Gary Brecka Methylation Test Review: Worth It in Australia?
If you have been listening to Gary Brecka, you are in good company. A lot of the women who sit down with me have, and I have too. Someone asks me about his gene test most weeks, usually the same three questions: what does it actually look at, can I get it here, and what would I do with the result.
So here is a proper answer from a clinical nutritionist who orders genetic tests every week, thinks what he has done for this conversation is genuinely good, and offers a similar test here in Australia.
Where we stand. Wellbeing George is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Gary Brecka, 10X Health System or The Ultimate Human, and this is not his test. We use the names only to identify the product people ask us about. We do sell our own genetic methylation test, and I say so plainly in the one section where that matters.
Prices and product details were checked on the seller's own page on 6 September 2026 and can change.
The short version
- The lab science is sound. The test genotypes real methylation-pathway genes using a standard, accurate method, and if it says you carry an MTHFR variant, you almost certainly do.
- No gene test, his or ours, measures how well you are methylating today. That depends on your B-vitamin status, and there is thirty years of data on exactly this below.
- A variant is not a diagnosis. These variants are common worldwide and most people who carry them are well.
- From Australia the test works out at about AU$830 at today's exchange rate before shipping, and a similar test can be done here through an Australian laboratory with local support.
Who he is, in a paragraph
Gary Brecka describes himself as a human biologist. He hosts The Ultimate Human podcast, the test is sold through his site as a partner product, and by now he is a familiar face here: he has toured Australia before and is on stage again this September.
His central message is that a lot of everyday complaints, low energy, low mood, poor sleep, trace back to nutrient patterns shaped by your genes, and that knowing your genes helps you target what you take. I agree with more of that than you might expect a practitioner to, and I will be specific about where.
What the test actually is
Checked on the seller's page on 6 September 2026, it sells for US$599 and includes an at-home saliva kit with a prepaid return envelope, a report the company describes as reading 27 genes across six connected body systems, a call with a member of the 10X team, and a personalised supplement plan.
The genes it names publicly are the ones you would expect in this space: MTHFR, COMT, MTR, MTRR and AHCY from the methylation pathway, plus others like VDR, SOD2 and TPH2.
The method is genotyping: reading which inherited variants you carry. That technology is mature and reliable, and it is the same method every reputable provider uses, including us.
Why his message has landed
Before the caveats, the credit, because it is real.
- Methylation is real and it matters. It is a genuine set of pathways involved in processing folate and B12, making neurotransmitters and managing homocysteine. Standard biochemistry, not fringe science, and he has put it in front of millions of people who had never heard the word.
- The genes are the right genes. MTHFR and COMT are exactly the ones a nutritionist looks at.
- Genes make the conversation specific. Knowing your variants points to patterns worth exploring, particularly around the forms of B vitamins and the folate in your food. That is how I use them in clinic.
- He has changed the questions people ask. Far more women come to me asking good questions about B vitamins and homocysteine than five years ago. That makes my job easier, and their care better.
What any gene test can tell you, and what it cannot
This is the part most buyers miss, and it applies to his test, to ours, and to every other gene panel on the market.
A gene test reads the sequence you were born with. It cannot see how well you are methylating right now, because that shifts with your folate and B12 intake, alcohol, medications, illness and pregnancy, and none of that is written into your DNA.
There is a tidy piece of evidence for this, and it is thirty years old. Researchers took 365 adults, sorted them by their MTHFR 677 genotype, and then sorted them again by how much folate was actually in their blood.
Read the right-hand pair first. Where folate was adequate, carrying two copies of the variant made no measurable difference to homocysteine, which is the marker this whole pathway gets judged on. Same genes, same test result, no consequence.
The gene result did not change between those two groups. The nutrient did.
The same interaction turns up with riboflavin, vitamin B2. In the Rotterdam Study, people with two copies of the variant in the lowest quarter for riboflavin intake ran homocysteine about 22% higher, roughly 3.4 micromoles per litre. Again, only among those who were short of it.
So the gene test is the map. Your B-vitamin status and your homocysteine are the weather. Both are worth knowing, and the second lot is measured separately and cheaply.
A variant is not a diagnosis
Carrying an MTHFR or COMT variant does not mean it is causing how you feel. MedlinePlus, the US National Library of Medicine's genetics resource, puts it plainly: MTHFR polymorphisms are common worldwide, and most people who carry them are unaffected by them. In some populations more than one person in ten carries the best-known variant in both copies of the gene and is perfectly well.
Fatigue, low mood and broken sleep are multifactorial. Iron, thyroid, sleep, perimenopause, alcohol and what you eat all sit in the same picture, which is what the post on being tired with normal bloods works through. A gene result is one layer, not a verdict.
What I see in clinic. The happiest version of this is someone who arrives having listened to the podcast, already understands why B vitamins matter, and wants to know what her own genes say. That is a great starting point and a much better conversation than I used to have.
The work is then in the reading: what her last iron studies said, how she is sleeping, what breakfast looks like, whether anyone has checked her thyroid and her homocysteine. The gene report is real and worth having. It is the beginning of the story, not the end of it.
Getting a similar test done in Australia
The sticker price is in US dollars, and for most Australians the practical questions are currency and distance, and what comes bundled with the test.
Ordering from here works, and plenty of people do it. It is worth knowing what it involves.
| What you are buying | Ordering from Australia |
|---|---|
| The kit | Ships from the United States, and the prepaid return envelope is US postage, so your saliva sample crosses the Pacific to get back |
| The results call | Booked with the seller's team on US time zones, which for most of us means very early or very late |
| The supplement plan | Shipped from the US at US prices, and some formulations sold freely there are regulated differently by the TGA here |
| Anything afterwards | Follow-up sits with a team overseas rather than with someone who can also see your Australian bloods |
What I would look for in any test, including ours
If you are comparing options, these are the questions I would ask of any provider. Ask them of us too.
