GenoPalate review | 10 things you should know before buying
If you are curious about how your DNA may be affecting your ability to digest, absorb, and utilize important nutrients from your food, you need a DNA analysis from a company like GenoPalate. GenoPalate offers nutrition recommendations via a nutrition report based on the genetic variants you carry in your genome!
The editors at Genomelink think it is important that everyone finds and uses a genetic testing service that is suited to their individual needs. As such, below is our expert review of GenoPalate, a company focusing on “eating for your genes”.
This GenoPalate review helps you determine whether it is legit and consists of information on the company behind the service, what test results you can expect, and a link to a sample report! We also cover the cost of GenoPalate DNA testing and introduce some other great wellness genomics alternatives that you might want to try.
Below is our standardized review, so you can easily compare GenoPalate with other companies you are interested in. Check it out!
1. About the Company
2. Test Results and Sample Reports
3. Reviews
4. Cost
5. Best Alternatives to GenoPalate
6. Upload Your Raw DNA Data
1. About The Company
Quick Facts:
Company Name: GenoPalate, Inc.
Foundation Year: 2016
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Monthly Visits: Unknown
Number of Databases: Unknown
Website: genopalate.com
GenoPalate was formed in 2016 by Dr. Sherry Zhang, Dr. Paul Auer, and nutritionist Matt Edwards as a way to help people understand nutritional science based on their personal genetic information. The company offers genetic testing which focuses on various aspects of your metabolism, such as your ability to digest carbohydrates or your ability to process vitamins.
The company provides a personalized nutritional DNA analysis based on 75 markers within your genes related to various health outcomes. The company then provides nutritional recommendations and recipes based on molecular biology and nutritional science. Founded by Dr. Sherry Zang, a metabolism and obesity researcher focused on genetics, GenoPalate set out with the mission to provide the best DNA nutrition advice and recommended foods available.
2. Review Test Results And Sample Reports
With a GenoPalate DNA kit, you will receive ample information about nutritional variables affected by your genetic makeup.
GenoPalate Report Overview
- Get a crash course in Nutritional Science
- Provides a breakdown of your genes, and what they say about what you should eat
- Recommended meal plans and general guidelines for healthy eating
- A breakdown of all foods which match well with your genetic profile
- Find your perfect level of Carbs, Proteins, and Fats!
Essentially, you will get information on three areas of your ‘nutrigenomics’ (or DNA nutrition profile). First, you will learn about optimal intake levels for 23 different essential vitamins and nutrients. This essentially tells you about carbohydrates, protein, fats, and many different vitamins like vitamin B12, vitamin D, folate, and potassium. You can even find out if you are likely to be lactose intolerant!
The next part of the GenoPalate test report focuses on which foods are best for you, based on your genetic variants. Split into 16 categories, the list is easy to navigate and suggests over 85 foods that should work well with your specific genetic mutations. Here’s the full list of categories:
Fruits, Vegetables, Leafy Vegetables, Fresh Herbs, Meats, Seafoods, Other Proteins, Bread, Starches and Grains, Pasta, Nuts and Seeds, Fats & Oils, Legumes, Cheeses, Milk, Yogurts
Lastly, GenoPalate provides information on how you metabolize different foods - from passion fruit to raspberries - and the likelihood your genes contribute to specific food sensitivities like alcohol, caffeine, gluten, or lactose.
GenoPalate Report Breakdown
The 20+-page DNA report you will receive from GenoPalate contains a wealth of information. The report starts with a short course on genetics and nutrition and explains how the two fields meet and interact. The report provides both your genotype for each SNP and the prevalence of that genotype within the population. In other words, this tells you what variations you carry and how common they are in the population. If you have very rare mutations, this suggests that you may benefit from a diet that is less common. For instance, you may find that you carry a mutation that increases your dietary needs for vitamin A.
You will get a breakdown of many genetic variants you carry, and what correlations have been found in those genes. Finally, the report gives you a breakdown of what foods to eat, and which foods are optimized to your diet with your “Recommendations”. Supposedly, these foods provide the right amount of vitamins and minerals for your body to process and use. You can see more about this process on page 6 of the sample report, below.
Plus, the GenoPalate report automatically compares hundreds of different foods, to quickly build you a list of delicious fresh foods that can help you stay healthy, and are ‘optimized’ for your genetic profile. You can see what these recommendations look like on pages 13-18 of the sample report.
See a full sample report from GenoPalate at the link below!
3. GenoPalate Customer Reviews (Updated June 2021)
GenoPalate has relatively few reviews online. However, there are several discussions about the company on Reddit and Facebook. Check them out!
