A genotype, checked against your own data
A DNA report lists population associations, with no way to tell whether they show up in you. MuscleBuddy stores six genotypes and shows each one beside the matching evidence from your bloodwork, food log or symptom history.
Informational only, not medical advice. Consult a qualified clinician before changing medication, hormones, or supplements.
Six genotypes
MuscleBuddy tracks six genotypes: caffeine metabolism (CYP1A2), lactase persistence (LCT), alcohol flush response (ALDH2), vitamin D receptor variants (VDR), hereditary haemochromatosis risk (HFE), and a celiac risk tag (HLA-DQ2.5, read from one SNP). A genotype is on the list only if something you log or measure can confirm or contradict it.
That rule leaves out some well-known tests. APOE is out because nothing MuscleBuddy measures could confirm it. MTHFR is out because the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommends against testing it. ACTN3 and ACE, the sports-performance genes, are out because the evidence for them in trained athletes is weak, and a single SNP is no basis for a verdict on your performance. Polygenic scores and ancestry are out: they can't be interpreted for one person, and nothing here could check them.
Each genotype appears with its evidence
Caffeine metabolism pairs with a caffeine half-life fitted from your logged intake and how you slept afterward. Vitamin D receptor variants pair with your measured 25-OH vitamin D, and the page states that the blood test tells you far more about your vitamin D status than the variant does. Haemochromatosis risk pairs with your ferritin and transferrin saturation. The celiac risk tag pairs with tTG-IgA serology, and a negative tag is not shown as excluding celiac disease, because it does not read DQ8 or DQ2.2. Lactase persistence and alcohol flush pair with your logged symptoms: dairy in your food log against a digestive-symptom check-in, or a logged drink against a flush check-in.
A genotype does not appear without its pairing. If you haven't logged enough of the matching data, the trait says so and names what would settle it. Where your data and the genotype disagree, the app treats your data as the better guide, because a genotype is a population association, not a prediction about you.
Your file stays on your device
Choose a raw export from a consumer DNA test and your browser parses it in a background worker. Only the six genotype calls are sent; the file itself stays on your device, and no server endpoint accepts one. If you would rather not use the file, type in the genotypes from your report. The form asks for the genotype exactly as printed, and the app interprets it with the same mapping the parser uses.
Genetic data needs its own consent, separate from every other consent on your account, before anything is stored. Stored results are encrypted, and the key is kept apart from the encrypted data. Withdrawing consent or deleting your results removes them from the live database in the same action. Database backups are kept for a period afterward, and a restore inside that window could bring a deleted copy back.
Not a diagnosis, and not shared
A genotype here is reference information: a cited association with an evidence grade. The app does not act on it. It does not change your training program, your nutrition targets or any recommendation MuscleBuddy makes. This is not a clinical genetic test, not disease-risk screening and not a substitute for genetic counseling. Where a genotype bears on a health question, such as haemochromatosis risk, the page presents it as a reason to watch the matching marker and to talk to a clinician.
No coach can see your genetic data, whatever scopes you grant; it is outside coaching visibility altogether, unlike your bloodwork or your stack. It stays out of feeds, and out of any export except your own.
How it sits alongside the rest of MuscleBuddy
Genetics lives in Upkeep, the module for longer-running self-care records such as medications, appointments and conditions. It reads from the other modules and changes none of them. The caffeine trait reads the caffeine and sleep log Health keeps. The vitamin D and haemochromatosis traits read your bloodwork panels, and the lactase and alcohol-flush traits read your food log. Training does not read genotypes.
If you already have a DNA report in a drawer, this puts it next to the data you collect in Training, Nutrition and Health. It does not give you a new rule to train or eat by.
Frequently asked
- Is this a clinical genetic test?
No. MuscleBuddy stores a curated set of genotypes from a report you already have (uploaded or typed in) and pairs them with your own logged data. It does not replace a diagnostic test, disease-risk screening or genetic counseling.
- Does my raw DNA file get uploaded to MuscleBuddy?
No. Your browser parses the raw export in a background worker. Only the six genotype results leave your device, and no server endpoint accepts the file itself.
- Which genotypes does MuscleBuddy track?
Six: caffeine metabolism, lactase persistence, alcohol flush response, vitamin D receptor variants, hereditary haemochromatosis risk, and a celiac risk tag. Each one pairs against something in your own bloodwork, food log, or symptom history.
- Can my coach see my genetic data?
No, whatever scopes you grant a coach elsewhere in the app. Genetic data is outside coaching visibility altogether.
- What happens if I delete my results or withdraw consent?
Your stored genotypes are removed from the live database in the same action that records the withdrawal. Database backups are kept for a period afterward, and a restore inside that window could bring a deleted copy back.
Put your DNA report next to your own data
Six genotypes, parsed on your device and shown beside the matching evidence from your bloodwork, food log or symptom history. Free: the curated genotype list, parsed on your device.