I guess I'll never be a world class sprinter.

I was most nervous about opening the health and traits section of my 23andMe profile, mostly because I wasn’t really sure what to expect. But my curiosity got the better of me and I logged in and clicked through to see what it was all about.

The Clinical Reports page shows your disease risks, carrier status, traits, and drug responses, all of which are way less scary than you might think. Of course, I didn’t know what half of them were, but I figured if I hadn’t heard of them, then they couldn’t be completely terrible.

Even so, I decided to take it slowly and check out the traits section, which provides you with interesting information on physical attributes completely determined by your genetics. So, for example, my genetics determined that I don’t flush when I drink alcohol (which is a common trait in some Asians), I can taste bitter, I have wet ear wax, and I probably have brown eyes (which I do).

Perhaps I didn’t need to spit into a container to learn all that information about myself (especially since I already knew it), however, it just goes to show you how amazing this research really is. Amongst the more interesting traits include resistance to various diseases, like Malaria, Norovirus, and HIV Aids (none of which I have). And I’m sad to report that I’m unlikely to be a sprinter based on the lack of a gene that produces a special protein.

So much for that career change.

If you’re curious as to this whole 23andMe adventure, visit their new Pregnancy Community. Their continuing research (which I’ll talk more about next week when I share my carrier statuses) is amazing!