Gary Brecka Methylation Test: Is It Worth It, and How Does Stride Compare?

What the Gary Brecka methylation test is

Two tests now go by the name of the Gary Brecka methylation test. Brecka's own company, The Ultimate Human Wellness, sells a genetic methylation test kit in the UK through the retailer Healf. It reads 13 genes from a cheek swab and costs £399 at the time of writing. The other is 10X Health's Methylation+ Genetic Test, which Brecka used to front. It reads 27 genes from saliva, costs $599 and is sold in the US only.

Brecka left 10X at the end of 2024, so the test he puts his name to today is the Ultimate Human kit. This guide compares both with Stride's DNA & Methylation Test, which costs from £118.30 with a 1:1 consultation included, and shares what more than 10,000 Stride results show.

This article explains:

Gary Brecka, 10X and The Ultimate Human

Gary Brecka is an American wellness personality who describes himself as a human biologist. He helped popularise genetic methylation testing, not least through his appearances on Joe Rogan's podcast, and he co-founded 10X Health System with Grant Cardone and Brandon Dawson.

He and 10X parted ways at the end of 2024. He now runs his own brand, The Ultimate Human, which takes in a podcast, a supplement range and, since November 2025, a genetic test sold in the UK.

The Ultimate Human Wellness Genetic Methylation Test

This is Brecka's current test. Healf sells and ships it, and Optimally Me is the UK laboratory partner. You take a cheek swab at home, and the lab reads 13 genes: ACAT, AHCY, BHMT, CBS, COMT, MAOA, MTHFD1, MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, NOS3, SHMT and VDR.

Results arrive online, with a summary and scientific references for each gene, a short video from Brecka on each one, and lifestyle and supplement suggestions. A one-to-one review with one of the company's experts is sold separately. The company describes the test as educational, and it doesn't say how long results take.

10X Health Methylation+

10X still sells Methylation+, which spreads its 27 genes across six body systems and includes a free wellness consultation, and as of October 2026 it also offers a Precision genetic test at $1,299. Methylation+ is HSA and FSA eligible, so US buyers can pay from a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account, but 10X doesn't sell it directly to UK customers. Our guide to the 10X Health test goes through the range in more detail.

What a genetic methylation test looks at

Methylation is a chemical step your cells carry out all the time. A methyl group, one carbon atom with three hydrogens attached, is added to DNA, proteins, neurotransmitters and hormones, and that small tag helps switch processes on or off. The pathways behind it make SAMe, your body's main methyl donor, recycle homocysteine and help break down brain chemicals such as dopamine.

A genetic methylation test doesn't measure any of that directly. It reads your DNA, from a cheek swab or saliva, and looks for single-letter differences called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in the genes that make the enzymes behind these reactions. Some variants are linked to lower enzyme activity. That can make a pathway less efficient, particularly when you're short of the nutrients it depends on.

MTHFR is the gene most people have heard of. It makes the enzyme that produces 5-MTHF, the active form of folate, and two common variants, C677T and A1298C, can reduce how well it works. Our guide to the MTHFR gene explains what those results do and don't mean.

What 10,000+ Stride results show

We analysed more than 10,000 results from Stride's methylation test. Almost everyone had at least one inefficiency somewhere across the five cycles we report on, and only about 2% had fully normal function in both the folate and BH4 cycles.

Here's how often each cycle was flagged, with the genes we look at in each one.

Those numbers sound high, but they describe genetic tendencies, not illness. Variants in these genes are common, and plenty of people who carry them feel well.

What a flagged cycle gives you is somewhere to start. If it's your folate or methionine cycle, food comes first: leafy greens and pulses for folate, and eggs, fish, meat or dairy for B12. Some people also take a methylated B vitamin such as MS-01, which provides folate as methylfolate, B12 as methylcobalamin and B6 as P5P. Folate contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism. A blood test then shows where your levels actually sit.

How the three tests compare

All three are at-home genetic tests built around methylation. The differences come down to where you can buy them, how many genes they read, what support comes with the result and what you pay.

Stride's test comes in three levels. Core reads 19 genes across all five methylation cycles for £118.30. Advanced adds nutrition and metabolism reports for £188.30, and Optimal reads 110 genes, adding fitness, sleep, stress and skin, for £223.30. Every level covers MTHFR and COMT and includes a 1:1 consultation, and every level costs less than the Ultimate Human kit. Samples are analysed at accredited specialist laboratories, and results take about 10 working days.

If you've already tested with 23andMe, you don't need a new sample. Optimal DNA Link turns your raw data into Stride's methylation reports.

The Ultimate Human kit may suit you if you follow Brecka's work and want his videos and supplement suggestions alongside your results. 10X suits US buyers who want to pay from an HSA or FSA. If you're in the UK and want more genes, a consultation included in the price and a lower bill, Stride is the stronger fit. Stride is rated 4.8 out of 5 from 420 customer reviews, which you can read on our reviews page.

Looking for a Gary Brecka blood test?

Both tests linked to Gary Brecka's name are genetic tests, using a cheek swab or saliva rather than blood. 10X Health also sells a separate blood test in the US, the 10X Full Blood Panel, which covers more than 70 biomarkers and comes with a clinician review of your results. The two tests answer different questions.

Your genes show the tendencies you were born with, and they don't change. A blood test shows your current status: whether your folate, B12 or vitamin D is low at the moment, for instance, and whether changes to your diet are working. Most people get the clearest picture from both.

In the UK, Optimal Bloods measures more than 70 biomarkers, including folate, active B12, vitamin D, ferritin, HbA1c and hsCRP, from a blood draw taken at home by a professional phlebotomist. If you'd rather track things over time, StrideOne combines DNA, gut microbiome and blood testing and retests your bloods and gut every six months. Both are UK only for now.

Homocysteine is the blood marker most closely tied to methylation. It isn't part of Stride's blood test, so ask your GP whether checking it makes sense for you.

Is the Gary Brecka test worth it?

Brecka's profile is the reason many people first hear about methylation testing. Whether a test is worth paying for has less to do with who made it well known and more to do with what it measures and what you'll do with the answer.

A genetic methylation test earns its keep when you act on it, by changing what you eat or deciding which blood markers to keep an eye on. It's far less useful if you're hoping for a diagnosis. If you have symptoms that worry you, start with your GP, because a gene result can't rule anything in or out.

Before you buy any methylation test, check:

• Which genes it reads. MTHFR and COMT should be there, along with the other genes in each pathway.

• Who runs the lab. It should be named and accredited.

• What the report tells you. Each result should come with a plain explanation and something you can do about it.

• Who you can talk to. Time with an expert helps turn a list of variants into a plan.

• What happens to your data. Look for a clear policy on how your genetic information is stored and used.

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