A guide to reading your Pathway Reports

How to Read Your Pathway Report

Your pathway report shows how your body runs a specific biological process at the molecular level, looking gene by gene at each step. Unlike your Health Reports — which show your predisposition to specific conditions — pathway reports answer a different question: "How efficiently is my body actually carrying out this process?"

You'll find your pathway reports under the Functional tab.

How Pathway Reports Are Different From Health Reports

Health Reports tell you your genetic predisposition for conditions like cardiovascular disease, sleep issues, or weight gain. Pathway reports zoom in on the biological machinery itself — the enzymes and steps your body uses to carry out foundational processes like methylation, detoxification, or neurotransmitter production.

This matters because these pathways touch almost everything: energy, mood, hormones, skin, sleep, and more. Understanding how your specific pathway is running can help explain patterns you may already be noticing in your health.

Moving Through Your Report

Every pathway report follows the same structure.

How This Works

A plain-language explanation of what the pathway does, why it matters, and where variants commonly affect function. Start here if the pathway is new to you.

The Pathway Diagram

This is the heart of the report — a visual flowchart of the biological pathway. Each box is a gene involved in the process, and the color tells you how your variant is functioning:

Orange: Your variant is altered and may warrant attention.
Green: Your variant is functioning better than average.
Blue: Your variant is typical — working as expected.
Grey: Your genotype for that gene wasn't determined.

Click any gene box to open a detailed explanation of what that gene does, what your specific variant means, and what you can do to support it.

The diagram also shows nutrient cofactors — the vitamins and compounds each enzyme needs to function properly. If you've uploaded lab results, these cofactors are color-coded to show whether your levels are in range.

Note: Some reports include two diagrams. The Detox Pathway is split into Phase I and Phase II; the Dopamine & Norepinephrine Pathway has separate dopamine and norepinephrine diagrams; and the Serotonin & Melatonin Pathway has one for each neurotransmitter. Move through both to see the full picture.

Results Overview

A snapshot of your genotype for every gene in the pathway, grouped by sub-process (for example, the Methylation Pathway groups genes into the folate cycle, methionine cycle, and transsulfuration). Good for seeing the big picture at a glance.

Your Recommendations

Personalized, prioritized recommendations — supplements, foods, habits, and things to avoid — based on your specific variants. Each recommendation includes a suggested starting dose, how to implement it, and which of your gene variants it supports. Recommendations at the top of the list typically have the biggest impact for you.

Gene-SNP Breakdown

A deeper dive into each gene. For every variant you carry, you'll see what the allele means, what your genotype is, and the health effects research has linked to it — plus the blockers that can worsen its effects and the enhancers that support it.

Lab Markers to Check

Biomarkers tied to this pathway, with your values plotted against reference ranges (if you've added lab results). Each marker shows which of your gene variants make it especially worth monitoring.

Pathway Reports Available on SelfDecode

Tip: If you're new to pathway reports, the Methylation Pathway is a great starting point — it's foundational and affects energy, mood, hormone balance, and detox processes downstream.

If you have questions about a specific gene or recommendation in your report, ask DecodyGPT!