Searching for hereditary risk, but finding a new family history

I have boring DNA.

But I didn’t know this yet, and “TechKnow” wanted a contributor willing to try out a home kit test, so I spit my saliva in a test tube and sent it off to 23andMe.

That’s when I found out how boring my genes are. It turns out I have no major risks of illness. I even have a decreased risk for Alzheimer's disease. When I first read through my test results, I breathed a sigh of relief. Not just because I had fairly good genetics (thanks, Mom and Dad!), but also because I wouldn't need to tell everyone watching the show that I had a genetic predisposition to some terrifying disease.

The thought of going through the process of learning about, understanding, and coming to terms with that kind of knowledge was terrifying. For some reason, I ignored those fears, considering them only after others asked me how I came to terms with them. I suppose the answer is simple: my curiosity far outstripped my fears.

What I really should have been afraid of was discovering my ancestry.

My father's family has always talked about how they are exclusively of English descent. My mother's is extremely proud of their Italian heritage. When I announced to my mother's family, on Christmas, that I was only between 3 and 7 percent Italian, all hell broke loose.

My younger cousins yelled "WHAT?!" My grandmother and her brother sat in stunned silence. My mother laughed hysterically. My brother blinked at me and muttered about this being the first secret I've ever been able to keep. My uncle asked if that meant he could use that as an excuse to not cook seven types of fish every Christmas. My cousin's boyfriend looked around in utter confusion. Why, he dared to ask, is it such a big deal that my family isn't Italian?

That opened the floodgates. I got to hear all the stories of my great-grandfather traveling from Calabria, Italy, to America by way of Ellis Island. I got to hear about how my great grandmother was adopted by a family in Calabria, and was likely the illegitimate daughter of a local duke (or some sort of royalty). All the family lore to which I had only heard allusions finally took center stage.

The stories didn't match my DNA test, in their mind. So, who was lying? The family or my DNA? Debate broke out. The cookies went untouched as I watched, wide-eyed, while everyone argued about our history. What had I done? Did I just destroy my family's identity? Was this a mistake? I was seriously beginning to panic.

But, in the end, my grandmother saved me. After telling the story of my great-grandmother, she had sat quietly until all the noise had settled.

She asked, "So, if we're not Italian, what are we?" She looked at me expectantly.

Gulp. That was the one question I did not want to answer. They were all so proud of their heritage —and I was so afraid of upsetting their self-image—that I believed literally any answer would have been the wrong one at that point. Luckily, I'd prepared. I explained that a good portion of our ancestors were likely of Ashkenazi descent. Then, I had to explain that the two regions shared a border. Only the Alps separate them, and migration among European populations was quite common.

I also explained that the ancestry test included in my genetic analysis estimated that it could determine your ancestor's ethnicity from about 500 years ago. It was quite possible that shortly after that time frame, our ancestors moved to Italy and adopted all the cultural norms of Italy, making them, and us, Italian.

Quickly, my family laughed. It was silly of me to bring this up! Five hundred years was ages ago! So long as my great-grandparents were Italian, that's what mattered. They gave us the traditions we have today. And besides, they didn't even want to be Italian! They wanted to be American! Although, some "Italianisms" stuck: the hand-talking, the evil-eye and love of Frank Sinatra certainly proves that they will always be culturally Italian.

Next year, my uncle will still be stuck making the seven fishes (he loves to do it, he swears!), but I might just need to bring some latkes to honor our deeper roots.

Watch "TechKnow," Sunday 7:30ET/4:30PT, to learn more about Rachelle's DNA results and how different medical experts analyze similar, more advanced tests.