Anyone else doing a low saturated fat Ketogenic diet?

[Karina52]

Great info in this thread. I'm surprised kc425 that you are taking coconut. Everything I have read says no coconut and from the past (years ago and long before I knew my 4/4 status), I was using a lot of coconut thinking I was doing myself a favor and my LDL skyrocketed! I believe my diet is mildly keto but I am not sure how best to test this. I eat a lot of nuts, avocados every day, sardines, fish, vegetables, I juice in the morning, berries/2 tablespoons ground flax, oatbran, gluten free muesli for breakfast, our own farm fresh eggs (we have 11 chickens who won the birth lottery....they get to forage all day in the horse pasture) and I'm gluten free. Would love to hear what others are eating that fits into keto.

[justlooking]

Hi! I am brand, brand new here, and I sort of found my way here because I was searching around for how to do a ketogenic diet with low saturated fat. I don't know what APOE4 is at all! But I really would love to pick your brains about how to make this work.

I've been overweight all of my adult life, and was even as a child for that matter and have been looking at doing IF. I see so many people also recommending keto in conjunction with it, but my conception of keto is high fat and that won't work for me because I have MS, and studies have shown that keeping saturated fat at very low levels helps prevent exacerbations.

So here's a bit of my story, I'm in my 40s and about 3 years ago lost about 100 pounds, down to 310#, due to just eating better, practicing caloric restriction, and I also started eating plant forward/pescetarian (which I still am), mostly following Dr. Furman's Eat to Live. Which is basically plant-forward whole foods, low sugar, low refined flour products, low starchy veggies, low meat.

I spent about a year at that weight and just could not lose any more, but also was maintaining, until last year and then my weight started creeping back up, now I've regained about 50 pounds of that initial weight lost and it just really sucks especially when I have so much more to go. I am assuming that there is something metabolic going on because I eat pretty clean and I try to maintain about a 1800 calorie diet daily which for my particulars (5'11" 350#) should be way in deficit, and yet I can't seem to make progress.

So I've pretty much decided to begin incorporating intermittent fasting, but am beginning to wonder how or whether I can make keto work for me as a pescetarian with a requirement to keep saturated fat low.

Thank you for any help or suggestions. I tried to message Theresa but wasn't able to figure out how! Are there any diet plans that I could look at? I'm finding the whole thing a bit overwhelming to try to figure out using basically piecemeal information on the Internet. I also, no offense, am a little intimidated by all the HARD TRAINING KETO BROS and information tailored for them because they want to be cut. I just want to live like a normal person without all this weight baggage.

[CoachMT]

Hi! I am brand, brand new here, and I sort of found my way here because I was searching around for how to do a ketogenic diet with low saturated fat. I don't know what APOE4 is at all! But I really would love to pick your brains about how to make this work.

I've been overweight all of my adult life, and was even as a child for that matter and have been looking at doing IF. I see so many people also recommending keto in conjunction with it, but my conception of keto is high fat and that won't work for me because I have MS, and studies have shown that keeping saturated fat at very low levels helps prevent exacerbations.

So here's a bit of my story, I'm in my 40s and about 3 years ago lost about 100 pounds, down to 310#, due to just eating better, practicing caloric restriction, and I also started eating plant forward/pescetarian (which I still am), mostly following Dr. Furman's Eat to Live. Which is basically plant-forward whole foods, low sugar, low refined flour products, low starchy veggies, low meat.

I spent about a year at that weight and just could not lose any more, but also was maintaining, until last year and then my weight started creeping back up, now I've regained about 50 pounds of that initial weight lost and it just really sucks especially when I have so much more to go. I am assuming that there is something metabolic going on because I eat pretty clean and I try to maintain about a 1800 calorie diet daily which for my particulars (5'11" 350#) should be way in deficit, and yet I can't seem to make progress.

So I've pretty much decided to begin incorporating intermittent fasting, but am beginning to wonder how or whether I can make keto work for me as a pescetarian with a requirement to keep saturated fat low.

Thank you for any help or suggestions. I tried to message Theresa but wasn't able to figure out how! Are there any diet plans that I could look at? I'm finding the whole thing a bit overwhelming to try to figure out using basically piecemeal information on the Internet. I also, no offense, am a little intimidated by all the HARD TRAINING KETO BROS and information tailored for them because they want to be cut. I just want to live like a normal person without all this weight baggage.

