Have you taken a 23andMe genetic test? Did you know you can download your 23andMe raw data and use it to learn about thousands of different health insights, including how cannabis will interact with your body?
23andMe provides a fantastic service. They send you a saliva sample collection kit and then their laboratory does a genetic sequence to unveil which alleles you have at each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that they test for (hundreds of thousands). A SNP is merely a segment of your entire genetic sequence.
Specific SNPs can tell you a lot about your ancestry (e.g. if you are of European descent) and your health (e.g. if you are predisposed to Alzheimer’s Disease). Given that there are hundreds of thousands of data points, 23andMe only looks at a small fraction of the data to provide such insights to the customer.
Fortunately, 23andMe makes their raw data available so that third parties can look at your genetic profile and provide additional insights ranging from what kind of diet is best for you to which strain of weed you should use. The first step in using your 23andMe raw data to learn additional information about yourself is to get it.
How to download your 23andMe raw data
Getting your 23andMe raw data is quite simple.
Typically, it will be provided via a .zip file which contains a .txt file. In this text file is a list of SNPs (listed by their RSID) and the alleles that appear at that particular segment of your DNA.
It should look like this (but much longer!):
Get your cannabis-related health report
Once you have your 23andme raw data, you’ll be able to get a cannabis DNA test from Strain Genie. This test goes far more than simply using your DNA to tell you which strains of weed to smoke.
Our proprietary process looks at over 150 SNPs in your DNA to tell you:
- Which types of products you should avoid (e.g. staying away from edibles if you lack an efficient liver enzyme that breaks down THC or CBD)
- Which ratio of cannabinoids you should regularly be emphasizing
- Which terpenes are best for your body type and endocannabinoid system.
- Which diseases and disorders you may be prone to and which cannabinoids and terpenes would be best suited to help in your journey towards health and combating those illnesses, either from a preventative or active angle.
These insights will allow you to walk into a dispensary or order cannabis online with a far more educated palette.
Next time you’re shopping you can ask for a “Certificate of Analysis” from the dispensary so you can find products that most closely match.
However, Strain Genie even takes it the next step and searches through over 20,000 cannabis products that have lab testing data to find you specific products that most closely match your idealized cannabis cocktail of cannabinoids and terpenes.