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Are all DNA Methylation Reports the same?

Written by Joe Cohen, BS | Last updated:

I just launched a series on The Joe Cohen Show called DNA Deceptions, where I uncover some of the lies you’re being told by “DNA companies,” aka a marketing company with massive budgets.

Most companies are currently focusing on one hot topic – methylation.

Why?

Well, because it’s an extremely popular topic in the health world, especially the MTHFR gene, which has had a huge spotlight on it in recent years.

Methylation impacts your health in a lot of ways – from detoxification to energy production – so discovering how your genetics impact your pathway is key to optimizing your health.

Although your MTHFR plays a huge role in methylation, you need to look at a lot more genes to determine whether you’re an over or under methylator.

But to do that, you need a create a more sophisticated software, which means more money, more time, and a bigger science and dev team.

But that eats into profits, so companies like 10x Health ride the popularity wave and try to make a basic product that they can then overprice and sell to you.

For 10x specifically, you’ll pay $600 to get their Methylation Report, which is a PDF that looks at only 5 SNPs and makes huge promises about how you can transform your health.

In comparison, SelfDecode prices start at $318, and you get a Methylation Report that looks at 30 genetic variants, plus 1,000 other DNA reports that give you genetic risks and recommendations for health issues like inflammation, anxiety, brain fog, and more, plus a lab analysis tool where you can upload your labs and get recommendations to get them to the optimal range, plus an AI health coach that’s available 24/7, plus… you get my point. $600 for 5 SNPs is ridiculous.

This is what you see in the beginning of their report:

First, they don’t focus on the full methylation cycle, including the folate cycle, methionine cycle, and transsulfuration cycle.

They also don’t take labs into account.

And again, they’re only looking at 5 SNPs!

The studies that they use seem legit, as they will cite association studies on PubMed.

But the problem is these studies usually can’t be replicated. If they are replicated, they are often not replicated across different ethnicities and ancestries.

If it is replicated and across ancestries, then it usually contributes less than 1% to the total impact of genetics as a whole. So you are only getting a tiny fraction of the genetic knowledge.

If you want to look at your full methylation pathway, you can find it in your SelfDecode Methylation Report. Here’s what mine looks like:

We’re looking at more genes, taking your labs into account, and we adjust your results based on your ancestry. This is not a trivial matter.

I just released an episode diving deeper into 10x Health and the problems with the Methylation Reports that are being sold. You can listen to it on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.

>> GET SELFDECODE

 

About the Author

Joe Cohen, BS

Joe Cohen, BS

Joe Cohen flipped the script on conventional and alternative medicine…and it worked. Growing up, he suffered from inflammation, brain fog, fatigue, digestive problems, insomnia, anxiety, and other issues that were poorly understood in traditional healthcare. Frustrated by the lack of good information and tools, Joe decided to embark on a learning journey to decode his DNA and track his biomarkers in search of better health. Through this personalized approach, he discovered his genetic weaknesses and was able to optimize his health 10X better than he ever thought was possible. Based on his own health success, he went on to found SelfDecode, the world’s first direct-to-consumer DNA analyzer & precision health tool that utilizes AI-driven polygenic risk scoring to produce accurate insights and health recommendations. Today, SelfDecode has helped over 100,000 people understand how to get healthier using their DNA and labs.
Joe is a thriving entrepreneur, with a mission of empowering people to take advantage of the precision health revolution and uncover insights from their DNA and biomarkers so that we can all feel great all of the time.

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