If you have always wanted to have a DNA test carried out, you probably know you are now living in the right era.
After all, not only can you have DNA testing done at a medical clinic, you can even make arrangements to have an online DNA test done as well.
What are online DNA tests and what can you learn if you take one? When you find out, you may be very surprised with how far science has come in recent years.
What are online DNA tests? — These are tests that you arrange to have done via a website that is owned by a company doing them. You do not get the test online, but you can order the testing kit itself while you are on their website.
When the kit arrives, you will need to follow the instructions that come with it in order to take a proper DNA sample.
In most cases, this will mean using a cotton swab to swab around your mouth. That swab is then put into a sealed envelope and returned to the company for DNA testing. They will contact you with the result in a couple of weeks.
What can you learn if you take one? — Do not believe the companies that tell you they can predict who you will marry, when you will die or how many children you have just from your DNA analysis. None of this is remotely possible.
What is possible, however, is that DNA testing can give you an insight into your ancestry as well as an idea about your health.
Your ancestry — An online DNA test (check out myheritage test) can tell you the path of your ancestry from its beginnings tens of thousands of years ago right up to the modern day.
You can learn where your ancestors came from, which continents and countries they likely lived in and if your heritage is what you thought it was or something completely different.
You may even be surprised to discover there is an ethnic link in your past you did not expect.
Your health — If you order an online DNA test, you can also find out a lot more about your health.
A typical test will tell you if you have a chance of developing any hereditary diseases like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia.
It can tell you whether you could develop a disease you do not currently have. These include things like diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
If you plan on getting pregnant in the future, an online DNA test could even tell you if you are carrying a gene that could impact the health of your unborn child.
If you are a carrier for a genetic mutation, this could help you decide if you want to become pregnant or adopt instead.