This is the first in an occasional series of profiles introducing you to the people behind 23andMe’s content curation team. This team of 23andMe <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Robin-Smith-Photo-200x300.jpg" alt="Robin Smith Photo" class="alignright wp-image-21508" width="300" height="449" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Robin-Smith-Photo-200x300.jpg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Robin-Smith-Photo.jpg 534w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />scientists has the unique job of determining which genetic associations will be reported to customers. Their rigorous process of combing through scientific literature, vetting genetic information and ensuring that published scientific findings meet our standards for inclusion, directly impacts what you see when you log into your 23andMe account. 
&#8220;The genome is vast, complex, and full of wonders waiting to be revealed.&#8221;

<h6>
How did you get into the field of genetics?</h6>

As a child I was always fascinated by stories of outer space, and thought my calling would be to design spaceships that would go to other planets. I enrolled in a program named &#8220;Engineering Science&#8221; at the University of Toronto that focuses on specialized engineering disciplines.
About midway through my second year I realized that Fluid Mechanics and Robotics were not nearly as fun as a class where we created beating cardiomyocytes out of stem cells, and the rest was history. I followed this up with a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Miami, where I was permitted to tinker at the lab bench but also write the odd computer program. My thesis work centered on genetic mechanisms that allow peripheral nerves (e.g. in your arm) to grow back in contrast to central nerves (e.g. in your spinal cord), which cannot. 


<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Robin Smith, PhD Health Content Scientist

From: Toronto, Canada

Education:

BS: Biomedical Engineering,University of Toronto

PhD: Neuroscience from the University of Miami

Post-doc: UCSF in the lab of Nadav Ahituv

Fun Fact: After Graduate School Robin took a year off to help produce an indie feature film, ending up with his first (but hopefully not last) IMDB credit.
</div>
&nbsp;
<h6>
What were you researching/doing before you came to 23andMe? </h6>

After my PhD I did a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF in the lab of Nadav Ahituv. We were interested in the 98 percent of the genome that doesn&#8217;t code for genes, so called DNA &#8220;dark matter&#8221;. It turns out that these regions of DNA are very important for telling genes when, where and how much to turn on to produce a living, breathing organism out of a single cell. My research focused on breaking apart these regions of DNA to figure out how they work.

<h6>
Why are you excited about genetics and 23andMe?</h6>

So much about who we are and where we come from is wrapped up in this little ball of DNA that we carry about in (almost) every single one of our cells. It&#8217;s right there, glaring at us; and thanks to modern science, now extremely accessible. It&#8217;s like someone dropped a big puzzle in front of you that has an amazing image embedded within it. All you have to do is figure out how to put it together.
At 23andMe, we have the unique opportunity to be able to translate science to everyone &#8212; a lot of people just aren’t aware of what’s out there. Being able to work with one of the biggest databases of genetic information in the world is also very appealing. It’s allowed me to broaden my knowledge set about how genetics impact health and ancestry.

<h6>
Tell us about one of your interesting findings at 23andMe, or in your previous scientific life. </h6>

In the past, determining whether a piece of dark matter DNA regulates gene expression required a series of lengthy procedures. My time at UCSF coincided with an advance in technology that allowed us to test thousands of such DNA pieces at the same time. My research, which was later published in the journal Nature Genetics, centered on the design of synthetic DNA sequences that mimicked natural DNA dark matter in an attempt to crack the &#8220;regulatory code&#8221;. We discovered several interesting features of the code that operates in liver cells, and that it resembles a grammar of sorts.

<h6>
Tell us about a recent breakthrough in genetics research that you think will have a big impact on the industry.</h6>

We seem to be at an inflection point where advances in Next-Generation Sequencing put it in reach of the consumer. I&#8217;m looking forward to the day when we all have our full, sequenced genomes in our pockets (or safe in the cloud). The implications for health and ancestry are immense: imagine intricate knowledge about why your sense of smell is different that your partner&#8217;s, or being able to trace your ancestry back to a particular village. I think the best discoveries are out there waiting to be found.
<h6>
Did you learn anything interesting from your 23andMe results? Did you make any changes as a result of taking the test?</h6>

I&#8217;ve learned a lot about the genetics of Hemochromatosis. A lot of our customers (including my family) have variants in the HFE gene, but only certain combinations lead to a risk for iron overload. I&#8217;m a carrier for H63D, which originally concerned me, but reading through the 23andMe report and also seeing all the various mutations that appeared in my family was helpful in putting this into perspective. 
 
