By Rafaela Bagur Quetglas, PhD



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="350" height="257" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/foodchoicesna.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10396" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/foodchoicesna.jpg 350w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/foodchoicesna-300x220.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /></figure>



You are what you eat, is the old adage, but what does your diet actually say about you? 



23andMe has a unique opportunity to explore that question, as we investigate how dietary habits, along with genetics, demographics, lifestyle and other data can influence overall health outcomes.







Looking at diet specifically, our scientists analyzed the data of more than 850,000 people who consented to participate in research and who shared details about their own eating habits.&nbsp;



Using machine learning techniques* we were able to see that dietary choices clustered into four distinct types of eaters, which were mainly characterized by two dietary behaviors. The first one represents the spectrum of foods’ nutrient content from high nutrient-dense foods (i.e. low caloric foods with high nutrient content like vegetables, leafy greens, fruit, beans or whole-grains) to low nutrient-dense foods (i.e. high caloric foods with low nutrient content like. processed foods, sweets, sodas, pastries, saturated fats or&nbsp; fast food). The second main behavior differentiating diet groups is the meat intake, in particular, red and processed meat (e.g., sausages, hot dogs, ham, or cured bacon).&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dietary-types">Dietary Types</h2>



Using these two behaviors as axes, we can plot the four main diet groups:&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>On one end, we find people who eat high-nutrient-dense (HND) foods like vegetables, leafy greens, and fruits and tend to avoid high-calorie foods with low nutrient content like refined carbs, processed foods, saturated fats, and fast food. Depending on their meat intake, these people can be classified as HND + Carnivores (high meat intake) or Herbivores (low meat intake). Importantly, not all Herbivores are vegetarian or vegan; they just eat less meat than the other diet groups. </li>



<li>Conversely, people with a diet low in vegetables, leafy greens, and fruits also tend to eat more high-calorie foods with low nutrient content and low nutrient-dense foods (LND). This group also tends to eat more meat, particularly processed and red meat (LND + Carnivores). Curiously, in this study we couldn’t find a group of people with a diet rich in low nutrient-dense foods that have a low meat intake (group absent in the lower-right corner of Figure 1). </li>



<li>Finally, the people in the middle were called Omnivores because they ate a little of everything.</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large wp-image-27333"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="310" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dietary-Types-1024x310.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-27333" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dietary-Types-1024x310.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dietary-Types-300x91.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dietary-Types-768x233.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dietary-Types-880x267.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dietary-Types-1180x358.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dietary-Types.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Figure 1. Left graph represents the four defined diets projected in the two main behaviors axis (nutrient content of foods and meat intake). Right panel describes the nutritional differences between these diets, the dots represent the average response to the survey question: “How frequently do you eat this food?” Possible responses were: “not at all” (all dots empty), “1-2 times per week” (one filled dot), “3-6 times per week” (two filled dots), “once per day” (three filled dots) or “more than once a day” (all dots filled).</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-men-versus-women">Men versus Women</h2>



After defining these dietary clusters, we looked to see if there were any noticeable demographic differences between these groups, and there were. We found that women tend to group in the Herbivore or HND + Carnivore groups. Fewer women — only about 20 percent in our study — were in the LND + Carnivore group. In contrast, about 30 percent of men were in that group. Women also tended to eat more fruits and vegetables and avoid meat more than men. About one in four women, versus one in six men, were classified in the Herbivore group. (Figure 2)



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large wp-image-27334"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="316" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gender-and-Diet-1024x316.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-27334" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gender-and-Diet-1024x316.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gender-and-Diet-300x92.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gender-and-Diet-768x237.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gender-and-Diet-880x271.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gender-and-Diet-1180x364.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gender-and-Diet.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Figure 2. Percent of users belonging to each diet class depending on their gender.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-younger-versus-older">Younger versus Older</h2>



As with gender, if we look at age we also can see differences within each of the dietary classifications. In this study, younger people appeared to eat fewer fruits and vegetables and more high-calorie foods with low nutrient content. We found that about 40 percent of adults under 30 belong to LND + Carnivore category, and only about 10 percent of this age group were in the Herbivore category. The reverse is true for individuals over 60, with people in that age group more likely to eat fruits and vegetables and less likely to eat refined carbs or fast food. This is not surprising since our diets change over time — think about the difference between the typical diet of a college freshman versus the typical diet of a senior citizen. 



Interestingly, when we look at Omnivores, their numbers don’t seem to change as they age. Is a part of the population resilient to changing their nutritional habits as they age? We can&#8217;t say for sure without further study (Figure 3).



