WattsUp
Maximum Pace
- Dec 9, 2017
- 146
- 93
Thought I'd post about this in case anyone's interested.
Several years ago my wife and I did the 23&me DNA test for kicks 'n' giggles.
It was pretty easy, and kinda fun - we learned a bit, found a half-sister on my mom's side which was pretty cool.
But that was about it – I guess we didn't really have any outlier DNA marks to provide any really interesting results.
In that sense, I guess we're kinda boring in the good way.
A while back, however, I listened to a Flo Cycling podcast talking about Toolbox Genomics, that provides a number of DNA testing services for specific applications, including diet and endurance performance. Not only does the service note areas of genetic predispositions and potential impact, they also offer recommendations based on those predispositions.
I was intrigued, especially when I found that the service was available to anyone that had already done DNA testing with other services such as 23andme.
All you had to do was link your accounts, with your 23andme DNA data being copied over to Toolbox, which would then run the report.
The cost for the report I was most interested in – RunDNA, which focuses on endurance performance – was $60, which is about the same (or less!) than the cost of one race here in Japan, so I figured what the heck, and purchased it.
Once I had linked my account and ordered the service, the report was available in about 30 minutes.
The report looked at and gave recommendations for 10 areas. I'll outline them briefly
Metabolic Factors
I may have a higher resting metabolic rate (more brown adipose tissue, 'brown fat', that is active in burning calories)
Interestingly, I may also have an increased susceptibility to obesity (increased size and amount of fat cells in the body)
Endurance potential
May experience better performance when engaging in endurance exercise
May have higher VO2max and increased VO2 response to training
May experience impairment in lactate transport and clearance (earlier onset of fatigue)
Muscle Fiber Type
More likely to have Type 2, fast-twitch (power-type) muscles
Injury Susceptibility
May have an increased risk of degenerative disc disease, which can cause pain in the lower back, neck, hips, or legs
Recovery
May be prone to less deep sleep and shorter sleep duration
May experience higher levels of oxidative stress (can cause inflammation)
Best Time To Train
May prefer to rise and rest early and train in the morning
Caffeine Metabolism
Fast caffeine metabolizer
Nutrients
Predisposition to low levels of calcium, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, vitamin C and iron
Motivation
Warrior – may be better at dealing with stress and perform better under pressure
Habits
May be inclined to drink more caffeinated beverages, but may experience anxiety from caffeine
I suppose that a key caveat that Toolbox itself highlights as very important: genetics only indicate potential. Just because you have a particular gene does not determine whether that gene itself is actually expressed – a fast caffeine metabolizer may hate coffee, for example. Effort, diet, your environment and such all play a key role in which genes are actually expressed.
The first thing I noticed was that some of the results seemed almost 'contradictory' – for example, high resting metabolic rate but prone to obesity. Or potential for higher VO2 max and better endurance performance, but more likely to have fast-twitch muscles. After doing a bit more reading I realize that these are not necessarily 'contradictory' particularly since these are not binary in nature – these are not on/off switches, there are gradients, and (for example) the genes involved in metabolic rate proteins are not the same as the genes involved in obesity-related proteins, so having both isn't 'contradictory': My environment, diet etc may determine which of those two factors play a larger role at any given time.
Most of the recommendations were reasonable and seemed a bit generic (common sense-ish) – make sure you have properly fitting running shoes, diet recommendations, avoid using your smartphone before going to bed, etc. I did learn a few things, however, particularly related to diet and potential supplements that I'm doing a bit more research into – magnesium showed up in a number of recommendations based on my test results. It also appears that I may find caffeine to be a good performance enhancer, so possibly using sports gels etc with caffeine might be an option.
So – what did I learn? Tough to say. It was kind of nice to see that I don't face any clear significant disadvantages when it comes to endurance sports (heck, maybe I even have a bit of an advantage!) But I've always believed (based on personal experience) that hard work + average genes will beat great genes + poor work every day. So I don't know if finding out I was disadvantaged somehow in terms of my genes would have changed anything. Paying full value for the test (I think it's $160?) would have been a bit steep, but for one-third the cost (having already done the DNA testing with 23andme some years back), I found it interesting, and it gave me possibly one or two actionable ideas to look at, and it definitely gave me a lot more information for further research on my own.