<h6> 
What&#8217;s one thing the average consumer should know about genetics?</h6>

There&#8217;s an amazing wealth of knowledge that scientists have built up over the years about how genetics influence traits and disease, but really we&#8217;ve just seen the tip of the iceberg. The genome is vast, complex, and full of wonders waiting to be revealed.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

A Conversation With Health Content Scientist Robin Smith

Two new studies done by researchers in France and the United States connect the dots between the number of moles women have and their risk for developing breast cancer.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-300x300.jpg" alt="Mole" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21125" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole.jpg 693w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Published last week in PLOS Medicine, the large studies, both found a connection. One study was done by researchers at <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001660" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">France’s Université Paris Sud.</a>  The other was conducted by scientists at <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001659#abstract1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brigham Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School</a> – 
<h6>The Two Studies</h6>
The French study – which used a cohort of about 89,000 women teachers studied over 18 years – found that premenopausal women with “many” moles were 34 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those with none.
The US study – which includes a cohort of about 74,000 women nurses studied over 20 years – found that women with 15 or more moles were 35 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those women without moles.
That corresponds to about an 8 percent risk of developing breast cancer for those women without moles and an 11 percent risk for those with 15 or more moles.
<h6>23andMe Researchers Take a Look</h6>
In another illustration of the power of 23andMe’s database our researchers were able to very quickly look at our own data to see if we could find the same association between the number of moles and risk for breast cancer. We did. As with the two recent studies, our data also showed that the more moles a woman had, the higher their risk for breast cancer.&#8221;
So why look at moles when studying breast cancer?
<h6>A Possible Connection with Moles</h6>
Moles are typically associated with the risk for <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/snpwatch/snpwatch-genetic-variant-contributing-to-melanoma-risk-has-different-effects-on-mole-count-depending-on-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">skin cancer</a>, but researchers decided to look at their possible connection to breast cancer because the production of moles is associated with higher levels of estrogen and progesterone.
Those two hormones may also be associated with the development of breast cancer. Several studies have found a hormonal influence on whether women develop breast cancer. And, as the editors of the study noted, women who don’t have children or have the late in life, are at “a higher breast cancer risk than women who have several children when they are young because pregnancy alters sex hormone levels.”
So researchers thought that the number of moles may help be a predictor for breast cancer risk. The data seem to indicate that is true.
Both studies are illustrative of the power of being able to look at seemingly unrelated traits to learn more about the underlying biology of disease.

New Studies On Breast Cancer Risk

The 23andMe<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-17706" alt="pd-graphic" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/pd-graphic-300x300.jpg" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/pd-graphic-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/pd-graphic-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/pd-graphic-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/pd-graphic-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/pd-graphic.jpg 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />more severe non-motor symptoms.
These studies, which will be published later this year, were made possible by the participation of the now more than 10,000 people in 23andMe’s Parkinson’s Research Community, the world’s largest cohort of genotyped Parkinson’s patients. Our work has also received vital assistance from 23andMe’s partnerships with organizations like The Michael J. Fox Foundation, The Parkinson’s Institute, and the Cleveland Clinic.
<h6>Differences in Symptom Severity</h6>
In our recent study, 23andMe’s researchers studied the symptoms of thousands of Parkinson’s patients of European descent. We found differences in symptom severity between different groups:
&#8211; Patients with a mutation in the LRRK2 gene had less severe motor symptoms. 
&#8211; Patients with a higher body mass index (BMI) experienced more severe symptoms. 
&#8211; Women had less severe motor symptoms but more severe non-motor symptoms.
We also found factors that were associated with earlier age of Parkinson’s onset, which may be of potential relevance to clinicians deciding when to screen for the disease. Patients who carried a GBA gene mutation, patients not of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and patients with higher BMIs tended to have earlier ages of onset.
Our researchers also confirmed previous studies that showed that both smoking and caffeine consumption was associated with a lower risk for Parkinson’s. (We do not suggest anyone take up smoking.)
<h6>Much to Learn</h6>
Such information on the onset and symptomology of different populations could benefit both patients and their doctors. It could give both an idea of what to expect, and what&#8217;s needed in building a treatment plan.
We still have much to learn about this disease. For instance, the relationship between genes and environment in causing Parkinson’s. We also want to know how the disease develops differently in different people. And we want to know the role genetics plays in influencing how patients respond differently to different treatments. Participants in the 23andMe Parkinson’s Research Community continue to help researchers make strides toward a greater understanding of Parkinson&#8217;s. We hope it will also lead to new treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/pd/?utm_source=23andMeBlog&#038;utm_medium=2014Aprilblog&#038;utm_campaign=PDUpdate">Learn more</a> about how you can become part of the genetics revolution underway in Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s Symptoms Different For Men and Women