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter wp-image-27341 size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="317" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Figure-3-1-1024x317.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27341" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Figure-3-1-1024x317.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Figure-3-1-300x93.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Figure-3-1-768x238.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Figure-3-1-880x273.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Figure-3-1-1180x366.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Figure-3-1.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Figure 3. Percent of users belonging to each diet class depending on their age. Users were divided into four different age bins: under 30 (&lt;30), between 30 and 45 (30-45), between 45 and 60 (45-60) and older than 60 (>60).</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bmi-by-dietary-groups">BMI by Dietary Groups</h2>



We also wanted to examine how these different dietary categories might impact weight, specifically BMI. We found that individuals who ate more fruits and vegetables — Herbivores — were more likely to have a BMI in the healthy range — between 18.5 and 24.9 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Figure 4). However, without exercise, those individuals in the Herbivore group were still likely to be overweight. That said, looking at our data it may be even more difficult to maintain a healthy BMI if your diet is in one of the other three dietary categories HND + Carnivore, Omnivore and LND + Carnivore.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large wp-image-27336"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="369" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Age-and-Exercise-1024x369.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-27336" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Age-and-Exercise-1024x369.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Age-and-Exercise-300x108.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Age-and-Exercise-768x277.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Age-and-Exercise-880x317.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Age-and-Exercise-1180x426.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Age-and-Exercise.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Figure 4. Description of the relationship between the average body mass index (BMI) of each diet class and the users’ age (left panel) and the number of times that they exercise per week for at least 30 min (right panel).</figcaption></figure>



A surprising finding was that the difference in average BMI between the LND + Carnivore group and the Herbivore group is higher in women than in men. This raises the question: Is a woman’s weight more sensitive to eating high-calorie foods?



&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bmi-by-gender">BMI by Gender</h2>



The differences between women and men in this study could be explained by many reasons. It’s important to highlight that BMI is a measure of weight adjusted for height, but it doesn’t consider body composition. The difference in BMI between men and women could be partially explained by the differences in fat storage observed in men and women [3]. On average, women have 6 to 11 percent more body fat than men. Studies show that estrogen reduces a woman&#8217;s ability to burn energy after eating, resulting in more fat being stored around the body. Experts in this field speculate that the likely reason for the differences in fat storage is to prime women for childbearing [3]. One could speculate that since gender-specific differences in fat storage exist, we might expect a fat-rich diet to impact women’s and men’s BMI differently.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter wp-image-27342 size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="700" height="361" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/New-image-5.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-27342" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/New-image-5.jpg 700w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/New-image-5-300x155.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Figure 5. Difference in BMI between users (divided by their gender) belonging to the LND+Carnivore group compared to that belonging to the Herbivore group.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eating-behavior">Eating Behavior</h2>



This study has shed some light on the eating behaviors of the 23andMe community and how they vary by age and gender. More importantly, we have shown that diet plays a significant role in maintaining a healthy weight, which is really important for your health: The higher your BMI, the higher your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers [1], [2]. However, what you eat is not enough to define your weight since our data showed that even people in the Herbivore group need to exercise at least five times a week to have a healthy weight. In a future blog post, we will look further into the differences in activity in the 23andMe research community broken down by age, sex, and diet behaviors.



Rafaela Bagur Quetglas is a Data Scientist in Health Research and Development at 23andMe.



____________________________________



*Two machine learning techniques were used in this study. The first method, k-means clustering, was used to place people with similar diet behavior into k distinct groups; in this case, k is four. The second method, principal component analysis, identifies which dietary details set those four groups apart.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



[1] Donald&nbsp; M. Lyall et al., (2017) Association of Body Mass Index With Cardiometabolic Disease in the UK Biobank: A Mendelian Randomization Study. JAMA Cardiol. 10.1001/jamacardio.2016.5804



[2] Bhaskaran K. et al., (2014) Body-mass index and risk of 22 specific cancers: a population-based cohort study of 5·24 million UK adults. Lancet. 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60892-8



[3] Betty N. Wu and Anthony J. O&#8217;Sullivan (2011) Sex Differences in Energy Metabolism Need to Be Considered with Lifestyle Modifications in Humans. J Nutr Metab. 10.1155/2011/391809



&nbsp;

Rafaela Bagur Quetglas

23andMe Explores Dietary Habit and Health Outcomes

By Briana Cameron, Ph.D., 23andMe Scientist, Biostatistics
As the year comes to an end and the temperature starts to drop, your urge for frosty treats like ice cream may also wane. At least, that’s what data from 23andMe research participants shows us: 
<div id="attachment_26665" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26665" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ice-Cream-Consumption-300x206.png" alt="" class="wp-image-26665 size-medium" width="300" height="206" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ice-Cream-Consumption-300x206.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ice-Cream-Consumption.png 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Customers were asked to report on how frequently they had consumed ice cream in the past month, with options ranging from never to two or more times a day. If we look at the week in which a customer answers this question, we can see that, unsurprisingly, customers tend to eat more ice cream in the summer months. Ice cream consumption reaches a low point in January.</div>It may seem obvious that January isn’t the best time to enjoy an ice cream cone, but what about other food? At 23andMe, we ask customers about how frequently they eat a wide variety of foods over the previous four weeks. Customers can answer this survey at any time, allowing researchers to look into how dietary habits may be influenced by season. (To make sure that all respondents were experiencing the same seasons, our Southern Hemisphere customers were excluded from the analysis.)
Evaluating these seasonal patterns, and adjusting for these trends in analyses of nutrition data, allows for more accurate research in this field. 
<h6>Eating Habits</h6>
Diet is an important component in studying many health outcomes, and a more nuanced consideration of how season affects our eating habits may provide researchers with a better understanding of the connection between diet and our health. In addition, understanding how factors such as food availability and cultural influences, which may be tied to season, impact what we eat may help inform policies and programs designed to improve diet quality.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iStock-917339906-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26667" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iStock-917339906-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iStock-917339906-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iStock-917339906-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iStock-917339906-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iStock-917339906-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iStock-917339906.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Not all foods follow the seasonal pattern observed in ice cream consumption, however. 
In fact, when looking at the consumption of chocolate and other candy, the pattern reverses: Candy consumption reaches a peak in the winter, with slightly less candy consumption in the summer months. We can also see an increased candy intake right around Halloween, illustrating the power of this survey to detect these small perturbations in typical dietary intake. 
<div id="attachment_26666" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26666" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Chocolate-Consumption-300x206.png" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-26666" width="300" height="206" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Chocolate-Consumption-300x206.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Chocolate-Consumption-768x528.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Chocolate-Consumption-880x605.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Chocolate-Consumption.png 918w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The plot above shows the mean and standard error bars for the average number of times a day a customer reports eating chocolate or other candy for each week during the year.</div>
Halloween and other holidays can have strong, sharp impacts on our diet, but other factors may be involved as well. Certain foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, may be less readily available during the winter in certain places, which may impact consumption of those foods. In addition, cultural associations may influence how people eat throughout the year; for example, ice cream is often seen as a summer treat, and soup may be thought of as a good meal on a cold winter day.
The 23andMe research model, which is based on a continuous collection of self-reported data over a long period of time, allows for more detailed investigation of behavioral patterns and dietary habits over time. It will be important to understand and adjust for variables related to season, such as the time a customer takes a survey, in order to form a more clear picture of the role of nutrition in leading a healthy life.
&nbsp;

