Overview
- Products: DNA testing, health and wellness reports, health coaching.
- Cost: $399 for a DNA test, $4,999 for the wellness program.
- Reports: Cardiovascular, sleep, diet, fitness, hormones, mood, and immunity-themed reports.
- Raw data access: The DNA Company only tests for genes included in the reports and does not allow raw data access.
- Privacy: The DNA Company claims not to sell personal information, but will anonymize genomic data for research, which they may share with their partners.
- Alternatives: SelfDecode – get truly personalized diet, lifestyle, and supplement recommendations and in-depth ancestry reports based on an analysis of up to 83 million genetic variants.
Pros
- Ships worldwide.
- Offers a complimentary health coaching session.
Cons
- Users cannot upload their preexisting DNA files to get access to reports.
- Does not provide raw DNA data.
- Only tests for the specific genes indicated in the report (70 variants).
- The reports do not include scientific references.
About The DNA Company
The DNA Company is a genetic testing company based in Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 2018 by current CEO Kashif Khan. In May 2020, The DNA Company acquired My Pain Sensei, an online program that focuses on chronic pain management. The technology from these companies will be combined to form a new platform, My Next Health.
Review Of The DNA Company Products & Features
The DNA Company offers a saliva DNA test and the DNA 360 Report that covers the following health topics:
- Cardiovascular
- Sleep
- Diet + Nutrition
- Hormones + Fitness
- Mood + Behavior
- Immunity + Detox
To get access to the reports available, you will need to get your DNA tested with The DNA Company. They do not allow you to upload a preexisting DNA file, and they do not provide access to your raw genetic data.
As stated on their website, they only test for specific genes indicated in the reports. The company has 70 variations that they test for related to the topics covered in the reports. Results can take over 6 weeks to be ready.
The DNA Company also offers a health coaching service, Your DNA Concierge Team. It consists of a 3-month program that includes DNA and blood analysis. However, this is not yet available. You will need to sign up to receive a notification when they release the program.
You can also find various supplements on their website. These include mood, hormone, and sleep supplements, among others.
Review of The DNA Company Reports
The DNA 360 Report includes health and wellness reports divided into the six main categories specified above. You can also book a 30-minute call to help you navigate your results. Each report is presented as a separate document, including 38 subtopics in total. In this section, we will analyze the Cardiovascular report.
The Cardiovascular Profile report focuses on how chronic inflammation can affect heart health. This report is divided into the following subtopics:
- Cardiovascular inflammation
- High cholesterol
- Hypertension
After an explanation about how toxins and inflammation play a role in cardiovascular health, The DNA Company presents the user’s gene results, as can be seen from the sample report below.
Next, users can see how they may respond to bodily functions involved in cardiovascular health. These results are presented in a table format and also include how likely you are to experience a health outcome. In this case, The DNA Company presents the genetic risks for cardiovascular inflammation, high cholesterol, and hypertension.
The information is presented in a color-coded manner, which facilitates readability. The results are categorized as Poor, Average, and Optimal, or by risk.
Next, the report goes into detail about each topic. Let’s look at the High Cholesterol session.
First, The DNA Company tells you how likely you are to have an increased risk of high cholesterol, followed by a description of the condition, which also includes how genetics may affect the health topic. Here you will also be able to see your genotype for the gene analyzed.
Keep in mind that The DNA Company only appears to look at one gene related to high cholesterol, the APOE gene. They also look at one gene related to statins, which are medications to help control cholesterol levels. For comparison, SelfDecode analyzes over one million genetic variants in their Cholesterol report alone to provide personalized health recommendations.
After presenting the results, The DNA Company includes a list of general recommendations of what users should and should not do to improve cardiovascular health. However, these don’t appear to be personalized to the user’s genetic results. Additionally, the company does not explain why they make their recommendation, and how each one can help optimize your health.
Furthermore, despite providing a list with a decent amount of health advice, many of them are included multiple times. For example, in this report, The DNA Company tells you to “eat almonds” in three separate occasions, so the amount of actionable information you actually receive might be misleading.
Other sections of the report may also provide supplement recommendations, which can include supplements sold by The DNA Company.
Finally, the report presents a conclusion section that briefly discusses cardiovascular health. Unfortunately, the company does not provide links to scientific studies in the reports.
If you wish to, you can book a call with one of their health coaches for a 30-minute session on how to navigate the reports.
Cost of The DNA Company
The DNA Company’s DNA test costs $399, plus shipping, or you can choose to make four payments of $100 with Sezzle. Supplements range from $30 to $50. Users can subscribe to receive supplements every 30 days, in which case they get a 10% discount.
The Your DNA Concierge Team is priced at $4,999, but this service is still not available. You can sign up to receive an advance notice when the program is released.
Health Recommendations from The DNA Company
The DNA Company offers a list of lifestyle and diet recommendations, but these don’t appear to be personalized to the user’s unique genetic makeup. It’s also worth noting that many recommendations appear more than once even when discussing the same health topic.