At her<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_IAP995218"> South-by-Southwest Interactive</a> keynote, 23andMe CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki explained that genetic information will soon be part of our everyday lives.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20429" alt="Anne@sxsw" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Anne@sxsw-231x300.jpg" width="231" height="300" />
“Genetic information is reaching a critical mass,” Anne said.
<h6>Managing Your Health</h6>
As costs drop and as our understanding of genetics improves, the information locked in the genome will be a critical part of managing health for people. But how that information is accessed and interpreted is still being debated. Anne discussed the potential that this information has for people and for research.
Her talk<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_IAP995218"> “The Future of Genetics in Our Everyday Lives”</a> was packed. One person on Twitter said it wasn’t just the longest line she’d seen in ten years at SXSW but the “longest line I’ve seen period.”
<h6>Prevention</h6>
During her talk and a question and answer session that followed and was moderated by journalist Kara Swisher, Anne reiterated the company’s core principles. She co-founded the company, in part, because she wanted to transform health care. Anne said she wanted to turn the industry’s paradigm on its head by creating a business built on preventing disease instead of one that profits from it. 
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6A4wtpHZCQI" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0"></iframe>
“Genetic information is the basis for personalized medicine and it&#8217;ll help us make better decisions,&#8221; she said.
<h6>Research</h6>
23andMe allows people to contribute to research while learning about themselves. By attracting a large number of customers, the data from those participating in research is helping to accelerate the pace of discovery and give us more insight into disease.
In addition, by allowing people to join others and participate in research, 23andMe has the power to accelerate discoveries in the understanding of different diseases. The company is able to learn more about the genetic basis for disease, why some people are more likely to develop a disease than others and why some therapies work better on some people and not others.
With more than half a million people participating in research, the company has been able to do studies in a few months or years that would have taken others using traditional methods several decades.
<div id="attachment_20768" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20768" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Future-of-Genetic-Infographic-copy1-640x360.jpg" alt="Here's an ImageThink artist's summary of Anne's talk." class="size-large wp-image-20768" width="640" height="360" />Here&#8217;s an ImageThink artist&#8217;s summary of Anne&#8217;s talk.</div>

The Future of Genetics in People’s Lives

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20269" alt="Depression infographic" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Depression-infographic.jpg" width="690" height="447" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Depression-infographic.jpg 690w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Depression-infographic-300x194.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px" />
For the live-updated, fully-labeled, interactive version of this infographic, <a href="http://curetogether.com/depression/ig/treatment-effectiveness-vs-popularity">click here</a>.
By Alex Carmichael, Co-Founder of CureTogether
The top treatments for depression are simple lifestyle changes, according to patients who contributed to a new study by CureTogether, a free resource owned by 23andMe that allows people to share information about their health and treatments.

Participants in the study said they found that interventions like exercise, spending time with pets, and listening to music were the most effective for them in treating their depression. Conversely, some popular treatments such as alcohol, Paxil, and caffeine were among the least effective, according to the participants in the CureTogether survey.

Depression is the number one condition among participants in CureTogether, with 11,443 members contributing data on what works and doesn’t work for them. While many people feel sad from time to time, depression is a serious mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It often goes untreated, according to the National Institutes for Health. The participants in the CureTogether survey may not be diagnosed with clinical depression. They are self-reporting that they have depression and the associated symptoms. There are a number of causes and treatments for the condition. In this survey, participants pointed to stress and social isolation as the most common <a href="http://curetogether.com/depression/ig/treatment-effectiveness-vs-popularity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">causes of their depression</a>. 
study.

<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 200px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Top-Rated Treatments for Depression in Survey
1. Exercise
2. Spend time with a pet
3. Play outside
4. Music with exercise
5. Music therapy
6. Daily aerobic exercise
7. Daily sunlight exposure
8. Art therapy
9. Psychotherapy
10. Psychotherapy
*For a list of all the treatments listed in the survey go <a href="http://curetogether.com/depression/treatments/ae/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</div>

Participants in this survey also did not rank some of the most commonly used drugs for treating depression in their list of the top 25 effective treatments. But among the medication that many participants listed as effective were SSRIs, Xanax and  Low Dose Naltrexone.
Where did this data come from? This is the result of a five-year CureTogether study on <a href="http://curetogether.com/depression/treatments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">depression,</a> in which people suffering from the condition shared information about their symptoms and treatment effectiveness.
We’d like to thank those who participated. And just as they shared their experience with depression treatments, we’re freely and openly sharing the results of the Depression 
This is part of a regular series of CureTogether <a href="http://curetogether.com/blog/category/research-findings/">research findings</a>. CureTogether’s research findings are different than <a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/factoids/">those made by 23andMe</a>, which look at genetic associations with illness, traits and drug response. But as we continue our work with the CureTogether community, 23andMe hopes to incorporate more of this kind of self-reported information into our own research. CureTogether present its findings just as they are — patient-reported data — to stimulate discussion and generate new insights for further research.


