Greetings from a homozygous Apoe4 & a question about food

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
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MagicBean
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Greetings from a homozygous Apoe4 & a question about food

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Last edited by MagicBean on Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Plumster
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Re: Greetings from a homozygous Apoe4 & a question about food

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Will eating an Apoe4-friendly diet (mildly ketonic, and low in animal protein and saturated fats) exacerbate my gut issues? Will eating a SIBO-friendly diet (low in veggies and fiber, high in animal products) increase my risk for heart disease and AD?
Hi MagicBean!
What was the underlying cause of your SIBO? Was it slow motility or hypochloridia? Fiber in itself is not a cause. I had SIBO and discovered (with no help from doctors) that I had low stomach acid, so I've been taking Betaine HCL capsules after meals. It will help you recover your stomach acid and I am slowly getting there. Water that is too alkaline can cause SIBO because it affects your stomach acidity, so make sure your water has some acidity.

We need far less protein than we think we do (alternatives for protein might be tofu, legumes, nuts, peas). It is fiber that most of us get too little of. I would really advise against limiting fiber. It's so important for your health. Us e4s really do need to limit animal protein and saturated fats.
e3/4 MTHFR C677T/A1298C COMT V158M++ COMT H62H++ MTRR A66G ++ HLA DR
MagicBean
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Re: Greetings from a homozygous Apoe4 & a question about food

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Last edited by MagicBean on Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BrianR
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Re: Greetings from a homozygous Apoe4 & a question about food

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MagicBean wrote:Hi there!
I'm only eating about 1200 calories a day, and at 5'8" I'm down to 110 pounds and am hungry ALL the time!! I was wondering if there's a place in this forum to talk about what people are eating in terms of macros... many of the "heart healthy" foods are high in carbs, my gut can't tolerate grains, I can only eat so many avocados, nuts, and olive oil in one day, and how are y'all getting your protein? Aside from tempeh for non-animal protein and salmon, what other protein sources am I not thinking of? Gundry suggests no poultry and I don't feel well on red meat. I understand that Gundry or Bredesen suggest shellfish and crab but I'm afraid to eat these because they are super high in copper, which I understand is something we should be careful about.
Yeah, it seems like you should eat more calories. Preferably foods which don't bother your gut. Some of my opinions:

I respect Gundry's work and results that he's had with some members of this forum, but you need to assess his recommendations versus what you find works for you. I believe he allows for pastured chicken in moderation, which seems reasonable to me.

For proteins, you might consider Quorn. I mostly avoid industrial foods, but it's quite convenient and not a grain-fed animal product. I'd also suggest you consider canned wild caught sardines, mackerel (chub or standard), "white" anchovies and, with significant moderation, light tuna. Some wild caught non-salmon fish filets may also work for you (of course, avoid those which are typically high in mercury). Eggs are pretty awesome and I think well worth their modest amount of saturated fat. I also mix a bit of gelatin/collagen into smoothies or even coffee, in meals with other proteins. I also find ground flax meal works well in smoothies or in nut&seed porridges. You might also consider whey-based protein powder in moderation, if it doesn't bother your gut.

I don't think you should exclude shellfish or crab just because it's high in copper. You just don't want to eat it several days a week. (And maybe take a zinc supplement to balance if you think your copper consumption tends to be high.)

A lot of nutritional recommendations seemed to be focused on people who have metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes or are, arguably, overweight. If you don't fall into those categories, you should try to extract the wisdom from those recommendations (glycemic spikes - Bad!), but eat for your own body.
MagicBean
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Re: Greetings from a homozygous Apoe4 & a question about food

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Last edited by MagicBean on Thu Mar 05, 2020 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
thjj
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Re: Greetings from a homozygous Apoe4 & a question about food

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MagicBean wrote:
I'm only eating about 1200 calories a day, and at 5'8" I'm down to 110 pounds and am hungry ALL the time!! I was wondering if there's a place in this forum to talk about what people are eating in terms of macros... many of the "heart healthy" foods are high in carbs, my gut can't tolerate grains, I can only eat so many avocados, nuts, and olive oil in one day, and how are y'all getting your protein?
I'm about the same size as you (well, when I was doing the hard keto at 5'8", I got down to as low as 114 lb. & in hindsight was miserable. Since then I'm currently doing the keto light, & have held steady ~119 lb (still underweight though―my optimal weight is probably 125 lb). For the keto light, I'm getting protein from hemp protein powder in the AM & plenty of nuts & a spoonful of almond butter/day. To get out of deep ketosis, I increased my intake of resistant starches like green bananas & sweet potatoes. I still eat lots of nuts, olive oil, avocados & 3 eggs-a-day-for-now. After doing the hard keto from March-June, I'm getting used to the light keto but still not sure about it long-term. Once you get used to a diet, it's hard to change it. My main concern is that my occasional keto rash flare-ups is telling my body that maybe I wasn't made to use fat as a main source for fuel.
· • She/her · • ·
ApoE4/4 status known: 2018 | Born: 1969 | Cognitive Impairment: none
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