Cholesterol Levels and NMR Test Preparation

[Hepoberman]

Blaise, now that you've tried three diets, each with different results. What's your take on what you've learned so far?

[Julie G]

Things are certainly moving in the right direction since you've been following Dr. Gundry's advice, Blaise. Kudos! I'm curious, do either CVD or AD run in your family?

I like Hep's question. How did you feel on each of your three diets? Any noticeable differences in energy or BMI? I'm struck by your relatively unchanged HDL and TGs on each version. Your LPIR and homocysteine are admirable. Are you exercising? Do you fast at all? I'm really proud of you for quantifying your numbers and working to optimize your health as you approach middle age.

[Blaise]

Blaise, now that you've tried three diets, each with different results. What's your take on what you've learned so far?

Well I have to say the first diet I was on with the lower cholesterol back in May of 2013 contained much, much more carbohydrates. This last test results was following a low carb, Gundry Matrix type diet with plenty of vegetables and fish. If I ate animal meat it was lean grass fed, free range meats ( I didn't eat much animal meats at all or saturated fats). I had plenty of olive oil and olives, avocado oil and avocado products.

It appears I feel my best when I have some good carbohydrates. I also noticed my fasting blood glucose levels are much lower when I eat good complex carbohydrates (sweet potatoes, etc..) the night before.

I remember on previous tests before 2013 my triglycerides were in the 60-70 range when I was eating carbohydrates.

I'm beginning to think I am one of the few that do well with carbohydrates. This makes sense by my NMR results showing that I have very high insulin sensitivity. I am also very active and lift weights and exercise 3-5 times a week. I am thinking of following the advice of Chris Masterjohn for Apoe4 and hypercholesterolemia. He recommends more carbohydrates - ala the Kitavan diet.

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2016/06/ ... emia-hefh/

[Blaise]

Things are certainly moving in the right direction since you've been following Dr. Gundry's advice, Blaise. Kudos! I'm curious, do either CVD or AD run in your family?

I like Hep's question. How did you feel on each of your three diets? Any noticeable differences in energy or BMI? I'm struck by your relatively unchanged HDL and TGs on each version. Your LPIR and homocysteine are admirable. Are you exercising? Do you fast at all? I'm really proud of you for quantifying your numbers and working to optimize your health as you approach middle age.

Juliegee,

Thanks for the kind words!

I seem to feel better with a little more good carbohydrates. CVD and AD doesn't run in my family that I know of. By following the Matrix diet with very low saturated fat and animal meat intake I lost over 10 lbs in just a few months which I believe was mostly muscle mass. I was relatively lean to begin with and had a visible 6 pack. Now I am just a 10 pound smaller version of what I was on Paleo. Pre Gundy diet I was around 212 lbs at 6'2" now I am 199 lbs. I would have thought my HDL would have went up and my triglycerides would have went down. My triglycerides seem to respond favorably to more good carbohydrates if that makes any sense. My fasting blood sugar is also lower when I eat carbohydrates. Over the last few months I did fast a few times which consisted of only having coffee for breakfast. I am pretty active and exercise and lift weights 3-5 times a week.

I'm beginning to think I need more carbohydrates to keep my muscle mass since my NMR shows I am extremely insulin sensitive. Do you think maybe I should try adding some more sweet potatoes and other resistant starches to my Matrix diet?

[Julie G]

Why not add more low glycemic carbs and see where your numbers land? If you're targeting TGs, you can simply retest with standard lipids. This strategy would increase TGs for most of us, but you have a history doing well on higher carbs. FWIW, I also recall George noting that he had his lowest TGs when he ate more carbs. Cron-o-meter is a great tool for tracking if you're not already using it. I'll be eager to see the results of this phase of your experimentation. Congrats on the weight loss and six-pack; a nice side effect of the Gundry approach

[Hepoberman]

Blaise, I'm APOE 3/4 and FWIW, most of my energy comes from beans, peas, rice, lentils and potatoes. My TC is 129, A1c in the 5's, and my CIMT normalized after adding back carbs. LCHF pushed my TC over 250 and my CIMT progression was 3x normal. This is n=1 data and may not apply to you but your labs lead me to believe we may have similar needs.

[TheresaB]

Hepoberman wrote
Blaise, I'm APOE 3/4 and FWIW, most of my energy comes from beans, peas, rice, lentils and potatoes.

I understand not everyone on this forum buys into Dr Gundry’s thought on lectins and not everyone reacts the same to lectins. However, beans, peas, rice, lentils and potatoes all contain lectins. Do you have your inflammatory markers checked? Lectins are how a plant tries to protect itself from being eaten. They cause toxic or inflammatory reactions in the body leading to such conditions as leaky gut, autoimmune disease, chronic digestive disorders, heart disease and weight gain. I thought I felt fine, but then I tested sensitive to lectins. I removed the major sources of them from my diet, my inflammatory markers went down and I do feel better.

Hepoberman also wrote My TC is 129

This gives me pause. First of all, total cholesterol is a is a combination of various numbers, including “good” and “bad” cholesterol, so I don't see how it says anything of value. Mine has remained pretty steady, yet my individual cholesterol markers have made significant changes, all in the right direction, as a result of changing my diet.

Secondly, I recently re-read the interview Dr Mark Hyman, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for medicine conducted with Dr Dale Bredesen, neurodegeneration/Alzheimer’s researcher who has reversed cognitive decline with diet/lifestyle strategies. The interview was conducted last March (3/2016).

In the interview Dr Bredesen said, “…as its been pointed out repeatedly by you, [Dr Hyman] by David Perlmutter, by others , low cholesterol is associated with brain atrophy. So the last thing we want to see is people with low cholesterol, especially cholesterols below 150, are concerning to us.”

Dr Bredesen went on to say, “Now obviously there are many nuanced ways to look at cholesterol. But we worry about people who are low fat. We worry about people who have low cholesterols and absolutely this is a problem.”

Hepoberman also wrote A1c in the 5's

That’s okay, but personally I consider that a tad bit high. In addition to the fact those foods you mentioned contain lectins, they are also very carby. Of all the strategies ApoE4s can pursue, increasing insulin sensitivity seems to be the best for addressing both AD and cardiovascular concerns. I do eat carbs, I just stay away from the starchy carbs (unless they are a resistant starch which are eaten daily, just moderately), processed carbs, etc and stick with mostly raw veggie carbs that also contain lots of fiber. My last A1c was measured at 4.3.