Please tweet, blog, or pass this along to anyone who can benefit or is interested in Depression. Thank you!

Alexandra Carmichael

What Patients Say Works For Depression

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-20229 aligncenter" alt="High Cholesterol Infographic" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/High-Cholesterol-Infographic.jpg" width="693" height="448" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/High-Cholesterol-Infographic.jpg 693w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/High-Cholesterol-Infographic-300x194.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 693px) 100vw, 693px" />For the live-updated, fully-labelled, interactive version of this infographic, <a href="http://curetogether.com/high-cholesterol/ig/treatment-effectiveness-vs-popularity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.
By Alex Carmichael, Co-Founder of CureTogether
If part of your plan for 2014 is to eat healthier, exercise, and lower your cholesterol, this post is for you! Some of the most popular treatments for High Cholesterol are not necessarily the most effective, according to a new study by CureTogether, a free resource owned by 23andMe that allows people to share information about their health and treatments.
Participants in the study said they found that some drugs – including Statins, Crestor, and Lipitor – were the most effective. Conversely some popular treatments such as Fish oil and Vitamin D were among the least effective, according to the study. High Cholesterol affects millions of Americans. Finding treatments that work well is important to improve quality of life, so CureTogether asked people living with High Cholesterol to rate the effectiveness of different treatments.
CureTogether’s study compiled responses from 1,862 people with High Cholesterol, who rated the effectiveness of 19 different treatments. Among the most helpful treatments were statin drugs, weight loss, exercise, and quitting smoking. Also effective for those in the study were diet changes including reducing carbohydrates. The people in the study also said that cinnamon and garlic – both folk remedies –  were not as effective.
<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 200px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Most Effective Rated Treatments for People with High Cholesterol 
1. Statins 
2. Crestor 
3. Lipitor 
4. Quit smoking 
5. Zocor 
6. Weight loss 
7. Niaspan 
8. No carbohydrates 
9. Exercise 
10. Red yeast rice</div>
Where did this data come from? This is the result of a four-year CureTogether study on <a href="http://curetogether.com/high-cholesterol/treatments/">High Cholesterol</a>, in which people suffering from the condition shared information about their symptoms and what treatments worked best for them. We’d like to thank those who participated. And just as they shared their experience with High Cholesterol treatments, we’re freely and openly sharing the results of the High Cholesterol study.
This is part of a regular series of CureTogether <a href="http://curetogether.com/blog/category/research-findings/">research findings</a>. CureTogether’s research findings are different than <a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/factoids/">those made by 23andMe</a>, which look at genetic associations with illness, traits and drug response. But as we continue our work with the CureTogether community, 23andMe hopes to incorporate more of this kind of self-reported information into our own research. CureTogether present its findings just as they are — patient-reported data — to stimulate discussion and generate new insights for further research.
Please tweet, blog, or pass this along to anyone who can benefit or is interested in High Cholesterol. Thank you!

What Patients Say Works For High Cholesterol

By Bertram Koelsch
Do you know the bacteria H. pylori? Well, H. pylori may already know you.
<div id="attachment_19894" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19894" class="size-medium wp-image-19894" alt="H. pylori" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/H.-pylori-300x206.jpg" width="300" height="206" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/H.-pylori-300x206.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/H.-pylori-768x528.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/H.-pylori-1024x704.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/H.-pylori-880x605.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/H.-pylori-1180x811.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/H.-pylori.jpg 1495w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />H. pylori, a bacterium that lives in the mucus of the stomach and tolerates acid. Electron micrograph courtesy of Manuel Amieva, Stanford University.</div>
H. pylori can be found in the stomach of 30-40 percent of people in the US and 70 percent or more of people in developing regions. Indeed, humans have a long-standing and intimate relationship with these bacteria. Researchers believe Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori for short) and humans have been living together for more than <a href="http://www.jci.org/articles/view/38605">50,000 years</a>!

