Over the years, I’ve tested numerous DNA kits to understand the intricacies of genetics and their practical applications. MyToolBox Genomics is one of the recent additions to my exploration. This kit impresses with its detailed insights and user-friendly interface. If precision and depth are what you’re looking for, this tool is worth considering.
MyToolBox Genomics provides comprehensive insights into genetic health factors and vitamin requirements. While the clarity of result presentation could be improved, and certain meal plans may lack thorough explanation, the foundational data remains valuable and informative.
The pricing for MyToolBox Genomics aligns with market standards, and newsletter subscribers enjoy a 5% discount along with complimentary shipping. Furthermore, the option to pay with HSA or FSA cards offers convenient payment alternatives. Keep reading to discover my firsthand experience with the company.
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Short on Time? Here are my key findings:
- Simple and straightforward sample taking. The kit provides detailed instructions on how to collect your sample, so it was fairly easy to do it. Click here to learn insider tips on ordering a kit with MyToolbox Genomics.
- Wide range of insights. While some of it felt a bit disorganized, I still got a lot of information on my health, aging, and more. Read on to see what my test results were like.
- Some of the recommendations feel generic. For example, since there were no explanations for my meal plan, it felt like something I could get with a simple Google search. See what MyToolbox Genomics told me about my meal and exercise routine.
- Industry-standard prices. You can get a DNA test kit for $225, which is pretty standard and similar to other companies in the industry. Plus, you get a free, hour-long group coaching session to help you understand your results. Check out the price breakdown here.
- Quick and helpful customer support team. When I asked a question about my meal plan, the answer arrived within an hour. Learn more about MyToolbox Genomics customer support.
MyToolbox Genomics Features: 2023 Update
| 💲Prices start at | US$199,00 |
| 📦Products | Health, diet, and wellness tests, including: DNA test, Epigenetics test, DNA + Epigenetics test |
| 🔎Type of sample taken | Saliva sample |
| ❓Does it accept raw DNA data? | No |
| 🌍Located in | Lehi, Utah, US |
| ✈Ships outside of the US? | Yes (most countries; contact MyToolbox Genomics for more info) |
| 🔐Privacy | HIPAA-compliant, data de-identified |
Types of Tests Available With MyToolbox Genomics: What You Get, Prices, and More
The DNA Test, priced at $225, offers insights into the inherent genetic traits nature provided. With a simple saliva collection, you receive a deep dive into your health predispositions, ranging from immunity and diet to mental health. This plan ensures you’re well-equipped with custom meal plans, personalized training regimens, and specific vitamin recommendations.
The Epigenetics Test focuses on understanding the impact of your lifestyle on your DNA and is priced at $273. Through another straightforward saliva sample, you gain access to five transformative insights: your Biological Age, Eye Age, Memory Age, Hearing Age, and Inflammation Score. This test enables users to track how their DNA expression changes over time and understand the air quality impact based on their location. It also gives you meal, exercise, and vitamin suggestions to improve your health.
Lastly, the DNA + Epigenetics Test, priced at $325, combines the offerings of the above two tests, which means you’ll get meal, exercise, and vitamin plans, as well as insights into your biological age, inflammation score, and more.
You can also add a methylation panel to any DNA test you purchase, for only $29. This panel can tell you all about your methylation tendencies , how certain SNPs may be contributing to your ability to methylate and the role of choline as a methyl donor.
As a bonus, you can get an hour-long coaching session for free with every purchase. This session is meant to help you understand your DNA results, as well as give you an opportunity to ask any questions.
Quick Guide: How to Get a MyToolbox Genomics Test in 3 Easy Steps
- Go to MyToolbox Genomics website and order a test. The process is simple, and you should get your test kit within 2-3 days. You can even track its progress on the website. In the meantime, download the app (which will allow you to see your results later). Please bear in mind that they don’t ship outside of the US, and that if you have an Android version earlier than OS 6, you won’t be able to see your results via app, in which case you’ll get a full refund.
