Screening · Dubai
Genetic Testing in Dubai
Your genes do not change, but how much they matter depends on everything else: diet, sleep, activity, environment. Genetic testing shows where your tendencies lie, so that choices can be made with that in mind. Our physicians choose the panels that are relevant to you and explain what the results do — and do not — mean.
- DNA Health, methylation and diet panels from a single sample
- Tendencies explained plainly, never presented as a diagnosis
- Results read with your bloods and history by a physician
What Is Genetic Testing?
Wellness genetic testing reads selected variations in your DNA that influence how your body handles nutrients, fats, hormones, detoxification and some medications. It describes tendencies to plan around — not a diagnosis, and not a prediction of what will happen.
Everyone carries small, common variations in their DNA, called single-nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs. Most have no noticeable effect. Some sit in genes that make enzymes and transporters, and can change how efficiently the body carries out a particular process — processing folate, clearing caffeine, handling cholesterol, or metabolising oestrogen.
Wellness genetic panels look at a selected set of these variations and group them by theme. The effect of any one variant is usually modest, and it depends heavily on diet, lifestyle and the rest of your genetic make-up. That is why the result is best read as a tendency, and alongside blood results that show what is actually happening now.
This is different from clinical diagnostic genetic testing, which looks for specific variants that cause or strongly predispose to inherited disease and is arranged through a genetics specialist with formal counselling. If that is your question — for example because of a known inherited condition in your family — your physician will tell you so and refer you appropriately.
Who Should Consider a DNA Test
Genetic testing suits people who want to understand their own tendencies before making long-term decisions about diet, training, supplements and screening, and people whose blood results or family history raise a specific question that a genetic read can help frame.
It is most useful when paired with measurement. A methylation result means more beside homocysteine and B-vitamin levels; a lipid genetics result means more beside ApoB and Lp(a). Your physician will usually suggest the blood markers that go with each panel.
Genetic testing is not a response to symptoms. New, worsening or worrying symptoms need a prompt medical assessment — tell us when you get in touch and we will see you accordingly, or seek urgent care if they are severe.
- Wanting to understand inherited tendencies
- A family history of heart disease or high cholesterol
- A raised homocysteine or questions about MTHFR
- Diets that work for others but not for you
- Unusual reactions to common medications
- Questions about oestrogen and hormonal history
- Training or recovery that does not follow the plan
Genetic Panels We Use
Genetic
DNA Health®
The broad genetic baseline: how your body handles inflammation, detoxification, fats and vitamins.
Why it’s here The broad starting point — inflammation, detoxification, fat handling and vitamin pathways in one panel.
Genetic
DNA Methylation Genes
The core methylation pathway — the chemistry behind DNA repair and detoxification.
Why it’s here The core methylation pathway that MTHFR belongs to, read with homocysteine and B-vitamin levels.
Genetic
Advanced Methylation Gene Pack
A wider read on methylation for anyone whose core panel raises questions.
Why it’s here A wider methylation read when the core panel or blood results leave questions open.
Genetic
DNA Lipid Metabolism Panel
Inherited influences on cholesterol handling and cardiovascular risk.
Why it’s here Inherited tendencies in cholesterol handling, read beside measured lipids and ApoB.
Genetic
DNA Oestrogen
How your body metabolises oestrogen — relevant to hormonal balance and family history.
Why it’s here How oestrogen is metabolised — relevant where hormonal or family history makes it a question.
Genetic
DNA Diet
How your genetics influence the way you process carbohydrates, fats and salt.
Why it’s here Genetic influences on how carbohydrates, fats and salt are handled, used to shape a nutrition plan.
Genetic
Medcheck®
How your genetics affect your response to commonly prescribed medications.
Why it’s here How your genetics may affect your response to commonly prescribed medications, to share with your prescribing doctor.
Your physician confirms which panels you actually need at consultation. See every panel and current prices.
Genes and Pathways Explained
A full genetic assessment can look at genes such as those below. Your physician confirms which panels are run for you at the consultation, and which blood markers should be read alongside them.
- MTHFR
- Makes an enzyme in folate metabolism. Common variants can reduce its activity, which is why it is read with homocysteine and folate.
- MTR and MTRR
- Enzymes that work with vitamin B12 in the same methylation cycle as MTHFR.
- COMT
- Helps break down oestrogen metabolites and stress-related neurotransmitters; variants change how quickly.
- CYP enzyme genes
- A family of liver enzymes that process caffeine, hormones and many medications.
- Lipid-handling genes
- Genes involved in how cholesterol and fats are transported and cleared.
- Detoxification genes
- Genes for the liver’s phase I and phase II clearance enzymes and antioxidant defences.
- Vitamin-related genes
- Variants affecting the transport or activation of nutrients such as vitamin D and B vitamins.
What a DNA Test Can and Can’t Tell You
A wellness DNA test can tell you which common variants you carry in the genes it looks at, and what research suggests about their general effect. That can be useful: it can explain why a pattern keeps appearing in your blood results, or point to where extra attention is worthwhile.