On top of that, the reports are based on an analysis of a limited number of genes and gene variants, which means the results might not reflect the complete picture of your health.
As stated above, users can book a complimentary 30-minute call with a health coach to learn how to navigate the reports.
Review of The DNA Company Privacy & Data Security
The DNA Company claims to never sell users’ personal information. However, they will anonymize genomic data, which they may share with their partners for research purposes.
They claim to take measures to protect genetic information, but customers can ask for their information to be removed and their sample, destroyed. If you choose to delete your information, the DNA Company warns that you will be required to pay the full cost of the test should you wish to gain access to any new information available on their website.
SelfDecode vs The DNA Company
- SelfDecode delivers natural supplement, diet, and lifestyle suggestions based on your genes that you can implement right away. The DNA Company provides generic health recommendations in their reports.
- SelfDecode tells you why they make each recommendation so that you can understand the science behind the suggestion. The DNA Company does not explain how each recommendation may help optimize health based on genetics.
- SelfDecode prioritizes recommendations based on their analysis of all the relevant genes instead of one gene at a time (through reports). The DNA Company tells users what they should and should not do to address a health topic, but this advice is general.
- SelfDecode takes a holistic approach to give recommendations that are best for your genes AND the health topic. The DNA Company looks at each topic separately.
- SelfDecode has a team of over 60 highly skilled scientists, MDs, PhDs, NDs, and software engineers to make sure they deliver the most accurate and science-based health information. According to their LinkedIn page, The DNA Company has 10 employees, one of which is dedicated to research.
- SelfDecode is the most comprehensive and looks at more genes & SNPs (up to 83 million) to deliver the best analysis of genetic risks. The DNA Company only looks at 70 variations to generate their reports.
- SelfDecode supports everything with peer-reviewed scientific studies in their research and checks for contradicting information. The DNA Company does not include links to scientific references in the reports.
- SelfDecode never sells your data or gives it away. The DNA Company claims to never sell customer information but will anonymize genomic data for research purposes, which they may share with their partners.
- SelfDecode offers cutting-edge ancestry insights and ancestry-adjusted polygenic risk scores. The DNA Company does not offer ancestry analysis.
Comparisons
| SelfDecode | The DNA Company | Promethease | GenoPalate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personalized & holistic health recommendations | Yes | No | No | No |
| Genes & genetic variants analyzed | Up to 83 million genetic variants | 70 genetic variations | 100,000+ SNPs | 100+ genetic variants |
| Products | Free DNA analysis, DNA testing, wellness reports, research-based personalized health recommendations, lab test analyzer, patient and provider options, ancestry | DNA testing, wellness reports, health coaching | DNA analysis, health reports (no DNA testing) | DNA testing, diet-focused wellness reports |
| Raw data access | Yes | No | N/A | No |
| Cost (USD) | Free DNA upload
Plans from $99-$249 |
$399 – $4,999 | $12 per report | $40 – $150 |
The DNA Company Reviews
Unfortunately, The DNA Company only has very few online reviews other than the testimonials displayed on their website. On Facebook, they have over 500 followers, but no reviews or recommendations.
Alternatives to The DNA Company
SelfDecode: SelfDecode is the only direct-to-consumer company using polygenic risk scoring and analyzing 83 million genetic variants to provide genetic predispositions and personalized diet, lifestyle, and supplement recommendations based on your DNA. SelfDecode also offers ancestry insights that include your ancestry composition, mitochondrial ancestry, and other detailed reports (only available with the SelfDecode DNA kit).
The DNA Company Review Summary
The DNA Company offers a DNA test focused on six wellness areas: cardiovascular, sleep, immunity, mood, diet, and hormones. Their reports will tell you how likely you are to experience a health condition or trait, and they offer some general health recommendations.
However, keep in mind that they only look at a limited amount of genes and gene variants (70 variants). As stated on their website, they only analyze genes indicated in the reports. Because of this, they do not accept DNA file uploads from other providers, nor do they give you access to your raw genetic data.
Another point of concern is that they do not include links to scientific references in the reports. On top of that, they do not thoroughly explain how each recommendation may help improve health based on the user’s unique genetics.
For those who want a more holistic approach to health, SelfDecode could be a good alternative. Get access to 300+ DNA health & traits reports and discover your genetic predispositions and personalized health recommendations based on your genes.
If you need a DNA test, SelfDecode offers DNA kits & insights for $199-$249. With a SelfDecode membership, you will also get access to the lab analyzer tool, SNP & gene explorer, and personalized blog. You can upload your lab results to learn how far your results are from their optimal range and receive detailed explanations about each marker.
SelfDecode also offers cutting-edge ancestry analysis with in-depth ethnicity percentage breakdown, as well as a color-coded map that can help you easily discover where you’re from. You’ll be able to trace your maternal lineage back through the ages, learning where they started in the world, and the journey that they took to get to where you are today.
You can get started with SelfDecode by uploading your DNA for free.
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