Chris Masterjohn on saturated fat

[circular]

While there is a lot of evidence that LDL rises more with saturated fat intake in E4s than in E2s and E3s, I'm not aware of any research connecting that metabolic feature to all cause mortality in insulin sensitive people. [Emphasis added]

... or to AD dementia?

Dr. Gundry, FWIW, observes that in e4s animal fats tend to oxidize cholesterol. I don't know if he just means saturated ones. So maybe the think to watch for when eating saturated animal fats in particualr is oxidized cholesterol. I'm assuming oxidized cholesterol indicates inflammation but not sure of direct links to AD in e4s.

[MarcR]

Marc - why do you limit your question to effects on insulin sensitivity people?

People who are insulin resistant are experiencing deep dysfunction at a cellular level. Because most adults eating typical western diets over the past few decades are insulin resistant, the large population studies correlating LDL with disease include many metabolically deranged people. As someone who is not insulin resistant, I view those studies to be potentially inapplicable to me.

[Stavia]

I'm currently ignoring my lipids. Both my parents (each with at least one 4 allelle) lived into their late 80s with no CVD issues. Both died with AD. Mum almost 90. Dad 87. My coronary calcium scan is zero.
When I see hard evidence linking lipids with AD I will reassess.
In the meantime I feel personally there is no gain in me trying to analyse and fret over ways to tweak my LDL.

[ABrain4Me]

I'm currently ignoring my lipids. Both my parents (each with at least one 4 allelle) lived into their late 80s with no CVD issues. Both died with AD. Mum almost 90. Dad 87. My coronary calcium scan is zero.
When I see hard evidence linking lipids with AD I will reassess.
In the meantime I feel personally there is no gain in me trying to analyse and fret over ways to tweak my LDL.

Stavia-- I'm glad to hear you say this. I would like the freedom to eat a broader variety of fats in my diet, and my recent labs show that by giving them up for 6 months, it didnt' do much to my lipid panel.

[ru442]

I'm currently ignoring my lipids. Both my parents (each with at least one 4 allelle) lived into their late 80s with no CVD issues. Both died with AD. Mum almost 90. Dad 87. My coronary calcium scan is zero.
When I see hard evidence linking lipids with AD I will reassess.
In the meantime I feel personally there is no gain in me trying to analyse and fret over ways to tweak my LDL.

Stavia-- I'm glad to hear you say this. I would like the freedom to eat a broader variety of fats in my diet, and my recent labs show that by giving them up for 6 months, it didnt' do much to my lipid panel.

Brain... I've been loosely following gundry protocol, but I have not dropped animal fat totally, I just mix it in my rotation of protein. To be clear, I don't eat a porterhouse steak, I portion 8-10oz for a given meal. That along with 4x veggies or a large salad of greens, evoo, and other veg. Sometimes I don't eat any protein and rely on copious evoo and avacado etc. (2x meals a day).

My numbers have all gone down and dropped almost all my excess body fat... this after 3 months and NO variation of diet plan. I don't watch calories as close as others, my gauge has been "am I sated". I eat what I make, if I'm full I'm done... else I have an avacado or some nuts or berries. More importantly no processed foods (except canned fish etc) has crossed these lips, and all organic if at all possible.

Stavia told me one important thing we need to all keep in mind and that is "balance", you can't stress over the numbers too much. If you want to have a porthouse steak (yeah bad analogy), skip a meal.... but don't sweat it, and don't do it every week.

The thing is we are all different regardless of apoe status, I know I have other genetic issues that have yet to be uncovered or discovered. We all likely do... in the end you need to find YOUR happy place... and balance.

Another 2 cents brought to you by ru442..

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[Nancy]

Wise advice.

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[cdamaden]

I tend to be in ru442's camp at the moment. My red meat usually comes from about 3oz of liverwurst because I think it provides so many vital nutrients. If I knew that it caused more damage than health improvements, then I would stop it. We'll see what the blood work brings on the next go-around (not that it will settle that question but it will let me know what that impact has on my lipid panels).

I appreciate all the dialogue on saturated fats, research done, what strategies to employ, and for what reasons. Keep it coming!

[ABrain4Me]

Pre-Gundry, I was eating alot of saturated animal fat (which included grass fed red meat, pork, ghee, cheese, and fairly sizable portions). I eliminated all from my diet (except for a very occasional tiny portion of meat), and did not see a shift in my cholesterol numbers. In fact, my numbers looked a little better when I was eating more saturated animal fat, so go figure. And I felt better when eating alot more animal protein/saturate fat. Not sure where the answer is, and i'm going to discuss with Gundry next week. This all seems like a very individualized juggling act to see how our own biochemistries react to dietary changes. I read somewhere last week, that E4's do not tolerate the normal insults of the standard american diet---so true!

[ru442]

I read somewhere last week, that E4's do not tolerate the normal insults of the standard american diet---so true!

I can testify to this... cutting out grains, complex carbs, and processed foods has drastically changed my health. I'm fitter than I have been since high school (there was no such thing as computers then for a frame of reference ), I have way more energy than ever, have not had heart burn or any acid reflux in months, among many many other improvements. Not eating a western diet regardless of your gene's is just way better for you overall..... end of testify.

[hstapell]

I'm currently ignoring my lipids. Both my parents (each with at least one 4 allelle) lived into their late 80s with no CVD issues. Both died with AD. Mum almost 90. Dad 87. My coronary calcium scan is zero.
When I see hard evidence linking lipids with AD I will reassess.
In the meantime I feel personally there is no gain in me trying to analyse and fret over ways to tweak my LDL.

~Stavia
But what if you have a positive coronary calcium scan? And a history of heart disease in the family?

Would you ignore your lipids then? Would you try to "tweak" your LDL? And how hard would you work to move the numbers in the "right direction" (however, you want to define that)?