- Collect your sample. The instructions are pretty clear, so you should have no trouble getting the sample. It requires 4ml of saliva, preferably taken in the morning. It helps if you’re hungry or thinking about food since your body will produce more saliva and make it easier for you to fill the tube. If your sample fails during testing, the company will send you a replacement test kit free of charge. Don’t forget to register your Kit ID (found on the tube or the box) so you can track your sample’s progress through testing and access your results.
- Get your results! They should arrive within 4-6 weeks and they’ll be accessible via app or website. You can also download all of your results in a pdf format.
Our Experience Testing MyToolbox Genomics: Mixed Feelings About Reports, A Large Amount of Data
Taking the Test: Easy to Follow Instructions, Simple to Use
The test was delivered through UPS, and I received a confirmation email with a tracking link after placing the order. It reached me in just two days. Inside the package, I found an instruction pamphlet, a tube for the sample, and a pre-paid envelope for returning the sample.
The instructions were incredibly clear, and I found the helpful images to be a valuable guide as I went through the process of providing my sample. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the process:
1. Start by downloading the app on your Android or iOS device. You’ll need the app to activate the barcode on your sample for processing. Registering through the app only took a few minutes.
2. Providing the sample itself was a breeze. I had to collect 4mL of saliva using the tube provided in the kit. While the instructions recommend doing this in the morning, the exact reason for this is not specified, and fasting is not required.
3. Before opening your DNA sample, remember to register your kit through the app. This step is crucial to ensure that the laboratory can accurately identify your sample as yours.
4. Once you’ve completed the sample collection, simply place it in the prepaid envelope provided and send it back with ease.
I received confirmation that I had registered my kit and then I was able to track its progress through the testing process.
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Access Your Report Through MyToolbox Genomic’s App
In the instructions pamphlet, it said it would take between 3-4 weeks to get my results. I got mine on time, in 4 weeks.
Before getting your report, you need to fill out the general health questionnaire and complete your profile on the app. The profile collects typical personal information like your height, weight, age, and gender.
With the health questionnaire, you provide more information about your specific daily routines. It covers four general areas:
- Overall health: how often you’re sick, whether you suffer from back pain, and so on.
- Diet: if you take supplements, which diet you follow (for example vegetarian), how much water you drink, if you consume alcohol and caffeine, and if so, how much.
- Exercise: How often you exercise, the intensity of your fitness routine, and generally how active you are.
- Lifestyle: Whether you have a family history of conditions such as anemia, Alzheimer’s, alcoholism, arthritis, asthma, or blood disorders, as well as basic sleep data and alcohol consumption.
The questionnaire sounds very in-depth, and it is, but it was actually really quick to complete. I did think that the diet section was missing some key factors such as how much fiber I eat and my fat and sugar intake, as these are important influences on health and nutrition.
Your results are accessible from the app. You can also download the entire 190-page report from your app if you want to print it out or show it to your healthcare provider.
The app itself is…OK. It’s colorful and your actual results are easy to understand when you know where to look. From the app homepage, you have various different sections to click into, including your overall results, your meal guide, training plan, and health insights.
Once you’ve found the result you want to explore, you can learn about the genes that were tested and get an overview of what it means for your health.
The recommendations portion of the results did not offer as much value as I would have hoped. It explained that I may have increased performance in certain sports, but there was no mention of what these sports are or why that is. If it had told me which exercises my body was best suited to, I could then incorporate these into my fitness routine. I expected to get that info.
Another issue is the overwhelming amount of information, which can seem disorganized. Each section contains several subsections, making it challenging to understand how they connect as I delved deeper.
For instance, my results showed an increased risk of vitamin B6 deficiency, and the related sub-menus advised increasing my intake of B6-rich foods. However, this advice was not reflected in the diet section, creating inconsistency.
Despite this, is it possible to have too much information about your DNA and health? Unlikely. Toolbox Genomics offers extensive coverage, including unique insights into areas like sleep and stress that aren’t commonly found elsewhere. However, it might be more beneficial to concentrate on fewer factors with greater depth, providing clearer, actionable advice.