Briana Cameron

23andMe Evaluates Seasonal Dietary Habits

By Erica Bellman, Ancestry Content Writer
Let’s imagine that, in lieu of your Aunt Betsy from Seattle, an ancient Neanderthal woman is coming to your house for Thanksgiving this year. Hide the china and practice your grunting, right? Well, maybe not. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25886" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Though their table manners might be lacking, the popular &#8220;caveman&#8221; stereotype is more myth than fact. Neanderthals were actually quite similar to modern humans and exhibited complex social behaviors.
“As a culture, we tend to think of Neanderthals as these brutish, bent-over, hairy individuals—a bit more ape-like than us. But there’s no evidence that supports that idea,” said Professor Tim Weaver, an anthropologist at UC Davis whose research focuses on human evolution. “I think the stereotype that’s permeated our popular culture stems from old reconstructions of the Neanderthals dating back to the early 20th century. As far as we can tell from their anatomy, genetics, and behavioral and cultural remains, Neanderthals were very similar to modern humans.”
<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 320px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
<h6>More about your Neanderthal guest</h6>
<ul>
<li>She probably lives in a cave—so try to be sensitive if she’s not up on the latest in politics and pop culture.</li>
<li>Neanderthals were thought to be quite social. Your guest likely has a nuclear family and a close-knit community of hunter-gatherers, so be sure to ask about her kids, parents, and friends.</li>
<li>Her physical traits may include a heavier brow, an oval-shaped skull, and a larger-than-average nose (try not to stare).</li>
<li>She’s probably on the stockier and more muscular side, so make sure her seat comfortably accommodates her stature.</li>
<li>Based on evidence that Neanderthals possessed sophisticated <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150114101528.htm">toolmaking skills</a>, your guest may be able to handily carve up the turkey or roast using a stone or bone instrument.</li>
<li>She may or may not be able to communicate with you verbally<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> , so be prepared to use another means of conversing.</li>
<li>Be sure to ask about her neighborhood. Neanderthals were intimately in touch with their surroundings, harvesting from the land to survive. She’ll be an expert on the best hikes and outdoor activities in her homeland.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h6>Cousin</h6>
Here’s what we know of our human cousins.
The Neanderthals were our closest extinct relatives who lived throughout Eurasia 200,000 to 40,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene Epoch. Over this time glaciers retreated and advanced, and once-abundant food sources became scarce.
Before anatomically modern humans (that’s us) left Africa, the ancestors of the Neanderthals ventured into Eurasia. Ultimately, the Neanderthals would inhabit<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> a vast expanse of land stretching from Portugal to western Siberia and from northern Europe to Israel and Iraq. The Neanderthals intermixed with modern humans emerged from Africa about 60,000 years ago, giving us both <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/new-neanderthal-research/">evolutionary advantages</a> (like the functioning of our immune systems<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>) and some <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/the-neanderthal-within/">less-favorable variants</a>, such as susceptibility to certain allergies, depression, and blood clots.
<h6>Some History</h6>
For millennia Neanderthals thrived, but eventually they went extinct, and scientists aren’t entirely sure why. Some theorize that migration and random species drift<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> (a mechanism of evolution that produces random, rather than selection-driven, genetic changes in a population) caused the disappearance of the Neanderthals, while others blame dietary insufficiencies<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> caused by changing ecological and climatic conditions. Perhaps the most popular explanation for the disappearance was competition with modern humans for resources.
But one thing is for certain: the Neanderthals did intermix with modern humans before their demise, so segments of their DNA live on in many of us today. Unless you’re from Sub-Saharan Africa, your DNA reflects somewhere between one percent and four percent Neanderthal ancestry.
<h6>Time to Eat</h6>
Now, we’ll get to the main course of this post: what to serve your guest for Thanksgiving dinner. Contrary to popular belief, Neanderthals were not all die-hard carnivores, so it’s best to avoid offending your guest with a plethora of meat dishes. Rather, our ancient relatives adapted their diets to match the resources that were readily available and most abundant in nutrients, so be sure to ask where exactly she is from. Your Neanderthal guest may also be particular about what she will and won’t eat. “From what we know from the archaeological record and the bones found at Neanderthal sites, they seemed to focus more on large mammals rather than small game like rabbits. The breadth of their diets seems to have been narrower than those of modern humans,” said Professor Weaver.
Two Neanderthal individuals found in a cave in El Sidrón, Spain appeared to have consumed little to no meat. Traces of pine nuts, moss, tree barks, and mushrooms were found in this pair’s dental plaques, suggesting a mostly vegetarian diet (err, except for the evidence of cannibalism found in their cave&#8230;but we digress). After studying the dental plaques of another Neanderthal found in Spy, Belgium, scientists concluded<a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> that the individual ate mostly meat, as well as some mushrooms. Woolly rhino or wild sheep ragout, anyone? The bones of mammoths, reindeer, and horses were also found in the Spy cave. Other research<a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a> reports that Neanderthals living on the Gibraltar coast may have eaten various mollusks, seals, and even dolphins. In summary, Neanderthals ate what was most readily available and nutrient-dense in their immediate surroundings; they adapted their diets<a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> to meet the resources provided by their environments.
