What an insightful week it has been! I just finished reading my 56 page (yes, 56 page!!) vitality report from a company called Vitagene and all I can say is WOW!! I finally feel like I no longer need to grope in the dark trying to answer questions like what am I deficient in, what exercise is best for my unique body, what supplements should I be taking, what foods should I avoid, and so much more.
When I was first contacted by the lovely people who work at Vitagene to try out their product, I literally pounced on the opportunity. In case you aren’t familiar, many DNA testing companies cost at least $200, more if you want additional information like dietary sensitivities and so on. Needless to say, I was not super keen on spending the money as I had already invested so much in my health without anything to show for it.
What’s great about Vitagene is that they offer a number of test results (many of which no other DNA company provides) for half the price – just $99 which is so much more affordable. And the value you get for that price? In my case, priceless! But I’ll explain more about that later.
The report includes unique information based on your DNA:
• Ancestry
• Obesity Risk
• Fat Intake
• Sodium Intake
• Cholesterol Levels
• Triglyceride Metabolism
• Alcohol Metabolism
• Gluten Sensitivity
• Lactose Metabolism
• Weight Regain
• Emotional Eating
• Power VS. Endurance
• Muscle Strength
• Muscle Cramps
• Exercise Behavior
• Blood Pressure Response
• Weight Response
• Micronutrient Levels
• Supplement Recommendations
All from an in-depth questionnaire and saliva swab sample that is quick and easy to do. Just swab and toss the sample in the box provided and send it back on its way.
The questionnaire you fill out on the site is chock full of questions based on your personal mental and physical health, family history, your medical history, nutrition, lifestyle, and health goals, giving you a very personalized experience based on science, lifestyle, and even future health goals.
Testing usually takes 4-6 weeks, because hey, there’s a lot of information in our DNA and Vitagene does a great job providing it. Once testing is finished, your results are available for download online in a beautiful PDF format. You will also receive a hard copy in the mail.
My Experience Using Vitagene – Ancestry, Exercise, Supplements, and Sensitivities
So, what drew me to trying out an ancestry and DNA testing company? Well, if you know me at all, then you know I’ve been struggling with unexplainable health issues for years. Fatigue, lethargy, depression, moodiness, poor circulation, bad skin, you name it I’ve had some variation of it.
I went to my physician countless times without any information for why I felt the way I did, leaving with even more questions and prescription medications that did nothing to solve the underlying issue. I was frustrated and tired of feeling tired. I needed answers and thought, there’s no harm in a DNA test, maybe it will shed some light on my situation. Well, shedding some light puts it a bit lightly because I was flooded with meaningful realization and here’s why.
Not only does Vitagene test for ancestry, they also test for common sensitivities and deficiencies. Never in a million years did I expect to have a deficiency considering how healthy I eat on a daily basis.
The deficiency I have? Folate.
And not only do I know that, I also know the very gene, SNP, and genotype that’s causing it which is what really got me. Do you want to know what that gene is called? Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase – aka, MTHFR. I HAVE A MTHFR GENE MUTATION I didn’t know about!
So, what is MTHFR besides a really horrible abbreviation? It’s the enzyme that makes folate usable by the body. It also converts homocysteine into methionine which your body needs for proper metabolism and muscle growth. It’s also super important for detox among A LOT of other things I’ll be writing about in a future post.
All I can say is knowing about this deficiency has been incredible for my health! Now that I know I need to take folate (NOT the synthetic version – folic acid), I can now supply my body with exactly the right folate it needs (which again, I’ll get into in another post!).
I also know that my B12 is too high which is also related to this gene mutation. This is so useful to know because high levels of B12 can make you especially moody, something I’ve struggled with for a number of years now.
My mind is just blown to say the least!
You can look at all 56 pages of my report to give you a good idea of what Vitagene’s reports look like. You can see how easy it is to read and understand, because DNA is complicated! I also appreciate the information on the science, history, and prevalence of my folate deficiency which you can see on page 33.
