Hey Chris,
You’re a man after my own heart, struggling with this. I LIKE that you’re self-experimenting and very much appreciate your sharing. In your blog, you suggest that the quest for the “perfect” diet is probably quite individualized. I tend to whole-heartedly agree with you there, my friend. We are more than our ApoE.
FWIW, I’m a 4/4, on your same quest. I’ve have read the same materials you quote (and many of the references behind them,) and agree with some of your conclusions and disagree with others. That being said, I certainly have no definitive answers. I’m running my own n=1 experiment and have had slightly different results.
“I was sure that by keeping sugar low, eating healthy fats and decent meat, my body would self-regulate cholesterol levels to where it needed them to be” One could argue that with a 60-80% compliancy rate, you really weren’t giving your diet a chance. That by cheating, you may have accidentally created the perfect storm. From everything I’ve learned high fats + high carbs = BIG trouble. And, smoking too? Yikes- inflammation city. (I know quitting is incredibly difficult, but I pray you’ve given them up for good
) You draw the conclusion that your Paleo Diet resulted in your NMR results and coronary calcium. I might suggest that your self-confessed years of SAD, poor compliance with your version of the Paleo Diet, smoking, and your family history- ALL contributed to your health picture.
I LOVE your Peter Attia quote:
“Eating cholesterol has very little impact on the cholesterol levels in your body. This is a fact, not an opinion. Anyone who tells you different, is at best, ignorant of the topic. At worst, They are a deliberate charlatan.”
I do have Pre-Paleo numbers to fall back on and I wholeheartedly agree with you & challenge Peter on this one. E4s may be the exception to that rule. Although, even Dr. Thomas Dayspring says that not ALL E4s are hyper-absorbers. Perhaps of all of the ApoE alleles, E4s may be most prone to hyper absorb. You and I seem to fall into this category.
Pre-Paleo
TC 183
LDL 88
HDL 84
TG 54
Paleo
TC 251
LDL 150
HDL 92
TG 47
My results are far from scientific. In full disclosure, I have to admit I actually upped my fat intake a bit prior to testing to truly gauge the effect of higher fat. I wanted to get a clear indication of whether or not I was hyper-absorbing. I was.
You can see that in 9 months, my LDL almost doubled. THAT, certainly contradicts our friend Peter’s claims. Unlike you, it didn’t fully turn my off of Paleo, however, as my my particle count of 1117 & overall extremely low inflammation and glucose markers still seem to put me at low risk of CVD. Indeed, data from the Framingham Heart Study suggests that my specific type of discordance, with high LDL-C and low LDL-P, puts me in a very low risk category.
MESA-LDL-P-vs-LDL-C-3-groups-645x481.jpg
See our friend, Peter, for a fuller explanation
http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the- ... ol-part-vi
I don’t want to bore you with my full story. (See Julie’s Intro & Julie’s Lipids for more info) But, like you, I started this journey, with a history. I learned of my 4/4 status right before I turned 50 y/o. Despite a healthful lifestyle (per conventional wisdom), I was having some pretty serious medical issues and some frightening memory problems. When I learned of my 4/4 status, I was dumbfounded; Alzheimer’s didn’t run in my family...or so I thought. (I’ve since identified a few cases.) I was convinced (and still am) that at age 49, I was exhibiting symptoms.
Cut to the chase, I enlisted Dr. David Perlmutter, a renowned neurologist and functional practitioner, to help me sort out all of my complex health issues and put me on a path to prevent Alzheimer’s. He basically PRESCRIBED a sort of modified Paleo Diet for me. Since complying with that, 100% of the time, my memory issues are gone and my health is almost fully restored.
Like you, I’ve seen the Berkely Heart Lab materials. At one point, I actually took the time to read all of the references that they cited in coming up with their recommendations. As G points out, the studies are old. Most use an already sick (CVD/CAD) population for their interventions. They ones that don’t, fail to separate carbs and fats when doing interventions. For instance, the high fat interventions are also high carb…so we can’t see if the effect is truly from the higher fat OR the from the synergistic (inflammatory) effects of the two. I also question whether guidelines for reversing and treating heart disease are the best way to prevent Alzheimer’s. I pour over the research daily and have yet to see a study that separates ApoE genotype and tests a HFLC diet, with proteins rich in Omega-3s. So, despite the things you and I have both read, I remain unconvinced, and my study of one continues.
I do, however, remain enthralled by your experiment, Chris. Forgive my length here; God Bless you if you made it this far. I’m a fan and fellow sojourner. I wish you all the best & can’t wait to see what your trials reveal. Thanks for sharing with us all.
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