How to Run Experiments

[Janelle]

Hi guys,
It seems a lot of you guys are trying to run experiments to learn how to improve your health. Given that humans are a complex adaptive system and trying to isolate variables isn't that simple, I'm wondering, what kind of things do you guys do to do the best you can?

Although a lot of the discussion on genetics and biochemistry is still rather over my head, I get the basic idea on experiments. I'm trying to solve similar problems right now in the context of software development. With the code we write always being different, when you throw human interaction factors into the mix, process improvement has turned into more of a religious debate without any basis in evidence of cause and effect. People just argue based on principles, what their friend said, or what feels right. It seems like nutrition and exercise has become much the same way?

What I'm really wondering...

Most systems have a waterbed effect of sorts... push down on one thing, something else rises. What kind of things have you learned to measure together to keep an eye on both sides?

What are the most critical things that you've learned to try to keep stable to compare effects over time?

What are the most important things that people in this community are trying to learn? Is there a way that we could work on an experiment together to help make that happen? Have you guys ever tried to run an experiment as a group?

Would love to hear your thoughts...

Janelle

[Julie G]

Given that humans are a complex adaptive system and trying to isolate variables isn't that simple...

I fully agree. Most (myself included) make the mistake of changing too many variables at once so it's often difficult to decipher what caused what

What are the most important things that people in this community are trying to learn?

I can only speak for myself. I'm a 4/4, so my emphasis is most definitely on preventing Alzheimer's. I've always had excellent lipids, little risk of heart disease, so that's not been my main focus. Ironically, however, the diet my neurologist has put me on to prevent AD (modified Paleo (65% fat/20% protein/15% carb) HAS driven my LDL up to a point where I wonder if I need to be worried about CVD My LDL-P is still relatively low, 1100, and some research indicates that this type of discordancy IS actually healthful and still puts me at low risk of heart disease...but I'm constantly questioning

So...to get to the heart of your question. I want to learn HOW to get my LDL-P as low as possible while simultaneously keeping my insulin resistance markers low (LP-IR, A1c, fasting glucose, insulin.) James has proven (and generously shared) that it's possible to get LDL-P down below 1,000...but that seems to drive up insulin resistance markers A growing body of work indicates that ultimately leads to cognitive impairment, especially in E4s, and plays a big part in CVD. Susan and Spunky (although his results may have been removed ) have done an excellent job balancing both LDL-P and LP-IR. I think many here share my goal. We want to avoid AD and CVD.

I LIKE the way you think, Janelle. I appreciate learning from other's experimentation and am wide open to continued tinkering.

[SusanJ]

It is complicated to experiment with changes. One at a time is best, but sometimes you still miss the small cues.

I highly recommend keeping a daily journal that includes the food you eat, the supplements you take, how you feel (aches, pains, good, bad, mood, etc) AND a little something about what happened to you on a particular day. Throw in a few tests, and then, when you make a change you can watch the results over a period of weeks, and tease apart what actually might have caused the changes you see.

It's a pain, but it's helpful when you're trying to unravel what might be causing a change in how you feel. I used it when making changes to my diet and supplements to see what helped my RA feel better and it was very helpful.

[Janelle]

I was really inspired by James's results too... It seems like there could be a way to get a high enough fat diet to protect our brains without the CVD side effects. Maybe it's just a matter of figuring out the right mix of food to make it happen? I googled 'ApoE4 Vegan' and James's story was the top hit. That's how I got here.

And then I found this awesome community of amazingly smart and caring people all driven to learn... sharing their stories, their blood work, and helping each other. How cool is that? Even just reading through the "Support" section was inspiring. I've never been a part of a community like this, but you guys are amazing, so... here I am. I need to figure this out too, and I love the idea of learning our way through this together.

My top goal right now is just to feel ok. Sleep issues and weird sensations in my chest has me a little freaked right now. Every sensation I feel in my body has me on edge and wondering if somethings going to happen. And I know how easy it is to manifest symptoms and so I constantly doubt my own experience and wonder if what I feel is real or not. Maybe it's all in my head. I just feel like something is off, but it's hard to describe what it is I feel. And when I try to explain it to my doctor, I know they listen for the textbook descriptions of symptoms. I've already spent hours googling, and am already primed with them... So what do I say? Which description do I choose? I want validation for what I feel somehow, but nobody experiences my body but me. I've settled on, 'I don't feel normal.'