As for sensitivities, I’m likely gluten and lactose intolerant based on my results which is something I’ve been suspicious of most of my life. Well, now I know to avoid those foods for better health and well-being.
As for the other results, they were certainly insightful!
Even though I’m thin, I carry a gene that indicates I have an increased risk for obesity. This tells me to stay physically active, continue to eat a balanced diet, and just make sure my body is getting all it needs for optimal health. According to my DNA profile, I’m also more likely to regain weight I’ve lost which means my health and weight management rely more heavily on what I eat rather than frequent exercise.
This pairs well with another result that says my body’s weight gain is highly reliant on how much fat I consume in my diet. Normally, I wouldn’t agree that eating fat plays such a huge role in weight gain (It’s actually sugar), but it’s nice to see such personalized results and healthy recommendations for controlling fat consumption. I have to remember that this is literally in my DNA, so it’s a handy tool to utilize and certainly good to know!
As for exercise, it was great to find out what forms of daily movement are best for my body which happens to be a mix of both endurance and power activities. This is really useful when trying to stay fit or losing weight as it really explains why I hit a plateau if I focus on one type of exercise for too long. Vitagene determines this based on genes that influence your body’s ability to process carbs, fats, and oxygen.
Vitagene also tests your sodium metabolism which I’m sure can be helpful for those with hormonal and blood-pressure issues. My genes indicate that my sodium metabolism health is normal. Same goes for cholesterol and triglyceride health. It was also neat to see how well my body metabolizes substances such as alcohol which are all normal for me.
What was really interesting was seeing how my DNA says I’m more likely to eat emotionally and feel less satisfied after eating. No wonder I feel hungry right after eating so often! It’s nice to see healthy tips for curbing this situation on the report.
My Experience Using Vitagene – Personalized Supplements
One of the best things about Vitagene that no other DNA company offers is a personalized supplement recommendation list.
Based on your questionnaire and backed up by science (aka your DNA results), Vitagene is able to recommend supplements for your unique needs like weight management, lifestyle support, and goal related supplements as well as supplements based on your DNA and family history. Everything is thoroughly explained – the science, history of use, and what foods have those key nutrient within them as well as why those supplements are good for certain needs.
Having worked for a well-known health food store for a number of years (in the supplement section no less), I can see that my recommendations are spot on for what my body needs. It truly is amazing that you can get all of this information without all the guesswork, because let me tell you, I’ve been guessing for YEARS and I already know about supplements, health, and wellness.
Reading this report brought me to tears because it resonated with me so much, because when you just don’t know why you feel the way you do yet you eat a balanced diet and lead a healthy lifestyle, you would do almost anything to get some inkling of what your body needs.
What could be better than that? How about getting those very supplements delivered to your door? Yep. Vitagene also provides an additional service where you can opt in for what they call “Smart Supplements”.
So, would I recommend this product? I wholeheartedly say YES! So, if you would like to try Vitagene at a discount, you can use my referral link HERE to get 15% off your purchase 🙂
You may also enjoy reading:
My Experience Using 23andMe
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Thanks Tash for sharing your result.
For me knowing Athletic profile fascinates the most. I always think variants related to this profile are more ‘actionable’ compared to others. I did not find much helpful though (from this report).
By the way, why same variant (rs2815752) is repeated 7 times in “Power vs. Endurance” category?
Hi Bikash!
I’m not entirely sure! I actually find it more interesting to look at ALL of my variants using 3rd party genetic testing companies 🙂 However, using the info in this report, I learned that my body does much better with a mixture of different exercises for best results. It’s actually been working out really well for me.
These days the option to download data is made available by several companies like 23andme, Ancestry DNA, FTDNA. And more importantly one can try out many third party tools/sites to generate health, nutrition and fitness reports. Promethease, Xcode, Gedcom, Genetic Genie etc. The list goes on. Word of advise, it is better to go with a commercial company offering this as you can always write to them for support.
Thanks for the great review and for sharing your report. Does one receive a copy of the raw data results from Vitagene so that one can upload them to genealogy sites or other sites like Promethease that cross check your genes against studies done on individual genes?
