Bio:
ApoE 3/4, male, 45 years, 5'11, 147 lbs, BMI 20.5
Goal:
I wanted to experiment with a very low fat, zero dietary cholesterol vegan diet to see how low my LDL would go, how high would my trigs go, and measure the corresponding LDL-P. I figured this would probably be the lowest possible LDL I could ever realize. Previously, the lowest I've seen my LDL is 142 on a 20% fat diet. I've never attempted a vegan diet before and so I didn't want to restrict calories. I wanted to be well nourished and not have any deficiencies. I wanted to maintain weight and fully support thyroid and metabolic rate.
Diet:
100% vegan last 3 weeks, 99.5% vegan last 6 months. 2200 daily calories. 8% fat, 82% carbs, 10% protein. 2.8g SFA (1%), 9.1g PUFA (3.7%), 3.8g MUFA (1.5%). 2.2:1 omega6:3. 80g fiber. Daily food is pretty similar each day, sometimes changing types of veggies, fruits, legumes for slight variety. Oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, white rice, lentils, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, dates, bananas, apples, dried figs, kiwi, mixed veggies, kale, collards. I intentionally ate calorie dense fruit for calories. 3 servings/day legumes for protein amino acids. 2 servings/day leafy greens for calcium. Fat source was ground flaxseeds or chia seeds for each meal. No wheat/bread/gluten. Almost no alcohol (~3oz/month). I normally tend to prefer savory, salty type foods and this diet is a bit sweet at times for my typical tastes. Quite a bit more fruit than I've eaten in the past. With so little fat, it is large volumes of food. Others will think I'm eating a lot and it might be 500 or so calories. Supplements:
I have been keeping supplements to a minimum. In the past, I have had adverse effects following some supplemental advice.
B12 2000 mcg
DHA 120 mg
iodine 225 mcg
Calcium/Magnesium (450/250 mg only on sauna days)
Exercise:
Not much lately. A few daily body squats or push-ups before breakfast. 15 minute walks a couple times per week. Kettle bell swings a couple times per month. Light bouncing on a rebounder a couple times per month. During the morning when I might typically exercise, I've been taking 30 minute saunas 120-130 F - maybe this helps some form of detox and is meditative. I walk more in the summer. I tend to like the idea of exercise being reasonable and sustainable and not excessive.
NMR Results:
Code: Select all
LDL-P 1559
TC 158
LDL-C 107
HDL-C 33
TG 88
(desired)
HDL-P 20.1 (>=30.5)
Small LDL-P 672 (<=527)
LDL size 21.0 (>20.5) large pattern A
LP-IR 41 (<=45)
I ordered the following test ($75 total cost):
http://www.mdlabtests.com/md087428-nmr-lipoprofile.html History:
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Lipids TC LDL HDL TG T/H FBG NOTES
01/28/14 158 107 33 88 4.8 88 LDL-P 1559; 99.5% vegan, little exercise; 82% C, 10% P, 8% F
05/24/13 214 150 51 65 4.2 liver, less meat, no eggs, no exercise; 67% C, 13% P, 20% F
12/05/12 307 224 73 49 4.2 75 removed coconut oil, butter, ~40% C
08/30/12 398 301 81 79 4.9 PHD removed multi/selenium supp, tallow for cream
04/27/12 407 315 76 79 5.4 84 PHD 1-year; 30% C, 20% P, 50% F; 57g sat fat, 1000mg cholesterol
02/23/11 226 142 78 32 2.9 71 CW 50% C, 30% P, 20% F; oats, brown rice, lean meat
02/27/07 226 149 65 61 3.5 CW healthy diet
Thyroid TSH fT3 fT4 rT3
12/05/12 1.57 3.25 1.04 17
04/27/12 1.76 2.53
CW = Conventional Wisdom
FBG = fasting blood glucose
My thoughts on results:
A low fat vegan diet doesn't necessarily mean low LDL-P. Since it's my only NMR so far, it's unknown if it might be my personal lowest LDL-P. Certainly my LDL-C>200 would not have lower LDL-P, but I would be curious to know what it was when LDL-C 142, TG 32 while eating CW low fat diet.