Several years ago my wife and I did the 23&me DNA test for kicks 'n' giggles.
It was pretty easy, and kinda fun - we learned a bit, found a half-sister on my mom's side which was pretty cool.
But that was about it – I guess we didn't really have any outlier DNA marks to provide any really interesting results.
In that sense, I guess we're kinda boring in the good way.
A while back, however, I listened to a Flo Cycling podcast talking about Toolbox Genomics, that provides a number of DNA testing services for specific applications, including diet and endurance performance. Not only does the service note areas of genetic predispositions and potential impact, they also offer recommendations based on those predispositions.
I was intrigued, especially when I found that the service was available to anyone that had already done DNA testing with other services such as 23andme.
All you had to do was link your accounts, with your 23andme DNA data being copied over to Toolbox, which would then run the report.
The cost for the report I was most interested in – RunDNA, which focuses on endurance performance – was $60, which is about the same (or less!) than the cost of one race here in Japan, so I figured what the heck, and purchased it.
Once I had linked my account and ordered the service, the report was available in about 30 minutes.
The report looked at and gave recommendations for 10 areas. I'll outline them briefly
Metabolic Factors
I may have a higher resting metabolic rate (more brown adipose tissue, 'brown fat', that is active in burning calories)
Interestingly, I may also have an increased susceptibility to obesity (increased size and amount of fat cells in the body)
Endurance potential
May experience better performance when engaging in endurance exercise
May have higher VO2max and increased VO2 response to training
May experience impairment in lactate transport and clearance (earlier onset of fatigue)
Muscle Fiber Type
More likely to have Type 2, fast-twitch (power-type) muscles
Injury Susceptibility
May have an increased risk of degenerative disc disease, which can cause pain in the lower back, neck, hips, or legs
Recovery
May be prone to less deep sleep and shorter sleep duration
May experience higher levels of oxidative stress (can cause inflammation)
Best Time To Train
May prefer to rise and rest early and train in the morning
Caffeine Metabolism
Fast caffeine metabolizer
Nutrients
Predisposition to low levels of calcium, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, vitamin C and iron
Motivation
Warrior – may be better at dealing with stress and perform better under pressure
Habits
May be inclined to drink more caffeinated beverages, but may experience anxiety from caffeine
I suppose that a key caveat that Toolbox itself highlights as very important: genetics only indicate potential. Just because you have a particular gene does not determine whether that gene itself is actually expressed – a fast caffeine metabolizer may hate coffee, for example. Effort, diet, your environment and such all play a key role in which genes are actually expressed.
The first thing I noticed was that some of the results seemed almost 'contradictory' – for example, high resting metabolic rate but prone to obesity. Or potential for higher VO2 max and better endurance performance, but more likely to have fast-twitch muscles. After doing a bit more reading I realize that these are not necessarily 'contradictory' particularly since these are not binary in nature – these are not on/off switches, there are gradients, and (for example) the genes involved in metabolic rate proteins are not the same as the genes involved in obesity-related proteins, so having both isn't 'contradictory': My environment, diet etc may determine which of those two factors play a larger role at any given time.
Most of the recommendations were reasonable and seemed a bit generic (common sense-ish) – make sure you have properly fitting running shoes, diet recommendations, avoid using your smartphone before going to bed, etc. I did learn a few things, however, particularly related to diet and potential supplements that I'm doing a bit more research into – magnesium showed up in a number of recommendations based on my test results. It also appears that I may find caffeine to be a good performance enhancer, so possibly using sports gels etc with caffeine might be an option.
So – what did I learn? Tough to say. It was kind of nice to see that I don't face any clear significant disadvantages when it comes to endurance sports (heck, maybe I even have a bit of an advantage!) But I've always believed (based on personal experience) that hard work + average genes will beat great genes + poor work every day. So I don't know if finding out I was disadvantaged somehow in terms of my genes would have changed anything. Paying full value for the test (I think it's $160?) would have been a bit steep, but for one-third the cost (having already done the DNA testing with 23andme some years back), I found it interesting, and it gave me possibly one or two actionable ideas to look at, and it definitely gave me a lot more information for further research on my own.