Enjoy connecting with your Neanderthal guest and learning about some of the traits you might have in common. By the end of the meal, we predict you and your other relatives will be competing to see who had the good fortune of acquiring the most Neanderthal DNA.
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Curated Menu</h5>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sauteed_greens_with_pine_nuts_and_raisins/">Sauteéd Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins</a>. Opt for wild edible greens like dandelion and chicories. High in fatty acids and calorically rich, pine nuts also contain lutein, a carotenoid that may help prevent eye disease.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/leek-and-wild-mushroom-stuffing-107292">Wild Mushroom and Leek Stuffing</a>. If your guest is from Spain, she’s likely fond of a variety of mushrooms. High in dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals, they’re fundamental to her diet. Bonus points if you forage for them yourself.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/crown-roast-of-lamb-recipe-2082917">A Crown Roast of Lamb</a>. Rather than turkey, opt for this earthy, gamey alternative. Your guest will appreciate the simple preparation and ample protein. If lamb isn’t available, your guest may also enjoy venison or reindeer.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baked-clams-bacon-and-garlic">Baked Clams with Bacon and Garlic</a>. Your guest may hail from a coastal region. She’d appreciate these flavorful bivalves, oven-roasted with savory bacon and spices.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.forestandfauna.com/foraging-wild-greens-miners-lettuce-salad/">Miner’s Lettuce Salad.</a> Since it’s still unclear whether all Neanderthals were as adept at controlling fire as their human relatives<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a>, we’re also including a raw option. This version has fresh Miner’s lettuce, a wild edible that tastes like a cross between watercress and spinach.</li>
<li><a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015198-fresh-and-wild-mushroom-stew">Wild Mushroom Stew.</a> End your meal with a cup of wild mushroom stew to keep your guest warm for her journey home.</li>
</ul>
<div>Erica Bellman is a Ancestry Content Writer at 23andMe. She writes content for 23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry product, surfacing stories that enable customers to better understand their unique results. As a journalist, Erica has interviewed performance artists, indie rock bands, and backcountry skiers. Her favorite author is Haruki Murakami. </div>
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<a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Fabre V et al. (2009). &#8220;Genetic evidence of geographical groups among Neanderthals.&#8221; PLoS One. 4(4):e5151. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664900/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664900/</a>
<a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Callaway E. (2011). &#8220;Ancient DNA reveals secrets of human history.&#8221; Nature. 476(7359):136-7. <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110809/full/476136a.html">https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110809/full/476136a.html</a>
<a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Kolodny O et al. (2017). &#8220;A parsimonious neutral model suggests Neanderthal replacement was determined by migration and random species drift.&#8221; Nat Commun. 8(1):1040. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01043-z">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01043-z</a>
<a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> El Zaatari S et al. (2016). &#8220;Neandertal versus Modern Human Dietary Responses to Climatic Fluctuations.&#8221; PLoS One. 11(4):e0153277. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277">http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277</a>
<a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> D&#8217;Anastasio R et al. (2013). &#8220;Micro-biomechanics of the Kebara 2 hyoid and its implications for speech in Neanderthals.&#8221; PLoS One. 8(12):e82261. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082261">http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082261</a>
<a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Weyrich LS et al. (2017). &#8220;Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus.&#8221; Nature. 544(7650):357-361. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21674">https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21674</a>
<a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> Stringer CB et al. (2008). &#8220;Neanderthal exploitation of marine mammals in Gibraltar.&#8221; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105(38):14319-24. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2567146/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2567146/</a>
<a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> El Zaatari S et al. (2016). &#8220;Neandertal versus Modern Human Dietary Responses to Climatic Fluctuations.&#8221; PLoS One. 11(4):e0153277. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277">http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277</a>
<a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> Gowlett JA. (2016). &#8220;The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process.&#8221; Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 371(1696). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874402">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874402</a>

