New member intro -- Martha
Re: New member intro -- Martha
No, it's a variation on Mediterranean that leaves out most grains, most of the time. I'm on my phone right now but will send you a link as soon as I can.
Re: New member intro -- Martha
There are several versions of this diet on the site.
http://diabeticmediterraneandiet.com/lo ... nean-diet/
http://diabeticmediterraneandiet.com/lo ... nean-diet/
Re: New member intro -- Martha
Martha, I've come across Dr. Parker's LC Mediterranean Diet before and really like it for our population- good find 
I've found I can keep carbs lowish, 70-80 grams, and still achieve mild ketosis (through some caloric restriction, exercise, and very small amounts of strategic MCT) while concurrently maximizing nutrition.
One warning, you MAY want to tread cautiously with cheese. Some evidence suggests it can raise small LDL-P in our population- especially A1 cheese. A2 cheese is supposedly safer for us, goat cheese included. I use tiny amounts occasionally.
I like Parker's guidelines for BG management better than the link I provided by Kresser. IMO, The Ranges of blood sugar for young healthy non-diabetic adults in Parker's link are more indicative of goals we should be aiming for:
http://diabeticmediterraneandiet.com/wh ... ood-sugar/
Keep us posted as you work on your LDL-P. I'm on a very similar path
I've found I can keep carbs lowish, 70-80 grams, and still achieve mild ketosis (through some caloric restriction, exercise, and very small amounts of strategic MCT) while concurrently maximizing nutrition. One warning, you MAY want to tread cautiously with cheese. Some evidence suggests it can raise small LDL-P in our population- especially A1 cheese. A2 cheese is supposedly safer for us, goat cheese included. I use tiny amounts occasionally.
I like Parker's guidelines for BG management better than the link I provided by Kresser. IMO, The Ranges of blood sugar for young healthy non-diabetic adults in Parker's link are more indicative of goals we should be aiming for:
http://diabeticmediterraneandiet.com/wh ... ood-sugar/
Keep us posted as you work on your LDL-P. I'm on a very similar path
Re: New member intro -- Martha
Thanks, Julie. I've taken cheese off the table for the time being. Kind of a shame, but needs must.
Re: New member intro -- Martha
Another question for Julie plus just a little bit of crowing over what feels like a meaningful improvement.
First, as part of my tweaking after the high-borderline LDL-P numbers (getting close to 1600), I ditched the coconut butter and coconut oil. I wasn't actually eating much of the straight oil, only cooking with it in certain circumstances, but ate a tablespoon or so of coconut butter pretty much every day. I just love the stuff, and as treats go it's pretty inexpensive if you puree it at home. I was wondering where other people place it along the scale of oils to avoid when LDL-P is a problem. Were my thoughts clearer when I was eating it every day? I thought so, but I'm suggestible as hell and don't have much faith in my impressions unless I have some data to back them up. I cram stuff in my head all the time (lecturer on multiple subjects) and when I'm tired and switching topics can draw blanks on pretty basic information. I try not to worry about it.
Assuming I have some success and can add modest amounts of some of my banished foods back in (cheese, heavy cream, coconut, pork, most eggs), would you put coconut ahead of A2 cheese for its possible neuroprotective qualities? I have trouble getting enough calcium and potassium, as per crono, but I think that may be just because I'm at the low end of the scale on calories (short person, best weight just over 100). All my electrolyte intakes seem to be on the low side. Losing the cheese didn't help there. I don't take calcium supplements, just magnesium, and wonder if I should be taking that sometimes, considering balance of nutrients issues.
And that ties in with my crowing and a question about other people's concerns. I have finally, finally, seen another level of improvement in my blood pressure, which I discovered was a problem when I was in my early 40s (now almost 60). It came down with the weight loss but I've never been able to get completely off the meds and I have spells when it's high. With meds it was running low 120s/80s and if I miss a pill it has been as high as 160/100 or that range. Systolic usually not so bad, diastolic up there. I noticed recently that it was settling (with meds) back down in the 100s/70s range and then got distracted and went more than 24 hours without a pill. That will usually bring a scary number, so I braced myself and took a few readings last night. Maxed at 141/87, average of 3 readings 128/84. Much better. Hoping this is a trend I can maintain. A lot of it probably has to do with school being out, happy time with family, more leisure, less stress generally (and four hours last night spent listening to great live music). I am thinking it's time to put quality-of-life issues WAY up there on the agenda, if only finances will let me.