It cannot tell you that you will or will not develop a condition, it does not diagnose anything, and it does not replace blood tests or screening. Most common conditions depend on many genes and much more on how you live. A “higher-risk” variant is a reason to measure and monitor; a “lower-risk” one is not a reason to stop.
That is why results are always reviewed with a physician, who reads them with your history and your measured markers rather than as a standalone report.
MTHFR and Methylation Testing Explained
Methylation is a chemical process the body uses constantly — in making and repairing DNA, processing hormones and recycling homocysteine. It depends on folate, vitamin B12 and other B vitamins, and on enzymes including MTHFR.
MTHFR variants are very common, and having one does not mean something is wrong. What matters is whether the pathway is working in practice, which is shown by blood markers such as homocysteine, folate and B12. A methylation panel read beside those results gives a clearer answer than either on its own, and helps a physician judge whether nutrition or supplementation needs adjusting.
Genetic Testing vs Biological Age Testing
The two are often confused because both start with DNA. Genetic testing reads the sequence you were born with, which does not change. Biological age testing reads chemical marks on DNA (methylation patterns) that do change over time and are used to estimate how fast you are ageing.
So a genetic result is read once and kept, while a biological age result can be repeated to see whether it moves. Biological age testing, including the TruAge test, is covered on our Diagnostics & Screening page.
Genetic Test vs Blood Test
The two answer different questions and work best together. This is a general guide, not a way to choose between them.
| Genetic test | Blood test | |
|---|---|---|
| What it reads | The DNA you were born with | What is happening in your body now |
| Changes over time | No | Yes |
| How often | Usually once | Repeated to track change |
| Tells you | Tendencies and predispositions | Current levels and function |
| Example | MTHFR variant | Homocysteine and folate level |
| Best used | To frame what to watch | To measure and monitor it |
After Your Genetic Results
At the results review your physician explains each relevant finding in plain language, sets it beside your blood results and history, and separates what is worth acting on from what is simply interesting. Genetic results do not change, so the report stays useful for years.
A plan may include changes to diet and training, targeted supplementation, blood markers to monitor over time, or information to share with your prescribing doctor. Where a result raises a question about inherited disease, your physician will refer you to a genetics specialist.
Diagnostics & Screening
Biological age testing, the full genetic list and current prices.
Heart Health Screening
To measure the lipid markers a genetic result points towards.
Advanced Blood Panel
The blood markers that show how your tendencies play out now.
Functional Medicine
For using genetic and blood results together in one plan.
What to Expect
- 01
Consultation
A physician takes your history and family history, and agrees which genetic panels are worth running for you.
- 02
Sample
A simple sample taken in clinic. The team confirms the sample type for your chosen panels when you book.
- 03
Results review
A second appointment to go through the findings, read beside your blood results and history.
- 04
Plan and follow-up
Practical next steps and the blood markers to monitor, so tendencies are tracked rather than guessed.
A Note From Your Physician
On genetic testing
I explain genetic results as a map of where to look, not a verdict. An MTHFR variant on its own tells me little; beside a homocysteine level it tells me a great deal. The most useful genetic reports are the ones read with blood results on the same desk.
Dr. Jenna BurtonFunctional & Longevity Medicine · DHA-licensedWhy Choose Shookra
01Physician-led
Every protocol is planned and supervised by a DHA-licensed doctor.
02Measured, then treated
We read your skin before we treat it, so the plan fits you — not a template.
03Managed over time
Your care is tracked and adjusted as part of one practice, not one-off visits.
04Medical-grade
Clinical protocols and equipment, in a discreet Dubai clinic.
Genetic Testing Questions
01What can a DNA test tell me about my health?
02Is genetic testing the same as a diagnostic genetic test?
03Where can I get an MTHFR test in Dubai?
04I have an MTHFR variant. Should I be worried?
05How is the sample taken, and do I need to prepare?
06How long do genetic test results take?
07Is this the same as a biological age test?
08Who sees my genetic results?
09How much does genetic testing cost in Dubai?
Journal
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Where we run the genetic testing assessment
Genetic Testing in Dubai
Dubai · Business Bay
ShookraRetail 3, 15, Northside, Business Bay, Dubai, UAE+971 50 320 4553Open Mon–Sun · 10:00–22:00
View on Google MapsDubai · Palm Jumeirah
ShookraAndaz Dubai The Palm, 3rd Floor, Palm Jumeirah Rd, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE+971 50 320 4553Open Mon–Sun · 10:00–22:00
View on Google MapsLicensed & Regulated
DHA-licensed. MOHAP-approved.
Every treatment is delivered at Shookra, a DHA-licensed medical facility in Dubai. Every physician and clinician on our team is DHA-licensed and works to clinical protocol. Our health communications are independently reviewed and approved by the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention (MOHAP).
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Measure first, then decide.
Speak with our team on WhatsApp — we’ll arrange a physician consultation and talk you through the panels and pricing.