Erica Bellman

Six Things to Serve Your Neanderthal Guest for Thanksgiving

It’s not quite waffles and paella, but it appears that Neanderthals<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-421 size-full alignright" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/neanderthaler2.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="266" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/neanderthaler2.jpg 400w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/neanderthaler2-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /> were omnivores who adapted to eating whatever was available to them in the regions where they lived.
DNA samples extracted from ancient plaque on teeth found in a cave in Belgium and from those found at a site in Northern Spain indicate that Neanderthals had distinct regional cuisines.
In the area that is now Belgium, Neanderthals ate a lot of meat—woolly rhinos and wild sheep—while those in Spain were vegetarians, living off pine nuts, mushrooms, tree bark, and forest moss.
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<h2>Find Your Inner Neanderthal<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-24217 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home.png" alt="" width="2534" height="1396" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home.png 2534w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-300x165.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-768x423.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-1024x564.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-880x485.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-1180x650.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-271x149.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-372x204.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-574x315.png 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Neanderthal-Report-Home-980x539.png 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2534px) 100vw, 2534px" /></h2>
23andMe reports to customers the number of Neanderthal variants they carry, how that compares with other customers, and traits those variants are associated with, such as back hair and height.
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<h2>Neanderthal Microbiome</h2>
Even more interesting than what was on the menu is the additional information scientists gleaned from the first microbiome sequence of an extinct species. Our microbiome is the collection of bacteria and microbes on and in our bodies that we depend on for survival. They can also tell us a lot about health, and researchers have, over the last decade, begun using DNA extracted from calcified plaque on teeth to help piece together the lives of our ancient ancestors. 
The most recent work is the first such successful effort focused on Neanderthals.
<h2>Medicinal Practices</h2>
In addition to learning about what our ancient cousins ate, the researchers also found signs of possible primitive medicinal practices. In one case, from an individual in Spain who appeared to have had a dental abscess and some sort of gastrointestinal parasite, the researchers found traces of the bark from a poplar tree, which has salicylic acid, a natural painkiller used in aspirin, as well as material that included Penicillium mold.
According to researchers, the data offer genetic evidence regarding not only diet but also Neanderthal behavior and the diseases they struggled with. 
The study also offered some exciting twists to speculation around the nature of Neanderthal and human interactions.
<h2>Neanderthal and Modern Human Interactions</h2>
Neanderthals went extinct about 40,000 years ago in Europe, but traces remain in the DNA of people with non-African ancestry. That intermixing likely offered humans an evolutionary advantage to survive as they migrated outside of Africa. But why modern humans thrived, and Neanderthals disappeared from the earth is still not fully understood.
The biggest spit-take of this most recent study had to do with … spit. One researcher said that genetic evidence of an oral microbe in the mouths of these Neanderthals — also found in the mouths of modern humans — suggested that this bacteria was transmitted between Neanderthals and humans, implying “that these interactions were much friendlier and much more intimate than anybody …  imagined.”
“If you’re swapping spit between species, there’s kissing going on, or at least food sharing,” co-author Laura Weyrich told the journal<a href="https://www.nature.com/news/neanderthal-tooth-plaque-hints-at-meals-and-kisses-1.21593"> Nature</a>.
While Neanderthals and humans may have kissed cousins, others were less willing to<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/neanderthal-dental-plaque-shows-what-a-paleo-diet-really-looks-like/518949/"> draw those conclusions</a>. That doesn’t mean that the science wasn’t solid&#8211;just that it didn’t indicate how the oral microbe went from modern humans to Neanderthals. 
Much like the study of ancient human and Neanderthal DNA, the study of ancient microbiomes has added to what we know about human history. Historical changes such as the rise of agriculture and the industrialization age can be plotted in changes in the human microbiome. The information we glean from this research could also help us understand how changes in the microbiome influence human health.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

The Neanderthal Cookbook

Large scale genetic and non-genetic data plus machine learning, used to provide personalized portraits of how genes and lifestyle impact weight<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25105" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-report-300x297.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="297" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-report-300x297.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-report-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-report-768x760.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-report-1024x1013.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-report-880x871.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-report.jpg 1154w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Have you ever wondered if it&#8217;s your genes keeping you from fitting into your jeans?
<h6> Not Just Genes</h6>
You&#8217;re not alone, and plenty of research shows that the genetic cards we are dealt at birth play an important role not just in our weight but in how much our bodies respond to diet and exercise. Our weight is determined by a complex combination of lifestyle, environment, and genes. 
 Armed with a collection of data from over 600,000 research participants, 23andMe scientists used machine learning techniques to estimate BMI based on genetics. Key results from these analyses also showed that lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise may affect weight. That affect is also dependent on a person’s genetic makeup.
<h6> What is the Genetic Weight Report</h6>
This research resulted in a new, first-of-its kind Genetic Weight report. It incorporates both genetics and lifestyle and calculates a person’s  genetic predisposition to weigh more or less than average. The report also provides insight into which lifestyle factors might make the biggest difference for a person’s own weight. 
 This report breaks new ground because it&#8217;s the first time that 23andMe scientists have been able to leverage our internal research data. This is an immense amount of information generously contributed by research participants for a health-related report. It is based on over 300 variants found to be associated with weight in 23andMe&#8217;s own database. It also customizes results based on age, sex, and ancestry.
<h6> Gene-by-Environment</h6>
23andMe scientists have also incorporated important in-house findings about lifestyle and genetics. These so-called &#8220;gene-by-environment interactions&#8221; are based on data contributed by over 45,000 research participants. 
 Each personalized report provides a ranked list of lifestyle factors found to be associated with the biggest weight differences. This is based on each person&#8217;s genetic result. In other words, this information shows how people&#8217;s specific genetics may influence their own responses to not only exercise and certain food choices, but also to factors like sleep and stress. This could help customers prioritize their own choices for maintaining a healthy weight. 
 The Genetic Weight report marks a first step towards the kind of personally tailored <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry">wellness reports.</a>  Future reports will build on the insights found through creating a machine-learning model. These type of AI models leverages the massive amount of data from customers who consent to participate in research. 
 For more on the science behind this report see our <a href="https://permalinks.23andme.com/pdf/23_17-GeneticWeight_Feb2017.pdf">white paper</a>. 
 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-large wp-image-25104" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-2-625x1024.jpg" alt="" width="625" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-2-625x1024.jpg 625w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-2-183x300.jpg 183w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-2-537x880.jpg 537w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Genetic-Weight-2.jpg 708w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px" />

