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Genetic Testing and Your Health: What You Need to Know

Curious about DNA testing? Here’s how we use raw genetic data to personalize your care — and when it’s worth doing.

Updated this week

Genetic Testing at Fishtown Medicine

At Fishtown Medicine, we believe deeply in personalized care — not just based on symptoms or lab values, but on your story, your lifestyle, and yes, sometimes your DNA.

You don’t need to have done genetic testing to work with us. But if you’re curious about your risks, want to optimize prevention, or wonder whether certain supplements or screening strategies are right for you, we can use genetic data as one more tool to guide your care.

Why consider genetic testing?

Your raw DNA data can give us a clearer picture of:

  • How your body processes nutrients, stress, inflammation, or hormones

  • Where your risks may lie — including heart disease, metabolic issues, obesity, diabetes, cancer, autoimmunity, detox challenges, mood, or memory

  • Where small changes today may have a bigger payoff tomorrow

We look at patterns across SNPs — small variations in your genes that can affect how your body functions. While no single gene tells the whole story, combinations of SNPs can highlight vulnerabilities and strengths. When paired with your labs, family history, and current health, we can use that information to make smarter, earlier, more personalized decisions.

How to get started

We recommend AncestryDNA as an affordable and easy-to-use option. If privacy is a concern, some patients choose to:

  • Use a pseudonym when ordering

  • Enter only their birth year, not full date of birth

👉 Be sure to review the platform’s terms of service and privacy policies before purchasing. We recommend choosing the one-time kit (not a subscription).

Once you get your results, we’ll guide you through how to download your raw data and securely share it with us.

What we do with your results

We never look at genes in isolation. Instead, we interpret them in the context of:

  1. Your labs and biomarkers

  2. Your family history (when available)

  3. Your symptoms and life patterns

  4. Your goals

From there, we may adjust labs, suggest screening strategies, personalize your supplements, or build a preventive roadmap based on your unique blueprint.

We delete the file after review. You’re always in control of your data.

Who this is (and isn’t) for

Genetic testing can be especially helpful if:

  • You’re focused on prevention and long-term healthspan

  • You’ve had confusing or conflicting lab results

  • You’re adopted or don’t have access to family medical history

  • You want to personalize supplements or screen smarter

  • You’re managing a chronic condition with unclear triggers

It may not be right for you if:

  • You’re navigating an acute health crisis

  • You feel overwhelmed by data right now

  • You prefer not to know risk patterns unless treatment is clear

We’ll never push testing on you — but if you're curious, we’ll make the process simple, ethical, and empowering.

Why now matters

We’ve seen 60-year-olds with the healthspan of someone 38… and others with the biomarkers of someone 85 in a hospital bed. The difference often isn’t genetics — it’s timing.

When you act early, small changes compound. A shift in sleep, a smarter supplement, or an early screen can have ripple effects for decades.

If you’re curious about whether this fits your goals, just text us. We’re happy to walk it through — no pressure, no guesswork.

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