data to be uploaded to the website.

The approved genome data that NutraHacker accepts includes 23andMe, AncestryDNA, tellmeGen, and MyHeritage.

Once the customer uploads the data, NutraHacker provides a report indicating risk factors based on SNPs correlated with different conditions such as celiac disease, depression, or COVID-19.

Review of NutraHacker Reports

All NutraHacker reports are structured the same. Each report contains instructions, followed by data tables. The terminology used is scientific and technical.

Health recommendations are only present in the Detoxification and Methylation Report. Citations appear for general health information in four of the six reports. The Detoxification and Methylation and the Carrier and Drug Response Report have no citations, which makes it difficult to verify the claims or understand where the information is coming from.

Instructions

The instructions section of each report contains a short description with scientific references and a disclaimer. Figure 1 shows an example of the instruction section for the Celiac Report.

Figure 1: Celiac Report Preamble

Data Tables

The tables vary depending on the type of report. The data tables are simple, with little color or graphic presentation. For example, the COVID-19 Report contains a table indicating the user’s genotype in comparison to the risk allele. Figure 2 shows a sample COVID-19 Report.

Figure 2: COVID-19 Report

Terminology

Many of the NutraHacker reports are full of complex jargon in both the introductory description and the data table. Reports attempt to define key terms, but many are not defined, and the user must rely on personal knowledge or extensive research to navigate them.

Figure 3 shows a report with technical jargon. The gene function and consequences columns provided in the table cannot be understood without a deep dive into the relevant literature.

Figure 3: Detoxification and Methylation Report Data

Citations

Citations for the information provided in the reports are listed in some cases, such as the Celiac and COVID-19 reports. Yet, they are completely absent in others, such as the Carrier and Drug Response Report seen in figure 4.

Figure 4: Carrier and Drug Response Report Data

Recommendations

Most reports offer no recommendations. The only recommendations made are in the Detoxification and Methylation Report.

The fitness report provides scientific support for the relationship between the customer’s genotype and fitness outcomes but provides no fitness or health recommendations based on the analysis. NutraHacker also offers reports for depression, which follow a similar format to the fitness report seen in figure 5.

Figure 5: Fitness Report Data and Scientific References

Cost of NutraHacker

Every time a customer wants to generate a new report, they will pay an additional fee. Unless the customer provides their raw data to NutraHacker, they cannot view the prices for each report.

NutraHacker offers a free, but very limited, COVID-19 report for individuals who agree to take an anonymous survey. The other free report that NutraHacker offers is for Detoxification and Methylation. The remaining four reports range from $20-$85 per report.

Health Recommendations from NutraHacker

The health recommendations that NutraHacker makes are dependent on the type of report requested. No specific health recommendations are given for any of the reports except for the Detoxification and Methylation Report.

The Detoxification and Methylation Report suggests certain supplements and specific foods to the user based on their genetic profile. In addition, the report lists some foods or supplements to avoid. NutraHacker recommends very few lifestyle changes.

There are no specific citations regarding the recommendations. The reports are not easy to understand because most key terms are not defined.

Review of NutraHacker Privacy & Data Security

The NutraHacker privacy policy claims that it is designed to maximize privacy; genetic data will not be shared or sold with any other parties and encryption of clients’ genetic data is ensured.

SelfDecode vs NutraHacker

1. SelfDecode delivers natural supplement, diet, and lifestyle suggestions based on your genes that you can implement right away. NutraHacker offers very limited supplement, diet, and lifestyle suggestions on certain reports only.
2. SelfDecode tells you why they make each recommendation so that you can understand the science behind the suggestion. NutraHacker does not provide scientific references for specific recommendations in any reports.
3. SelfDecode prioritizes recommendations based on their analysis of all the relevant genes instead of one gene at a time (through reports). NutraHacker does not prioritize any of the relevant genes and shows each gene one at a time in their reports.
4. SelfDecode takes a holistic approach to give recommendations that are best for your genes AND the health topic. NutraHacker provides basic recommendations based on the health topic, but not with a focus on general wellness.
5. SelfDecode has the world’s first and only personalized genetics blog that allows you to get new gene-based recommendations daily. NutraHacker does not have a blog.
6. SelfDecode is the most comprehensive and looks at more genes & SNPs (up to 83 million) to deliver the best analysis of genetic risks. NutraHacker claims to look at 195 different SNPs; a fraction of what SelfDecode analyzes.
7. SelfDecode supports everything with peer-reviewed scientific studies in their research and checks for contradicting information. NutraHacker provides scientific references regarding the general health topics but does not for recommendations of supplements.
8. SelfDecode never sells your data or gives it away. NutraHacker also promises not to sell or give away any data.

Comparisons

NutraHacker Reviews

Few reviews for NutraHacker are available from reputable sources. Most reviews and social media activity discuss the inability to interpret the data that is given in the reports which nonetheless cost up to $85 each.

DNAtestingchoice- Editor’s Rating of 3.5 of 5 stars

On social media, there is very little buzz around NutraHacker, with almost no activity throughout the most popular social media platforms.

Read what people are saying about NutraHacker on Twitter

Most of the recent discussion about NutraHacker on Twitter consists of customer complaints or tweets from the NutraHacker Twitter account itself.

Read what people are saying most recently about NutraHacker on Reddit

Again, the discussion of NutraHacker is infrequent, with many people having trouble interpreting the data they have received through the reports.

Alternatives to NutraHacker

• SelfDecode: The best option for health-focused DNA analysis with personalized reports and recommendations to improve your quality of life. Recommendations are supported by scientific studies and a symptoms analyzer is included. SelfDecode ensures no user data will be sold.

NutraHacker Review Summary

The era of personalized fitness and health is here to stay. Every day more people are seeking to better understand themselves at the genetic level and to understand what makes them unique.

NutraHacker provides basic recommendations on a set of limited genes but does not offer much scientific support. You must also have genome data to use their services, and they do not offer testing kits.

Overall, the service does not offer nearly as much as other competitors. An alternative such as SelfDecode delivers more comprehensive products, all backed by science and aimed at helping you optimize your health. SelfDecode is the only DNA company that uses AI and machine learning to give genetic risk scores and personalized recommendations based on DNA, labs, and environmental data.

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