23andMe Releases First-of-its Kind Genetic Weight Report

By Nick Furlotte and Shirley Wu
For many of us, the battle of the bulge is more like an all-out war.
We all know people who can eat whatever they want, not work out, and yet not gain a pound. Meanwhile, eating just one burger, or missing just one cardio session, can weigh much more heavily on others (pun intended).  No doubt many of the differences we observe in weight gain and its relation to food intake and exercise are due to genetics.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-19018" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Scale-300x282.jpg" alt="Scale" width="300" height="282" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Scale-300x282.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Scale.jpg 357w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
At 23andMe we are very interested in identifying the genetic components that contribute to these differences between individuals. So we assessed people’s food and exercise habits, their physical characteristics (like whether they are “apple” or “pear” shaped), and we compared these answers to genetic data for tens of thousands of customers with European ancestry.
<h6>How do fast food and exercise affect weight on average?*</h6>
In our customers, a man of average height (5’9), average age (35) and European ancestry weighs about 180 pounds (corresponding to a body mass index (BMI) of 26.5, lower than the<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-19022" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WeightByGRS-female-300x195.jpg" alt="WeightByGRS-female" width="300" height="195" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WeightByGRS-female-300x195.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WeightByGRS-female.jpg 631w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The story is similar for the average height and average aged woman (5’4 and 35 years old) with European ancestry, who weighs about 145 pounds (a BMI of 24.8, much lower than the U.S. average of 29).  She will weigh about eight pounds less if she exercises once or twice a week, but will weigh three pounds more if she also eats fast food once or twice a week.
<h6>Why you should care if you’re apple or pear</h6>
None of this is surprising — exercise leads to lower weight on average while eating fast food leads to higher weight on average.  But it turns out that body type makes a difference.
In our customers, men with pear and apple body types weighed more if they ate fast food occasionally while men with a neutral body type weighed less with the same fast food intake. For women, having an apple shape is associated with a higher average weight (around 155 pounds) but there is very little difference in weight due to occasional fast food intake between the different body types.
Just don’t go overboard: women who ate fast food nearly every day tended to weigh about 20 pounds more than the average, and this went up by an additional six pounds for women with apple or pear shapes.
<h6>More reason to exercise</h6>
We all burn calories while we’re just sitting around, but wouldn’t it be great if you could burn more? It all depends on your “metabolic rate”, or how much energy (calories) your body uses while resting, and you can actually increase your metabolic rate by exercising regularly.
In 23andMe customers, we see this play out in the fact that physical activity level affects the degree to which fast food consumption impacts weight.  For example, an average man who eats fast food once or twice a week who also works out five to seven times a week weighs five pounds less than a man eating the same amount of fast food who does not work out at all. The story is similar for women: eating fast food and not exercising is associated with weighing 10 pounds more than average, while those who ate the same amount of fast food but also exercised frequently weighed only seven pounds more.
Of course, the difference in weight might not be due just to exercise frequency. People who exercise might also be doing other things that lead to lower weight, including eating a healthier diet overall. But the fact that exercise raises the metabolic rate makes it a plausible explanation.
<h6>Adding genetics to the picture</h6>
So how do our genetics influence all of this?    We know that certain genetic factors predispose to obesity while others may protect against it. But a recent study published in<a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1003607"> PLOS Genetics</a> adds a twist. The researchers showed that a set of 12 genetic factors known to be associated with obesity had less of an effect in people who exercised more and a larger effect in people who did not exercise as often.
We examined the same idea using the data from our customers and found similar results.  In women who do not exercise, the genetic risk factors were associated with weighing 1.4 pounds more than average, while women who exercised weighed only 0.75 pounds more for each risk factor.  In other words, lifestyle may actually influence the effect our DNA has on our weight.
As the size of the weight loss industry attests, weight and obesity are very challenging problems. But with more data, we’ll be able to unravel the relationship between food intake, exercise, genetics, and weight gain even more, hopefully leading to more personalized and effective healthy weight strategies.
* Analyses of average weight controlled for age, exercise frequency, fast food intake, and ancestry substructure.