Hi Steve!
Unfortunately, Vitagene does not offer the raw data in the appropriate format needed for further analysis by third party sites. I’ve tried, but they cannot interpret the data 🙁 I have reached out to Vitagene to see if I can get the proper format, but seeing as how this company is still pretty new they haven’t been able to do so as of yet. if you want raw data (which I think is pretty priceless!), I recommend going through 23andMe. Even if you ONLY get the ancestry test done, you can get your entire raw data file in the right format. Vitagene is cool in regards to health analysis, which I THINK you can get by itself if you have already done 23andMe’s ancestry test.
According to their site, they now offer raw data
Yes, they do offer the raw data. However, it is not the correct format needed by third-party analysis companies 🙁
oh crap… I just ordered one from them.. time to cancel
Oh no! Btw, if you go through 23andme, you can get your raw data in the correct format. THEN, you can do the vitality report through vitagene for the nutrition information they offer. It will be $49 instead of $99. Something to think about! 🙂
So… other than then the disappointment of a non standard DNA raw data… How are those vitmans? any major improvements? did you stop those vitmans and just bought your own from the store? Did you take their diet recommandation? How is that going?
I’m pretty excited to give up some of my salvia (yeah just order 23and Me and sent my cancel request to Vitagene)
Hello again!
I actually never got to try the supplements, so instead I used the information given in my vitality report to buy my own. I used to work at Whole Foods Market for a number of years in the vitamin dept., so I know my way around supplements 🙂 I have also been changing my diet so that I get more of those deficiencies covered. I have to say, knowing about the folate issue has been a life changer!
So you feel alot better? Getting all the missing vitmans your body needed? and your self correcting your folate issue?
I’m wondering if there is a instant or at least noticeable benefit of finding out what vitmans one is short on in life…
I think it depends on what those deficiencies are and the damage it may have caused within the body. For instance, my folate deficiency has messed with quite a few things that will take time to reverse (hormonal stuff etc.). However, since avoiding foods that contain folic acid, I don’t feel as run down during the day and my mood is better. Supplementing with folate is definitely helping in my case as well and will help in the long term for when I decide to start having children (folate is crucial for fetal development and a number of other pregnancy related conditions). I can definitely say that knowing these deficiencies is at least preparing me in this regard.
For example, my mom had preeclampsia for all three pregnancies and had to have an emergency C-section each time. If only she had known that her MTHFR mutation was the cause behind it, these stressful events could have been avoided. My sister also has this mutation and now knows why her depression medications don’t work. It’s because her depression is actually CAUSED by her deficiency in folate. So, definitely worth it IMO 🙂
was hoping that you say “Wow, I feel near super human”
but I take what I can get 🙂
Thank you so much for continuing to answer my questions… I ordered 23andMe, thinking of future uses of the DNA raw data
I uploaded my raw data from vitagene to promethease for $5.
Good to know Melissa! I’ll have to look into it!
The MTHFR Gene Defect is common. I’ve read estimates ranging from 50-80% of the population across this gene defect. It’s sometimes referred to as “Folate Anemia”.
Once you come up positive for MTHFR you want to check for other anemias. I’ve got both Iron Anemia and MTHFR. They do make me feel cold, exhausted and not refreshed after sleep. If I skip 3 days of my Methylfolate I end up crying and depressed, so it definitely works.
Antidepressants won’t work if you have the MTHFR Gene Defect because it’s not the correct treatment.
I take the brand name Methyl-Life.com. My life completely changed once I was diagnosed. My focus, concentration and happiness improved greatly.
Now that you know you have the MTHFR Gene Defect you can start treatment. It’s a lifelong commitment to your health. The only way to fix it permanently is to do gene therapy. Maybe one day CRISPR-Cas9 or CRISPR-Cas3 can be a permanent fix. For now I take my daily Methylfolate and B12 as per my requirements for my type of MTFR Gene Defect treatment protocol.
Good luck to you!
Thank you for your insight Anja! I appreciate it! 🙂