APOE4/4 - CONFUSED ABOUT PLANT BASED DIET AND ELEVATED STEROLS

[LeanneArnold]

Hi! I don't know if I am doing this right, so please forgive me if not. First, THANK YOU for this group!! Second, THANK YOU Stavia for the primer. I wept as I started reading it because I had finally found relevant information regarding APOE4/4! I am 52, had a heart attack at 44 (1 stent) and another this past Sept (4 more stents). I did the Boston Heart Test and all of my lab work came back good (except for "yellow" or borderline A-2, A-3, Beta-sitosterol, campesterol, Apo-A-I and NT-proBNP)…. AND a huge red highlighted square that said, "APOE4/4". I was devastated and still am trying to wrap my "brain" around it. (Pun intended). I am finding myself obsessed with wanting information - but there are so many different opinions and protocols. Honestly I don't know what to eat. I have adopted plant based over the last few weeks, but then read that if your sterols are elevated (borderline in my Boston Report), it can cause aggressive heart disease. Well... based on my heart attacks, now I don't know what to eat. I found a Functional Medicine Nutritionist in my area yesterday and have made an appointment. I'm scared. I'm confused. I'm desperate for info. Thank you for all of your information.

[Plumster]

Hi LeanneArnold,

I don't have a solid answer for you, unfortunately, but I took the Boston Heart Test last year, too, showing that I was a hyperabsorber of plant cholesterols. I eat a whole food plant based diet. My Beta-Sitosterol was in the red (244)! Campesterol was in the yellow (235). Beta-Sitosterol is comprised of plant oils to a large extent but I was also eating almost a whole avocado a day and too many nuts.

I don't know where my plant sterols are at currently, but after the test I cut oil from my diet as much as possible for the sake of my arteries (Dr. Esselstyn's recommendation). I need to look into my numbers again with a new test. For the past year, I've been fixing and optimizing many of the other "holes" (homocysteine, insulin, sleep, mold toxins, etc) and eating nuts and avocado as my main fats. I would encourage you to cut out processed oils, exercise as much as you can, and use a sauna if you have access to one. If you learn more, please share as we are many here in the same boat. All the info will become more manageable with time. Things will get easier!

[Magda]

Hi! I don't know if I am doing this right, so please forgive me if not. First, THANK YOU for this group!! Second, THANK YOU Stavia for the primer. I wept as I started reading it because I had finally found relevant information regarding APOE4/4! I am 52, had a heart attack at 44 (1 stent) and another this past Sept (4 more stents). I did the Boston Heart Test and all of my lab work came back good (except for "yellow" or borderline A-2, A-3, Beta-sitosterol, campesterol, Apo-A-I and NT-proBNP)…. AND a huge red highlighted square that said, "APOE4/4". I was devastated and still am trying to wrap my "brain" around it. (Pun intended). I am finding myself obsessed with wanting information - but there are so many different opinions and protocols. Honestly I don't know what to eat. I have adopted plant based over the last few weeks, but then read that if your sterols are elevated (borderline in my Boston Report), it can cause aggressive heart disease. Well... based on my heart attacks, now I don't know what to eat. I found a Functional Medicine Nutritionist in my area yesterday and have made an appointment. I'm scared. I'm confused. I'm desperate for info. Thank you for all of your information.

Welcome to the forum LeanneArnold!
Thank you for sharing your story with us! I am sorry you are going through a difficult time.
I am supper happy that you have found and made an appointment to a functional medicine nutritionist. I am sure it will help you to make sense of all the information you have been gathering. Hopefully, the nutritionist will help you to individualize your dietary plan and simply give you back joy of eating food.

I am glad you found the PRIMER helpful. It truly is a wealth of information.
If you are interested to learn more about cholesterol and lipids, I invite you to take a look at our Wiki page. There is a part dedicated just to that:
https://wiki.apoe4.info/wiki/Main_Page

If you need additional tips on how to effectively navigate the forum, this link will be useful:
https://wiki.apoe4.info/wiki/%22How-To% ... fo_website

For now, please keep us posted on your health journey and do not hesitate to post questions.

My best,
Magda

[CoachMT]

Hi! I don't know if I am doing this right, so please forgive me if not. First, THANK YOU for this group!! Second, THANK YOU Stavia for the primer. I wept as I started reading it because I had finally found relevant information regarding APOE4/4! I am 52, had a heart attack at 44 (1 stent) and another this past Sept (4 more stents). I did the Boston Heart Test and all of my lab work came back good (except for "yellow" or borderline A-2, A-3, Beta-sitosterol, campesterol, Apo-A-I and NT-proBNP)…. AND a huge red highlighted square that said, "APOE4/4". I was devastated and still am trying to wrap my "brain" around it. (Pun intended). I am finding myself obsessed with wanting information - but there are so many different opinions and protocols. Honestly I don't know what to eat. I have adopted plant based over the last few weeks, but then read that if your sterols are elevated (borderline in my Boston Report), it can cause aggressive heart disease. Well... based on my heart attacks, now I don't know what to eat. I found a Functional Medicine Nutritionist in my area yesterday and have made an appointment. I'm scared. I'm confused. I'm desperate for info. Thank you for all of your information.

Welcome Leanne to the Apoe4.info site! Thank YOU for sharing your determination to continue learning and improving your health despite the set-backs and challenges you’ve encountered with your heart attacks- your positivity and graciousness is inspiring and catching! I’m so glad you found this supportive community to share your story and learn from the resources available to you. What a gift to know you found some relief upon reading the rich information Stavia has compiled in the primer!!

As you can probably see already, the site is not only a great place to dive into the research, but also to connect with fellow members experiencing similar journeys. Sharing personal experiences as Plumster has with you, and continuing to help each other by sharing new information as it attained. If you haven’t already you may be interested in checking out Our Stories to learn about fellow community members who are embarking on this journey and to share more about your own journey with them. Glad to have you as part of the community and please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
Best, Mandy

[Tincup]

Hi LeanneArnold,

I don't have a solid answer for you, unfortunately, but I took the Boston Heart Test last year, too, showing that I was a hyperabsorber of plant cholesterols. I eat a whole food plant based diet. My Beta-Sitosterol was in the red (244)! Campesterol was in the yellow (235). Beta-Sitosterol is comprised of plant oils to a large extent but I was also eating almost a whole avocado a day and too many nuts.

I recall a Tom Dayspring comment, which Stavia also posted about "Dayspring also reassured us that there aren't enough plant sterols in a whole foods diet to be an issue." Tom Dayspring MD is a known lipid educator and was a guest expert here a few years ago.

This is also my recollection from a conversation with Dr. Gundry (he tested us, I think in our first lab set, with True Health Diagnostics). If someone wants to dig into our early transcripts, they are here. - maybe in consult #1. What I remember is that if you are a hyperabsorber, you don't want to take sterol supplements to "lower" your cholesterol - this is a common brand: CholestOff.

Though we aren't 100% plant based, our diets are also whole foods and highly plant based with lots of avocado and whole tree nuts.

[Plumster]

I recall a Tom Dayspring comment, which Stavia also posted about "Dayspring also reassured us that there aren't enough plant sterols in a whole foods diet to be an issue." Tom Dayspring MD is a known lipid educator and was a guest expert here a few years ago.

That is reassuring to hear!

[LeanneArnold]

Oh! This is WONDERFUL to know!! I was taking a multi-Vitamin (Centrum Heart) that had the added plant sterols. Yikes! This was not what needed but I thought I was doing good. I’m beginning to see why knowing as much about your bloodwork as possible matters! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!