MAGHSOODNIA STARTED THE COMPANY BECAUSE HE BELIEVED IN THE VALUE OF LOOKING AT HEALTH FROM THE WELLNESS PERSPECTIVE— STAYING HEALTHY NOW TO AVOID PROBLEMS LATER. HE WAS INTERESTED IN USING DNA TESTING TO STAVE OFF SICKNESS AND DISEASE THROUGH PERSONALIZED NUTRITION AND FITNESS. April/May 2017 65 COURTESY OF VITAGENE Vitagene empowers customers with actionable information about how they can improve their health, based on nutritional predispositions and deficiencies. “We go into detail about what people should and shouldn’t be taking. For instance, we say things like, ‘You should be taking only 30 mg of vitamin D and a 100 mg of iron. You shouldn’t be taking vitamin K.’” Vitagene is also partnering with high-quality supplement companies to create customized monthly vitamin packs for its customers, based on the DNA results, just as it did for the Latitude 35 rowing team. “We send you pills that are personalized to you. If we told you should take a multivitamin without vitamin K, we’ll send you one without vitamin K. And you’d actually get it cheaper than you would on the retail shelf,” Maghsoodnia explains. Like 23andMe, Vitagene also includes an ancestry test, which provides detailed analysis of your ethnic makeup. Maghsoodnia says that unlike the vitamin and fitness testing, the ancestry information doesn’t really include much actionable information, but it could well play a role in uncovering food sensitivities and giving insight into personal metabolism. For example, certain indigenous populations are genetically more susceptible to type 2 diabetes than others, even when eating nutritionally comparable diets to other groups. Scientists have also detected one gene variation that seems to enhance the health benefits of polyunsaturated fats, for example, giving people who possess it a bigger boost in good cholesterol when they eat a diet rich in plant oils. GETTING T O THE R OOTS O F Y OUR DNA The fact that Ancestry.com now has the world’s largest consumer database, with DNA from more than 3 million people, shows that personal interest in DNA extends well beyond health information. AncestryDNA, part of Ancestry.com, employs direct-toconsumer genetic testing to analyze your ethnic mix and global roots of your DNA. Customers looking for a more complete picture can sign up for Ancestry.com membership, and combine their genetic information with Ancestry’s billions of historical records and millions of family trees. Ancestry.com currently has offices in Lehi, Utah and in San Francisco, and is expanding into several other cities around the globe. Catherine Ball, chief scientific officer at Ancestry.com, was doing research on biological databases at Stanford when she was tapped to help create AncestryDNA. For her, it was chance to apply her knowledge to a completely different field, and communicate with regular people (rather than just scientists or clinicians) about the meaning of their DNA. “It was all about democratizing access to the genome,” she said. “And wasn’t that the promise of the Human Genome project, that it would change all our lives?” (That project spanned 13 years and was completed in 2003. It mapped all the human genes, enabling the use of DNA information to develop new ways to treat, cure, or even prevent thousands of human diseases.) Ball said that for students of family history, having multiple lines of access is important. DNA information complements public records and other documents people find when building their family tree. “Sometimes the document trail runs cold. In that case, the ‑ MEHDI MA GHSOODNIA, VIT AGENE
South Bay Accent - Apr/May 2017
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