While most people will go their entire lives without knowing they carry these bacteria, about 15 percent  of those harboring H. pylori will develop stomach problems. Thanks to <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2005/illpres/index.html">Nobel Prize</a>-winning research in the 1980s, H. pylori is now known to be <a href="http://jama.jamanetwork.com/data/Journals/JAMA/4432/jpg0917_1374_1374.pdf">linked to</a> serious stomach diseases including gastritis, peptic ulcers and stomach cancer.

When it does cause problems, treatment for H. pylori includes the use of a combination of  antibiotics and drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Common PPIs include Prilosec ® and Prevacid ®. PPIs reduce the stomach&#8217;s acidity, which lures H. pylori out from their hiding places in the stomach&#8217;s lining. Once in the stomach cavity, these bacteria can be effectively eradicated with antibiotics. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=19166419">Clinical research</a> over the past decade has shown that people who have certain genetic mutations metabolize or break down PPIs more slowly. These people are exposed to higher levels of the PPI drugs, allowing for better stomach acid reduction and improved H. pylori treatment success.

The effectiveness of PPIs at blocking stomach acid production depends on their drug levels in the blood. An enzyme in the liver named <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=Search&#038;term=23646118" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CYP2C19 influences how quickly PPIs are metabolized</a> or broken down so that they can be cleared from the body. People with the &#8220;extensive metabolizer&#8221; genotype rapidly metabolize PPIs. On the other hand, people with the &#8220;poor metabolizer&#8221; genotype metabolize PPIs more slowly. These &#8220;poor metabolizers&#8221; have a higher success rate for treating H. pylori, since slower PPI metabolism leads to lower stomach acid levels for longer periods of time.

Director, Product Research & Development

Bertram Koelsch

A Gut Bug, Genetics and Treating Serious Stomach Diseases

You learned to like the foods you grew up with, but did you know genetics also influence your food preferences? In addition to influencing your sensitivity to bitter and sweet flavors, genetics also affect brain chemistry and, therefore, how you respond to tastes or other sensory cues.
This Thanksgiving, 23andMe is celebrating all things food, and that starts with sharing what we know about the DNA of your holiday meal.
For example, do you have a sweet tooth? Research shows that people with the GG, AA, or AG genotypes consume, on average, more sugar per day than people with a GC or CC genotype. Those are the people heading straight for the pumpkin pie on Turkey Day!
This Thanksgiving, you’ll also be able to tell if the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/wellness/alcohol-flush-reaction">alcohol flush reaction</a> runs in the family. Relatives with no working copies of the ALDH2 gene are prone to a flushing extreme response from a glass of red wine, while your cousins who inherited two working copies will have little or no flushing reaction.
For people with specific food needs, Thanksgiving can be a challenge. Between 20 percent and 40 percent of us in the US and Europe are likely to be dealing with some form of lactose intolerance in adulthood. At the same time, more than two million Americans suffer from Celiac Disease, a condition that requires them to enjoy a gluten-free holiday feast.
Would you like to know if your ancestors passed down their love of sweets? Or maybe you want to know why you get wired from one cup of coffee? Your 23andMe results will give you a genetic profile that sheds light on:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
if you&#8217;re more likely to eat sweet things
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
the likelihood that you’ll overeat
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
how your body responds to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/wellness/caffeine-consumption/">caffeine</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
your sensitivity to lactose (the type of sugar found in milk)
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
if you should avoid gluten
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
your ability to taste Brussels sprouts and other bitter foods
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
if you flush from drinking
</li>
</ul>
Will your 23andMe results influence the way you eat? How will your Thanksgiving table look different now that you’ve investigated the genetic association with food?

The DNA of Thanksgiving

Maybe you’re planning to sport a <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-19752 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/23andMe_Movember_FINAL.jpg" alt="" width="1300" height="1000" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/23andMe_Movember_FINAL.jpg 1300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/23andMe_Movember_FINAL-300x231.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/23andMe_Movember_FINAL-768x591.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/23andMe_Movember_FINAL-1024x788.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/23andMe_Movember_FINAL-880x677.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/23andMe_Movember_FINAL-1180x908.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px" />
It’s “No Shave November,” also known as <a href="http://us.movember.com/">Movember</a>, a time where many a man gives their razors a rest and grow a moustache to raise awareness for prostate cancer and other male cancers.
Here at 23andMe we’re a little scruffier than normal, but it’s all for the cause. We want to see what you’ve got on your upper lip, so show us your ‘stache and follow the conversation on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/23andMe">Facebook</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/23andMe">Twitter</a>.

Health + Traits — Page 25