There's the actually getting healthy part, and there's the psychological part that has made me a bit of a nut.

Then like most people, I want to figure out how to get my CVD issues under control without sacrificing my brain in the process. I'm kind of fond of my brain. I'm encouraged that I at least have a place to start and a community to learn with.

Over the last few years, I've made a ton of progress with my health, mainly with elimination/introduction experiments. I used to have really terrible allergies. VOC paint & new carpet made me sick, just about anything with fragrances in it. Pollen, foods, I was always breaking out in hives with no idea why. I'm wondering if my sensitivity might have been related to E4?

I was inspired by the Gerson Therapy and thought maybe I could cure my problems with juice? (http://gerson.org/gerpress/the-gerson-therapy/) At first, my problems only got worse, I started breaking out in hives everyday. I did a ton of allergy testing, and lit up like a christmas tree, reacting to everything. I found out I was allergic to apples, carrots, spinach, pears, cherries... a ton of the stuff I was juicing. I stopped juicing, eliminated every known allergy and otherwise did my best to rid my life of toxins. It didn't totally work, but started to get a little better.

Then I met this lady on a plane who told me about the miracle of raw sauerkraut that would cure all my allergy problems. After reading about all the impacts of gut health I figured it was worth a try? I eat it every day now. I've been juicing again for about a year with no problems anymore either. I started reintroducing allergens one at a time, apples and carrots I still can't eat, but most of my allergies are gone. And carrots used to make my mouth and throat swell, now I just get a little itchy if I accidently eat one. All my friends deal with seasonal allergies, and while I've tested positive for about every local pollen, I haven't had seasonal allergies since.

Since a lot of the allergy effects are cumulative, if you don't feel bad, it doesn't mean you won't. That made it tough to test, but I introduced 1 new food per month, then if I ever got hives, went back to my baseline + 1 thing. I'd usually break out over the next couple days and could figure it out. Whenever I wasn't sure, went back to my baseline diet.

At least for adding/removing dietary components, it seems like something similar could sort of work? Feedback is so slow though with really subtle cues...

[Julie G]

Wow, Janelle, sounds like you've dealt with mast cell activation too YES, we've come across MANY with E4s that deal with allergy symptoms and/or multiple chemical sensitivities...some, like me, with NO true allergies. Like you, I learned that treating my gut dysbiosis- fermented sauerkraut & pickles and live cultured yogurt & kefir; has helped tremendously. Working on balancing my Omegas, 3 & 6, has also proven very helpful in reducing overall inflammation. My guess is that the E4 makes us more prone to inflammation and may make our guts more permeable

[Starfish77]

Janelle,
I'm so impressed with your approach to working out your food problems. You are an inspiration to us all. I like your scientific attitude. I'm so glad you are with us.

[SusanJ]

I think you're spot on to say that gut health is critical. It's something we all seem to tinker with to find the right formula for.

Your comment about VOC, etc makes me wonder - do you know your MTHFR gene status? Having those variants tend to make detox harder (I know, I have the C677T homozygote variant and just about every prescription drug makes me sick), but can be improved with the right kind of B vitamins.

A good starting point to understand and treat MTHFR is http://mthfr.net/. A good functional medicine doctor will be up on the ins and outs of MTHFR.

[Janelle]

Thanks for the reference Susan... definitely seems like I might from the description.

I just did my 23andme thing this last weekend so I'll find out in coming weeks. I have no idea right now.

[James]

James has proven (and generously shared) that it's possible to get LDL-P down below 1,000...but that seems to drive up insulin resistance markers

I've tried to make this clear in other posts--LP-IR is not an actual measure of insulin sensitivity or glucose homeostasis but it a prediction of the above based on lipid values, and not necessarily a good prediction at that. FWIW, my fasting, post-prandial, and HbA1c are all great.

[Julie G]

James, YES, I remember your detailed post explaining/debunking LPIR...but this is new

My fasting, post-prandial, and Hba1c are all great.

Interesting...mind sharing your Hba1c? Thanks.