I haven't seen much discussion of blood pressure on here. I'm assuming that for apoe4s, the importance of any risk factor is magnified, but don't know whether there are any specific patterns attributed to genetic status. And does anyone know whether short-term improvements in diet -- more vegetables and soluble fiber -- have short-term effects? I know it's part of the DASH protocol but am not sure what the mechanism is supposed to be. They also tell you to eat a lot of whole grains and I don't do that.
First, as part of my tweaking after the high-borderline LDL-P numbers (getting close to 1600), I ditched the coconut butter and coconut oil. I wasn't actually eating much of the straight oil, only cooking with it in certain circumstances, but ate a tablespoon or so of coconut butter pretty much every day. I just love the stuff, and as treats go it's pretty inexpensive if you puree it at home. I was wondering where other people place it along the scale of oils to avoid when LDL-P is a problem. Were my thoughts clearer when I was eating it every day? I thought so, but I'm suggestible as hell and don't have much faith in my impressions unless I have some data to back them up. I cram stuff in my head all the time (lecturer on multiple subjects) and when I'm tired and switching topics can draw blanks on pretty basic information. I try not to worry about it.
Assuming I have some success and can add modest amounts of some of my banished foods back in (cheese, heavy cream, coconut, pork, most eggs), would you put coconut ahead of A2 cheese for its possible neuroprotective qualities? I have trouble getting enough calcium and potassium, as per crono, but I think that may be just because I'm at the low end of the scale on calories (short person, best weight just over 100). All my electrolyte intakes seem to be on the low side. Losing the cheese didn't help there. I don't take calcium supplements, just magnesium, and wonder if I should be taking that sometimes, considering balance of nutrients issues.
And that ties in with my crowing and a question about other people's concerns. I have finally, finally, seen another level of improvement in my blood pressure, which I discovered was a problem when I was in my early 40s (now almost 60). It came down with the weight loss but I've never been able to get completely off the meds and I have spells when it's high. With meds it was running low 120s/80s and if I miss a pill it has been as high as 160/100 or that range. Systolic usually not so bad, diastolic up there. I noticed recently that it was settling (with meds) back down in the 100s/70s range and then got distracted and went more than 24 hours without a pill. That will usually bring a scary number, so I braced myself and took a few readings last night. Maxed at 141/87, average of 3 readings 128/84. Much better. Hoping this is a trend I can maintain. A lot of it probably has to do with school being out, happy time with family, more leisure, less stress generally (and four hours last night spent listening to great live music). I am thinking it's time to put quality-of-life issues WAY up there on the agenda, if only finances will let me.
I haven't seen much discussion of blood pressure on here. I'm assuming that for apoe4s, the importance of any risk factor is magnified, but don't know whether there are any specific patterns attributed to genetic status. And does anyone know whether short-term improvements in diet -- more vegetables and soluble fiber -- have short-term effects? I know it's part of the DASH protocol but am not sure what the mechanism is supposed to be. They also tell you to eat a lot of whole grains and I don't do that.
Re: New member intro -- Martha
One last thing for Rep on psyllium: totally subjective, but it seems to me that chia seeds (which I put through the coffee grinder and eat in smoothies and occasionally use to make pudding-type treats) may be a little more reliable and gut-friendly than psyllium. I am alternating them right now.
Re: New member intro -- Martha
Martha, woo hoo on the BP improvement!!! You're right, scads of evidence suggest it is worse for E4 carriers.
Re. coconut oil...I'm not sure how it affects our LDL-P. I've used as much as 1tbs a day and still yielded decent LDL-P, but that's highly individualized. Dr. Grundy suggests it's fine for E4 carriers- as it's cholesterol free. To be uber safe (as I'm working on lowering LDL-P) I'm primarily using small amounts of MCT and shunning the long chain triglycerides (in coconut oil) for now. As you're probably aware, the idea behind using coconut oil is that it creates ketone bodies that our brains can use as fuel in lieu of glucose. Lots of evidence suggests that E4 carriers demonstrate reduced cerebral glucose metabolism decades before symptom onset in the same regions of the brain as AD patients.
