The 23andMe lab was able to process DNA out of the second sample that I sent in. I guess the cheek scraping helped. The DNA is all processed and I just got my report back. I have not had much time to review it, but here are the bullet points:

On the ancestry side there were no real surprises. It says that I am 97% western European, with the strongest regions being within England, Ireland and France. I suppose if there is a surprise it was France and not the Dutch & German I had expected. However, the gene pool hits were from northern France (Normandy and near the German border). The report says that Louis the 16th and I share a common ancestor. That's an interesting tidbit.

As far as the African & native American blood ancestry that has been the lore of my mom's side of the family, the African part appears to be true. The report said that I have one relative from within the past 200 years with roots to the Caribbean island of Barbados and a little further back west Africa. But there was no Native American blood to speak of. That part of the family lore was just a tall tale. And like Nancy shared (post above), I have more Neanderthal DNA than most.

On the health side I have not had time to do anything but browse through the huge laundry list of potential risk factors -- but it is interesting to note that they nailed the top 3 on the list. Diabetes, hyperinsulinemia, and hypercholesterolemia. Check, check, check. I was surprised about how long the list of potential health issues was. But I am one who believes that we have some control over these risk factors by eating a good diet and living an active, healthy lifestyle. So I'm not going to lose any sleep worrying about it.

I've barely scratched the surface on my results. I find this stuff fun and interesting. I look forward to diving in a little deeper.