Nick Furlotte

The Genetics of Bellies and Burgers

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-17819" title="mediterranean diet" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mediterranean-diet-200x300.jpg" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mediterranean-diet-200x300.jpg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mediterranean-diet.jpg 283w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Your diet has a huge impact on your health, particularly influencing your risk for things like heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.
Your genetics equally contributes to your risk for heart disease the same as your diet, your environment and overall lifestyle does.
Understanding your risks can help you take the right actions to stay as healthy as you can. With heart disease, the simplest ways to reduce your risk is with diet and exercise. A recent<a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1200303?query=featured_home?=article"> Spanish study</a> published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that changing what you eat may go a long way at protecting you from heart disease. The study suggests a Mediterranean diet – which is rich in vegetables, fruit, legumes, fish, olive oil and nuts – can significantly reduce the risk of death from heart attack or stroke in people at highest risk.
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How Your Body Responds 

A Mediterranean diet could ward off heart disease, but how does it effect whether you gain or lose weight?
Your genetics can influence how your body metabolizes and uses food. This   explains a bit about why some people have a much easier time losing weight than others.
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The study gives hope. The researchers looked at more than 7,000 Spaniards who were overweight, smoked or had other conditions that put them at them at higher risk for heart disease. The participants ranged in age from 55 to about 80. Researchers at the University of Barcelona separated the participants into three groups, one on a Mediterranean diet, another group that were on a Mediterranean diet that included additional extra virgin olive oil, nuts, fish, vegetables, fruit and wine. And a third group that was simply advised to stay on a low-fat diet.
About five years into the work, the benefits of the Mediterranean diet were so strong – groups on the Mediterranean diets were 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke – that the researchers stopped the study early.
While there are some caveats to the study, it strongly suggests a simple change in what you eat – independent of whether you lose weight or exercise – could significantly reduce your risk for heart disease. This is particularly good news for people who want to lower their risk but are having a hard time losing weight.
While the benefits for this high-risk, elderly population of Spaniards seems pretty clear, what is less clear is whether changing to a Mediterranean diet would offer the same benefits for everyone. Because the study specifically looked at people who were at high risk for heart disease, it’s unclear if diet alone can reduce heart disease risk in the general population, too. Unfortunately the study also didn’t look at how people with different genetics might respond to the diet changes. We know genetics has a strong influence on your risk for heart disease, but we don’t know if people with different genetics would respond differently to this diet.
Whether the benefits could apply to people who are at low risk is not yet known, but it probably couldn’t hurt to reduce the amount of sweets, saturated fats and processed foods in favor of a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables. The fact that the diet also includes a drink of wine with each meal is a nice bonus as well.

Heart Disease, Genetics and the Mediterranean Diet

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-17362" title="Woman weighing herself on scales in health club" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/womenScale-300x214.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="214" />
There are lots of things we can&#8217;t change, but our lifestyle isn&#8217;t one of them. Good thing, too  – our weight, nutrition habits, and exercise behaviors impact us beyond whether we look good in a swim suit. They also influence our risk for many different diseases.
In the same way, our DNA also contributes to our risk for various diseases. It&#8217;s where our lifestyle and DNA intersect that we have the greatest potential for positive change. For instance, the knowledge that my genes put me at higher-than-average risk for heart disease may make me think twice about the extra slice of bacon (so long as it&#8217;s not within smelling distance!). And going light on the bacon for the long haul may ultimately lower my risk for many conditions besides heart disease.
So where might your genetic incentives be?
<div>Obesity</div>
Extra pounds equate to extra risk for numerous <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">health conditions</a>. The obese are seven times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, three times more likely to develop gallstones, and twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease or venous thromboembolism (blood clots) compared to those at a healthy weight.
Each of these obesity-associated conditions has at least one 23andMe genetic report (see the links above).  If you find that your genetics puts you at higher-than-average risk for one of these conditions, perhaps this knowledge will motivate you to keep your weight in check.  To the fortunate few with lower-than-average genetic risk for all the conditions above, don’t grab that donut yet.  Obesity still increases your risk compared to those at a healthy weight, and there are likely many additional genetic factors that are as-of-yet unknown but may contribute to your risk.
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Nutrition 
Poor nutrition, even discounting its effect on your waistline, certainly doesn’t keep the doctor away.  People who consume red meat ten times per week or more have about a 50 percent higher risk for age-related macular degeneration, an eye condition that can lead to blindness. Furthermore, studies suggest that a diet high in fiber, vegetables, nuts, and foods typically found in Mediterranean cuisine is associated with 20-40 percent lower risk for coronary heart disease. Colorectal cancer is also linked with poor diet habits, and experts suggest that  diets high in fiber and low in fat can lower your risk.
If you find that you are at increased genetic risk, this knowledge may help you prioritize which dietary changes to make. For example, a person who has a strong genetic risk for age-related macular degeneration might consider eating more fish, nuts, and leafy greens  – foods linked to lower risk for that disease.
Exercise 
A gym membership (if actually used) may positively impact your health. For starters, exercise helps keep one’s weight in check; people who exercise regularly are up to 60 percent less likely to be overweight than people who don&#8217;t exercise.
Even beyond that, exercise can strengthen one of your most important muscles: your heart. People who don&#8217;t exercise are about twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease as people who exercise regularly. In women, walking just an hour a week is associated with 50 percent lower risk for coronary heart disease and in men, vigorous activity and playing sports may lower the risk for heart disease.   If your genetics suggest you&#8217;re at higher than average risk for heart disease, take that as extra incentive to hit the gym regularly!
Poor exercise also influences your risk for type 2 diabetes.   People who engage in moderate physical activity on a regular basis or simply walk for at least two and a half hours a week at a brisk pace are about 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to people who don&#8217;t exercise.   If your genetic report shows you are already at higher than average risk for type 2 diabetes, perhaps you may want to go the extra mile to make a change.
The Competitive Advantage 
Unfortunately, health isn&#8217;t an even playing field. Just as some people have genetic variants associated with lower than average risk for disease, some are born with skinny genes (and can wear skinny jeans).
<div>Still, there are other genetic factors that may help in the battle of the bulge. One that&#8217;s received a lot of attention is in a gene called PPARG. Normally, high fat intake is associated with weight gain, but in people with a certain variation of the PPARG gene, a diet high in monounsaturated fat is actually linked to weight loss. Monounsaturated fat is found in olive oil, so this type of diet has been nicknamed the &#8220;Mediterranean&#8221;-style diet.</div>
Very few genetic factors have been reliably linked to diet and exercise but some of the preliminary findings..
Whatever your health goals may be, we wish you success that outlasts the month.  May this knowledge about your DNA  – whether that be the genetics of disease risk or the genetics of losing weight  – help you towards a fitter you.