Lucky for us, there are other ways to generate ketones, other than loading up on coconut oil
I eat moderately low carb, practice mild CR, exercise daily, and supplement with small amounts of MCT- the combination of those strategies allows me to maintain mild ketosis. The glucose meter I suggested earlier enables me to measure levels.
Eating LC, l also have to work to get enough calcium. I enjoy non-fat A2 kefir and lots of leafy greens, sardines, almonds, etc. and usually get pretty close. I've decided NOT to supplement calcium per suggestions that it may increase our risk of coronary calcium although I've yet to find convulsive evidence. For bone health, I've focused, on maximizing my A, D, K vitamins and have actually IMPROVED my T-score by 1.5 points. That felt like a huge achievement for me. Osteoporosis has affected all females in my family starting at early ages.
My cron-o-meter also demonstrates my potassium intake is often on the low side. I experimented with supplementing it and felt awful. I was constantly on the verge of fainting. I learned that serum electrolytes are pretty tightly regulated. You may want to base supplementation decisions based on your serum levels. The fact that your BP is decreasing speaks volumes re. your potassium levels.
Great question about cheese, heavy cream, coconut, pork, eggs. Many of us are minimizing animal sources of SFA. One exception, for me, is eggs. I eat around a dozen pastured eggs weekly. They are inherently low in SFA and an excellent source of choline- vital for brain health. I've repeatedly had LDL-Ps between 1,000-1,100 including eggs. YMMV.
Re. coconut oil...I'm not sure how it affects our LDL-P. I've used as much as 1tbs a day and still yielded decent LDL-P, but that's highly individualized. Dr. Grundy suggests it's fine for E4 carriers- as it's cholesterol free. To be uber safe (as I'm working on lowering LDL-P) I'm primarily using small amounts of MCT and shunning the long chain triglycerides (in coconut oil) for now. As you're probably aware, the idea behind using coconut oil is that it creates ketone bodies that our brains can use as fuel in lieu of glucose. Lots of evidence suggests that E4 carriers demonstrate reduced cerebral glucose metabolism decades before symptom onset in the same regions of the brain as AD patients.
Lucky for us, there are other ways to generate ketones, other than loading up on coconut oil
I eat moderately low carb, practice mild CR, exercise daily, and supplement with small amounts of MCT- the combination of those strategies allows me to maintain mild ketosis. The glucose meter I suggested earlier enables me to measure levels. Eating LC, l also have to work to get enough calcium. I enjoy non-fat A2 kefir and lots of leafy greens, sardines, almonds, etc. and usually get pretty close. I've decided NOT to supplement calcium per suggestions that it may increase our risk of coronary calcium although I've yet to find convulsive evidence. For bone health, I've focused, on maximizing my A, D, K vitamins and have actually IMPROVED my T-score by 1.5 points. That felt like a huge achievement for me. Osteoporosis has affected all females in my family starting at early ages.
My cron-o-meter also demonstrates my potassium intake is often on the low side. I experimented with supplementing it and felt awful. I was constantly on the verge of fainting. I learned that serum electrolytes are pretty tightly regulated. You may want to base supplementation decisions based on your serum levels. The fact that your BP is decreasing speaks volumes re. your potassium levels.
Great question about cheese, heavy cream, coconut, pork, eggs. Many of us are minimizing animal sources of SFA. One exception, for me, is eggs. I eat around a dozen pastured eggs weekly. They are inherently low in SFA and an excellent source of choline- vital for brain health. I've repeatedly had LDL-Ps between 1,000-1,100 including eggs. YMMV.
Re: New member intro -- Martha
Great answer, tons to work with there, thanks, Julie.
Got the test back -- 3/4 as expected
Since I've had a parent with Alzheimer's for quite a while now, and had (as noted above) already figured out that I wasn't getting all the sweet blood lipid results that the paleo crowd enjoys, I wasn't too surprised to get the Promethease report back with a 3/4 diagnosis. Actually it's good to have it settled and to be able to go ahead and chart a path.
Happy to have already found the group.
Happy to have already found the group.
Re: New member intro -- Martha
(((Martha)))