- Where is the laboratory, and is it accredited here? NATA accreditation is Australia's laboratory quality standard, and it is a fair thing to ask about.
- How wide is the panel? Twenty-seven genes is a reasonable window, and broader panels give a practitioner more context. More genes is not automatically better if nobody reads them properly.
- Who reads it with you? This is the one that matters most. A report on its own is probabilities on paper; a report read alongside your bloods is a plan.
- Is the provider honest about the limits? A gene test does not measure your current methylation, and a good provider will tell you that before you pay.
- What happens after the report? Local support, local time zones, and supplements you can actually get here.
Our own disclosure, in plain words. Wellbeing George sells a genetic methylation test: 92 genes and 113 SNPs, run by a NATA-accredited Australian laboratory. It comes two ways, as a kit and report on its own for AU$449, or inside the Energy Blueprint at AU$599 with a 60-minute results consultation and a plan, which is the closest comparison to what the US$599 test includes. It is a similar test, done here. It is not his test, and we have no connection to him.
That is our product, so hold it to the same five questions above. If you want the science without a sales pitch attached, our guide to what a methylation test can and cannot show is free and goes deeper than this article does.
Before you buy anything, ask yourself
- What would I actually do differently once I had the result?
- Has anyone checked the ordinary things first, iron, B12, thyroid, vitamin D?
- Who is going to read this with me?
- Do I want the test itself, or do I want to finally understand what is going on?
That last one is not a criticism. It is the honest reason most people order a test, mine included, and either answer is fine. It just points you to a different first step.
So, which way?
If you want his test specifically, order it with confidence. It will genotype you accurately, the genes are the right ones, and the report comes with a call to walk you through it. You will pay in US dollars and work around US time zones, and that is the trade.
If what you want is the thing the test promises, an understanding of how your genes might be shaping your energy and your nutrient needs, then the test itself is the cheapest part wherever you buy it. The value is in the reading: someone qualified, who reads it alongside your symptoms, your bloods and your history, and who will tell you when you did not need the test at all.
That is true whether you test with them, with us, or with anyone else. He got a lot of people to ask the question. The rest of us get to help answer it.
Want to talk it through first?
The free call is a conversation, not a consultation. Tell me what you are hoping a gene test will tell you and what your GP has already checked, and I will give you an honest answer about whether it is the right next step, and which one.
Book a free 15-minute callFifteen minutes, on the phone, no test required to book it.
Common questions
Is the Gary Brecka methylation test worth it?
If you want his test specifically, yes: the genotyping is accurate, the genes are the right ones, and the report comes with a call to walk you through it. The value of any gene test sits in how well it is read alongside your bloods and your history, so the question worth asking is who will do that reading with you.
How much does the Gary Brecka gene test cost in Australian dollars?
The test is listed at US$599 on the seller's page, checked 6 September 2026. At that day's exchange rate of about 1.39 it works out near AU$830, before international shipping. Supplements suggested afterwards are a separate cost, shipped from the United States.
Can I get the Gary Brecka methylation test in Australia?
You can order it from Australia. It is a US product, so the kit ships from the United States, the return envelope is US postage, and the results call runs on US time. Several Australian providers, including Wellbeing George, offer a similar test covering the same methylation genes through NATA-accredited Australian laboratories, with local support.
Do methylation gene tests actually work?
The laboratory part works well. Genotyping reliably identifies which inherited variants you carry in genes like MTHFR and COMT. What no gene test can do, his or ours, is measure how well you are methylating today, because that depends on your B-vitamin status, which is measured separately.
What genes does the 10X Health test look at?
The company describes the report as reading 27 genes across six connected body systems. The ones named publicly include MTHFR, COMT, MTR, MTRR and AHCY from the methylation pathway, along with others such as VDR, SOD2 and TPH2.
Should I get a gene test before seeing my GP?
Do both, but the order matters. Iron studies, thyroid function, B12, folate and vitamin D are cheap, often covered by Medicare, and they explain a great deal of everyday tiredness. A gene test adds context to those results; it works best read alongside them rather than instead of them.
Sources
- 10X Health System, Methylation+ Genetic Test (price, inclusions and gene list, checked 6 September 2026)
- The Ultimate Human, 10X Health Methylation Gene Test
- MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, MTHFR gene (prevalence of the 677C>T variant, and that most carriers are unaffected)
- Jacques PF, Bostom AG, Williams RR, et al. Relation between folate status, a common mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, and plasma homocysteine concentrations. Circulation, 1996 (the chart above)
- Yazdanpanah N, Uitterlinden AG, Zillikens MC, et al. Low dietary riboflavin but not folate predicts increased fracture risk in postmenopausal women homozygous for the MTHFR 677 T allele. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2008 (the riboflavin interaction)
- Exchange rate USD to AUD 1.3883, exchangerate-api.com, 6 September 2026
- National Association of Testing Authorities Australia (laboratory accreditation)
Important: This article is general information and independent commentary written by a clinical nutritionist. It is not medical advice and does not replace care from your GP or another qualified health professional. Genetic testing does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition, and results are best interpreted alongside your symptoms, health history, medications and supplements. Third-party prices and product details were checked on 6 September 2026 from publicly available pages and may change. Wellbeing George has no commercial relationship with Gary Brecka, 10X Health System or The Ultimate Human.
Written and reviewed by Georgina Waugh
Clinical Nutritionist, BHSc Nutritional Medicine
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Sources reviewed: the seller's own product pages, MedlinePlus genetics, the Circulation and Rotterdam Study data on MTHFR genotype and B-vitamin status, Australian laboratory accreditation standards, published exchange rates and clinical nutrition interpretation.