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Fitness & Exercise Suggestions
Alongside diet advice, your My Toolbox Genomics app comes loaded with fitness and exercise suggestions, too.
It gives you a 4-week fitness routine, with a full breakdown of the exercises to do each day. It even tells you which days to work out and which days to take a rest, which I liked.
Each of the exercises advises you of the rep count to stick to and rest period, and I was also pleased to see that you get small demo videos with each one. There’s no audio, unfortunately, but it’s a good idea if you’re not sure what the exercise is and it saves you having to find out yourself. Or you could read the description which helps, too.
You don’t get any information on why those exercises have been picked for you, so I’m not entirely sure that they are personalized to your DNA results. But if you’re new to exercise or just want to stick to a dedicated routine, it’s good for getting started.
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Extra Diet Insights
The app also comes with a DNA results section which gives you some more generalized insights into your health, and specifically your diet.
It covers factors like your snacking risk, glutamine benefit, and arginine benefit, so you can understand a bit more about your eating behaviors and nutritional needs. It covers gluten tolerance, caffeine metabolism, and gut health, too.
We liked that each factor comes with a color-code to determine your risk, so it’s easy to see where you sit on the scale. And you can filter your results, too, so that it only shows you anything to be concerned about, for example.
Every factor comes with a summary and some quick tips to help you manage your diet. For example, if it shows you you’re at high-risk of snacking, it explains how eating little and often might benefit you.
You also get tons of other insights from this section, too, not just relating to diet. It reports on your 02 usage, muscle health, your attention span, heart rate, and much more. I was even able to see whether I’m likely to be a worrier or a warrior, and if I’m better suited to being a night worker.
Get Your Virus Risk Score
Upon finishing your personal profile and health questionnaires, the app assigns you a COVID risk rating. This rating assesses your likelihood of contracting COVID, as well as other respiratory conditions.
Your score correlates with 60 distinct genes influencing your susceptibility to ailments that impact lung health, immune response, detoxification processes, and cardiovascular functionality.
The only downside I found is that the app does not provide any insights into how it actually comes up with that score. The good news for me? My COVID complication risks are perfectly average, and you get some tailored insights to help you decrease your risk levels.
Health Predispositions & Aging Insights
The health predispositions area of the app comes with loads of practical and helpful insights into various aspects of your health. These are separated into anti-ageing, eye health, gut health, heart health, immunity, and injury risk.
You can click on each section to understand your health predisposition risks. It explores things like your genetic predisposition to disc degeneration, oxidative stress, glaucoma, high cholesterol, and more.
With each health risk, you can see the biomarker tested and which genotype you carry. It then gives you a little explanation into your risk and how your genotype influences the likelihood of you developing that health condition.
You get some quick tips and recommendations, such as adding or limiting certain foods in your diet, engaging in specific exercises, or even taking supplements to improve your health. It’s not as in-detail as a lot of other tests I’ve reviewed, though. Still, MyToolbox Genomics has recently started offering free webinars and consultations with medical professionals, which can help you learn more about your recommendations.
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How MyToolbox Genomics Compares to Alternatives
In the rapidly expanding world of genetic testing, MyToolBox Genomics, LivingDNA, and SelfDecode have emerged as significant players. While each offers DNA-based insights, they have varying focuses and strengths. Here’s a comparison to help you decide which might be the best fit for your needs:
| Feature | MyToolbox Genomics | LivingDNA | SelfDecode |
| Price starts at | US$225,00 | US$124,00 | US$397,00 |
| Insights provided | Health, wellness, diet, and exercise | Health, wellness, diet, exercise, and ancestry | Health, wellness, diet, exercise, and ancestry |
| Sample collection | Saliva sample | Cheek swab | Saliva sample |
| Personalized recommendations? | Meal, exercise, and vitamin | Meal, exercise, and vitamin | Meal, exercise, and vitamin |
| Turnaround time | 4-6 weeks (for additional $10, you can get them in 3 weeks) | 4 weeks | 6-8 weeks |
MyToolbox Privacy: HIPAA Compliant
MyToolbox Genomics is positioning itself in the genetic testing space with a pronounced emphasis on user privacy. When you sign up, certain registration details are inevitably collected. This could span from basic identifiers like name and email to more specific details tied to the ordering practitioner. One distinctive feature is the option of a voluntary questionnaire during account setup: while it’s great for improving your results, you don’t have to take it if you feel it would reveal too much about yourself.