Your Lifestyle, Your Health, Your Genes

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-14534" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/photo-214x300.jpg" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/photo-214x300.jpg 214w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/photo-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/photo-629x880.jpg 629w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/photo-731x1024.jpg 731w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/photo-843x1180.jpg 843w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/photo-scaled.jpg 1828w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" />
Editors note June 2013: Suzan &#8220;Suzie&#8221; Mickey lost her battle with cancer earlier this month. An advocate for better treatments for women with metastatic breast cancer, Suzie inspired many with her attitude. Our condolences go out to her family.
Positive, helpful, and upbeat. These aren’t words you would expect to describe someone about to start another round of chemo treatment. However, in the case of Suzan Mickey, they are very apt. Mickey is a participant in the 23andMe and Genentech <a href="https://www.23andme.com/invite-study/">InVite</a> study on bevacizumab (also known as Avastin ®) and metastatic breast cancer. &nbsp;(Avastin ® is not approved by the FDA for treatment of breast cancer.) &nbsp;
A forty-five-year-old wife and mother of two pre-teen kids, Mickey has many interests, including an unusual predilection for antiques. Finding beauty in a broken and neglected piece of furniture, she says, is a metaphor for finding hope within a devastating diagnosis. &nbsp;Where many people would just see the peeling paint on an old cupboard, Mickey sees opportunity; where many people would see only the bleakness of cancer, Mickey sees blessings.
“I have to live my remaining days with cancer, and I am choosing to see the blessings that come with it as opposed to being focused on the challenges,” she said. “Although my diagnosis is not something I would wish for anyone, it has brought with it many incredible gifts. The love and support I have received from family and friends is humbling. I now focus my time engaged with those that I love, and I never hesitate to experience something new. &nbsp;The little things really do not matter&#8230;spending time with those that you love absolutely does.”
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-12163" style="float: left; margin-right: 15px;" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/JRBgdIBXKIeVIdETJrxYIw_ttam_logo.jpg" width="24" height="40"> If you have taken bevacizumab as a breast cancer treatment in the past, you may be eligible to participate in the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/invite-study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">InVite Study</a>.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12590" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/InVite-Logo-300x108.png" width="300" height="108" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/InVite-Logo-300x108.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/InVite-Logo-768x277.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/InVite-Logo.png 826w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Furthermore, all 23andMe customers can participate in other scientific research through 23andMe&#8217;s research <a href="https://www.23andme.com/you/23andwe/surveys/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surveys</a>. Not yet a customer? Visit our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/store/cart/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">store</a> or <a href="https://www.23andme.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">learn more</a>.
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Given Mickey’s ability to see opportunity in even the hardest situations, it isn’t surprising that she is helping cancer research. Despite having stage 4 breast cancer, Mickey is cheerful and wants to help other women fighting breast cancer. Mickey joined the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/invite-study/">InVite study</a> &nbsp;because she was interested in helping researchers learn more about &nbsp; bevacizumab and if genetics played a role in how &nbsp; patients responded to treatment.
Although genetics may be one contributing factor to treatment response, Mickey and her doctors believe that the healthy diet she adopted may have also played an important role in her response. After researching the impact of nutrition on chemo treatment response, she switched to a diet with no animal proteins, no dairy, no gluten, and no refined sugar, and instead ate lots of whole grains, legumes, fruits and veggies that are high in fiber. Mickey even studied at the <a href="http://www.integrativenutrition.com/">Institute</a><a href="http://www.integrativenutrition.com/"> of </a><a href="http://www.integrativenutrition.com/">Integrative </a><a href="http://www.integrativenutrition.com/">Nutrition</a> in order to become a holistic health coach, hoping to share this important nutrition information with other women facing chemo. Being diagnosed with cancer, she said, feels like the world is spinning out of control. Mickey believes that the foods she ate allowed her to stay strong and produce less estrogen, creating an optimal environment within her body which she feels gave the medicines their best chance at success. Thus, regardless of one’s genetic makeup, she sees a healthy diet as one positive way to take control.
In addition to encouraging good nutrition, Mickey says that she encourages other women diagnosed with breast cancer not to fear. &nbsp;And certainly, with her cheerfulness, enthusiasm, and concern for others, Suzan Mickey is living proof that a life with breast cancer can instead be a life of strength and hope.

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