- Trustpilot - 3.7 / 5 stars
- Amazon - 2.7 of 5 stars
- See what users on Reddit are saying about uploading their 23andMe data to GenoPalate
- See what the Better Business Bureau has to say about GenoPalate
- Read the Tweets about #GenoPalate
In general, most users were satisfied with thet DNA report provided by GenomePalate. However, the genetic DNA testing kit did leave some users frustrated and feeling like the results were difficult to put into practice. GenomePalate does offer a meal recipes based on your recommended foods, but some users found strange produce selections and wanted more general recommendations that would be easier to find in their grocery store. Other users commented that they were actually allergic to most of their food recommendations.
4. GenoPalate Review: Cost (Updated June 2021)
The GenoPalate Report can be obtained through the DNA testing kit offered by the company. This kit costs $149.95 and gives you all of the results as described above. However, for $179.95 you can also get 5 recipes, based on your personalized DNA information. 5 recipes based on your DNA data for an extra $40 seems steep, but they may become your new favorite dish!
For only $39.95 you can upload DNA data from Ancestry DNA or 23andMe and get the same results. If you want the bonus recipes, you will have to fork over $69.95.
5. Best Alternatives to GenoPalate
If you are interested in the DNA analysis provided by GenoPalate, you may be interested in these other DNA testing companies that analyze your DNA for traits related to diet, nutrition, and exercise:
- DNAFit: DNA analysis specific to Nutrition and Fitness - with an emphasis on performance
- Orig3n: Affordable DNA testing kit with slightly less DNA data analyzed
- Atheletigen: Maximize your athletic performance by tailoring your workout to your DNA
- Vitagene: Find out exactly what vitamins you should be taking based on your genetics
- Fitness Genes: Nutrition and exercise and important to health and this provider gives you both!
Find out more about the best foods, positive health outcomes, and weight loss decision-making tools in our review of the Best Nutrition and Fitness Raw Data analysis sites!
6. Upload Your Raw DNA Data!
You can upload raw data to GenoPalate to get an analysis. Unfortunately, GenoPalate does not allow users to download their raw DNA data file to be uploaded to other companies if you use their DNA testing kit.
Many other companies, such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA, have this option. This gives users access to a large range of options. Plus, with several other third-party DNA analysis companies, you can get information about much more than just nutrition. Check out these other great sites to see what you can learn!
- Genomelink: 25 traits for free, 200+ more fun and unique traits including nutrition traits
- Promethease: Research actual scientific publications about genetic variants you carry
7. Getting Started with GenoPalate
There are two options for getting a nutrition report from GenoPalate. First, users can upload the raw DNA data they have received from AncestryDNA or 23andMe. These are the only two sites from which GenoPalate will accept raw data. If you have used other services to produce raw DNA data from your saliva, blood, hair, or other genetic material GenoPalate will not accept it.
It takes one to three weeks to view results from GenoPalate when using DNA data from another site.
Alternatively, customers can purchase an at-home DNA testing kit directly from GenoPalate. Test kits require a saliva sample and are analyzed at a third-party laboratory. With this method, it takes four to six weeks for a DNA test to be ready.
Whether they upload raw data or take the GenoPalate test, there is only one way for customers to access their information: through an online account.
8. Geno Palate Privacy Policy
To help protect customer privacy, GenoPalate provides all testing kits with a barcode. For extra protection, all data is encrypted; the barcode ensures that test results cannot be linked to the customer’s identity.
The third-party labs GenoPalate uses must keep DNA samples and all genetic information for at least 10 years. During this time, data may be used for biobanking and research as indicated in the user agreement.
Customers retain the right to withdraw their consent if they so choose. If they exercise this right, their DNA samples and data will be deleted within 90 days.
The company may share genetic data with government agencies, professional advisors, and law enforcement. However, it will not share data with other third parties if the data is identifiable. If GenoPalate is acquired by another company at any time, stored data will be shared with the owners of that company. Any data that is unidentifiable may be shared at GenoPalate’s discretion.
9. The Media and Geno Palate Reviews
The national media has not featured the company or GenoPalate reviews on a wide scale. The company has been highlighted in local Milwaukee media newspapers and podcasts, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a feature piece on GenoPalate.
Some of the media coverage has been cautionary, if not directly negative. In many cases, a disclaimer of sorts is included to warn readers that healthy eating is only part of the picture presented by genetics and remind them that many factors come into play when choosing a diet.
10. Is GenoPalate Right for You?
GenoPalate is one of many companies that provide DNA-based nutrition and diet information, but it is one of only a few that are limited to health services. Genomelink gives users everything they need to explore all the information avenues that raw DNA data provides. Our goal is to empower customers to explore their DNA data on their own terms.
Like GenoPalate, Genomelink allows users to easily upload raw data from sites like 23andMe and AncestryDNA. However, Genomelink provides even more services to help users get the most from the DNA information to better their health and lives.
To find out more DNA upload sites, check out our article "The Best DNA Upload Sites"