Once they sequence the DNA from the provided cheek swab samples, they strip away all personal identifiers. This ensures that only the raw genetic data remains for generating subsequent reports. What adds an extra layer of security is their practice of destroying the original genetic sample after sequencing. Moreover, users maintain the right to request the deletion of their genetic data at any point, reinforcing user agency in the data relationship. Adhering to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards, data is shared minimally and only with specific parties. Crucially, any data dispatched to labs is de-identified, ensuring anonymity.
MyToolbox Genomics Pricing: Standard Prices, Few Discounts
My Toolbox Genomics has three different plans available. The first and cheapest is the DNA test that we reviewed, which costs $225, which is pretty normal for these types of tests. You can sign up for the MyToolbox Genomics newsletter and get 5% off your test kit, which is great if you’re trying to save up a bit.
You can upgrade to the epigenetics test for more insights about your memory, hearing, and eye age, plus you get the ability to track your DNA expression changes over time with re-testing. This costs you $273, but actually, you don’t get any of the information from the DNA test included. So it’s very expensive.
You can buy both tests together for a combined price of $325. But is it worth it? I’m not sure.
MyToolbox Genomics Customer Support: Timely, Helpful & Responsive
My Toolbox Genomics offers live help via chat and I found it to be responsive and helpful each time. It wasn’t always available, but I was able to leave a message and provide my email and someone got back to me within the hour.
First, I was having trouble figuring out how to go back in and tweak my diet plan. I contacted support, got an answer in less than 30 seconds, and they solved my problem.
I also had a lot of questions about the “antioxidant-rich” diet suggestions. I once again reached out to the support via chat asking for the science behind those suggestions. Within a day, I got an email with links to published studies with more information.
I would have liked a deeper FAQ section that provides more online tools for people who have made the investment in the app. Even a basic user section or user guide along with the report would have helped my engagement considering I’m not a health professional.
Bottom Line
My Toolbox Genomics was, for the most part, a good test. I liked that it gives you a meal plan, a fitness routine, and it identifies many factors affecting your nutritional health, whether that’s your eating behaviors or vitamin deficiencies.
For your fee, you also get a lot of extra health insights that many diet and nutrition tests charge separately for. Alongside diet information, you can learn about your gut health, heart function, and risk of genetic diseases.
The actual quality of the report is one of the biggest downfalls, though. Everything feels pretty generic, and despite promising a personalized meal plan, I could’ve got the same results from a quick Google search.
The recommendations don’t go into much detail so even if you find out your gut health is something to be concerned about, you don’t really know where to go next. However, you can get access to webinars and consultations with medical professionals if you’re curious about any elements of your test results.
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FAQs
How do I take a My Toolbox Genomics test?
Your My Toolbox Genomics test requires a saliva sample. In your kit, you get everything you need to collect your sample, including a detailed instructions pamphlet to guide you. Once you’re done, ship your sample back using the pre-paid envelope and simply wait for your results.
Does My Toolbox Genomics accept insurance?
No, My Toolbox Genomics does not accept insurance. However, we checked and you can use your HSA or FSA card to pay for the test kit.
How long do My Toolbox Genomics results take?
After speaking with a support agent, we were advised it takes 3-4 weeks for your results. When we tested the DNA kit, we got our report in 4 weeks. However, you can currently pay an extra $10 and get your results within 3 weeks.
Can My Toolbox Genomics tell me if I have any illnesses?
No. Your report merely indicates a predisposition for a particular disease. It helps you gauge your risk level, offering insights into the likelihood of developing a specific condition. It is essential to consult your doctor to obtain a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment. By discussing your results with a medical professional, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your health and take necessary steps for care.