I was surprised my LDL wasn't lower, expecting closer to 70 with essentially no dietary cholesterol or saturated fats. When I compare my numbers with giftsplash 12/10/13 (LDL-P 1281 TC 163 LDL-C 91 HDL 43 TG 143), my LDL-P is 270 higher with 16 higher LDL-C, 55 lower TG, 10 lower HDL. I'm not sure how to interpret that, I would have thought the lower TG would have cancelled the LDL-C, HDL differences. Or, Philly LDL-P 1099 LDL-C 82 HDL 46 TG 89. My LDL-P is 460 higher with same TG, 25 higher LDL-C, 13 lower HDL - interesting the relatively large difference in LDL-P. My LDL-C still continues to be relatively higher than others on similar diets. It makes me think there's something else going on beyond diet, possibly with my digestion, causing my body to generate LDL. Or maybe something related LDL receptors.
HDL 33 is the lowest I've had and too low wrt >40 recommendation. I think it's mostly related to dietary fat, but little exercise is probably a factor, too.
TG 88 is the highest I've had, although below clinically high trigs 150. Most likely due to carb dominant diet, lots of fruit.
My mental focus and vision does not seem as sharp.
I maintained the same weight. Carbs did not cause weight gain for me. I ate as many whole food carbs that I wanted to eat.
Body composition/musculature visually appears maintained which is supported by my Withings scale that measures body fat %. I don't rely on the scale for an accurate absolute body fat %, but it does give me a relative check for lean body mass changes. I haven't noticed a difference in strength.
I did not take any supplements/drugs to manipulate my lipids.
I wonder if 80g of fiber is too much. Or maybe not enough of the right type of fiber, like resistant starch.
I'd like to see a higher zinc:copper ratio than 3.6:1. It's difficult to reduce copper on a very high plant diet. I did get a cold this winter and maybe that's in part due to low zinc:copper. I don't get colds often.
Thyroid seems fine to me. Clinically, it has measured fine. A couple things I've noticed during this winter is that I've felt warmer and my skin hasn't been dry.
Sleep has been good. I typically sleep about 7 hours without waking up in the middle of the night. I tend to be a deep sleeper.
This diet gave me a noticeable light, fresh feeling. Little to no body odor relative to diets including meat, not that I had a body odor issue previously, just a difference I noticed.
My dental hygienist comments that my teeth cleanings have been very easy, very little tartar and nice pink gums. This has correlated to fewer meats and fats in my diet.
Next Steps:
Any suggestions are appreciated.
The main thing I'd like to pursue right now is my GI health. I had a stool test, results: GI Effects Gastrointestinal Function Comprehensive Profile-METAMETRIX KIT, done the middle of last year before I started the vegan experiment, but at a time when I was eating less animal foods and fat. It shows I have high yeast and low bifido, low good bacteria. Chris Kresser treats yeast as a cause of high cholesterol. This is an expensive test, $466, so not something I want pay myself as occasional checks. Maybe there are cheaper options. I want to try and see a GI specialist to help treat and re-test through insurance. I may request to treat with an anti-fungal, Nystatin, that I hear is confined to the gut with minimal side effects. I don't seem to have obvious digestion symptoms, the only thing might be mildly firmer stool at times.
I will probably try to replace some fruit with fattier, omega6:3 friendly, foods like macadamia nuts and walnuts to bring up fat some and reduce carbs a little. Hopefully, this will help LDL-P, possibly reduce trigs and maybe help raise HDL. I would think it would raise LDL-C.
I may experiment with occasional oysters for zinc.
I may experiment with a little cod liver oil just to see if the fat soluble vitamins improve vision or metal focus. Don't want too much EPA though.
FWIW, my guess is that your plan to replace some carbs with dietary fat (moving forward) will further improve your numbers 
Another thought...perhaps some resistant starch WOULD further optimize gut issues, further lower LP-IR, and subsequently improve lipids 