Welcome to the to the Apoe4.info community justlooking! It's great to hear how you're actively educating yourself on strategies to support your overall health! It sounds like you’ve made some substantial progress and you’re looking for more information to continue your progress. To begin to scratch the surface on your question about ApoE4, the ApoE4 allele is one risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (specifically "late onset" Alzheimer's disease) and heart disease and is the main focus of this forum. If you haven’t already seen it, I invite you to learn more about Apoe4 and the resources available on the site by checking out the primer. It is a great starting place to learn about the extensive resources available to you on the ApoE4.info site. It was authored by a member physician who carries two copies of the ApoE4 allele, is regularly updated and provides information on the science behind the ApoE4 allele, tips on diet and lifestyle choices, biomarkers to check, and prevention strategies.

In addition, based on several of the topics you mentioned, you may also be interested in checking out the thread on
eating a healthy diet with heaps of micronutrients and Intermittent fasting. And last but not least, this is an active forum with knowledgeable members, so it's very likely you'll receive feedback and insights from members around their experiences with low-fat keto diets soon!

Welcome to the forum and this supportive community!
Best,
Mandy

[mike]

I've been overweight all of my adult life, and was even as a child for that matter.

My mom had similar problems her whole life. No matter what she tried, it did not work. I carry a double mutation for the ApoE4 gene, which means my mom had to have had at least one copy herself. I think this gene may have played a role in her issues. It would be worth your while to rule it out before going down the next diet road... You can get tested at 23andMe for about $200 (health version). That being said, the diet that most follow here is a low saturated fat ketogenic diet, so feel free to look around.

[Plumster]

I have MS

Have you looked at Valter Longo's work on fasting? In his book The Longevity Diet, he has a chapter on fasting and MS.

[justlooking]

I've been overweight all of my adult life, and was even as a child for that matter.

My mom had similar problems her whole life. No matter what she tried, it did not work. I carry a double mutation for the ApoE4 gene, which means my mom had to have had at least one copy herself. I think this gene may have played a role in her issues. It would be worth your while to rule it out before going down the next diet road... You can get tested at 23andMe for about $200 (health version). That being said, the diet that most follow here is a low saturated fat ketogenic diet, so feel free to look around.

I'll check this out. Thanks! I'll also look at the Longevity Diet that someone below mentioned.

[Indygrl76]

I have found that my appetite has reduced so much (since all cravings are gone) that it is less challenging now than at the beginning to keep saturated fat low. I generally eat a pasture raised hen egg for breakfast with some veggies and an avocado. For "lunch" it is a huge salad (all raw veggies-- greens, cabbage, broccoli florets, flax seed, sunflower seeds, walnuts, avocado, EVOO dressing, etc.) and I have 4-6 oz of wild caught salmon (about four days a week) may have chicken, etc. on other days. This get the macros to: Fat = 72% (SF = 15 g) Protein = 17% Carbs = 12 % (net = 17 g)

It is simple and somewhat boring... but that's not the question for me. The question for me is, "Do I want to reduce my probability of developing AD or eat this simple, clean Keto diet? I don't live to eat, I eat to live. I am insulin resistant. I tried to address this a couple of years ago and went whole-food plant based, whole grains, vegan... did not "ingest" cholesterol for a full year and lost 15 lbs.

What happened? My cholesterol and triglycerides skyrocketed to the highest they have ever been. I cannot tell you how depressed I was. I just felt totally defeated. Then (thanks to a whim to do 23 & Me-- I discovered I am an APOE 3/4. That was a shock. I'm not ignorant or uneducated (do have a PhD) but I didn't know anything about how the body and brain process "energy" and the relationship to insulin resistance.

No one in my family has ever developed AD and my two grandmothers lived into their late 90s. After I got over the shock, I started doing more research and discovered the relationship of carbs-- of almost any kind-- to metabolic disorder, diabetes, heart disease, and-- of course--AD. It made me angry. I couldn't believe that I had never been told about this before by any medical or nutritional professional.

To make matters worse, the vegan culture is so convincing. It makes sense. We've always been told that saturated fat causes heart disease and diabetes. (I'm not saying that saturated fat is the preferable fat-- just that it isn't the source of the problem.) So-- it's been really a shock. I do have a significant number of other gene variants that are "compatible" with consumption with saturated fat (accordingly it does not impact my glucose processing or heart disease risk). Still, with the 3/4 it can only be preferable to go with the monounsaturated fat as the primary source of fat.

I do enjoy coffee (I have the gene variant for fast metabolism of caffeine). A couple of times a week I may throw in some berries into the salad or eat them on the side. It is desert!

One can be much more creative than this-- but it's a safe way to transition and stabilize your Keto status. I'm very interested what others have to share on this issue!

[DebS]

[quote="Indygrl76"...No one in my family has ever developed AD and my two grandmothers lived into their late 90s. After I got over the shock, I started doing more research and discovered the relationship of carbs-- of almost any kind-- to metabolic disorder, diabetes, heart disease, and-- of course--AD. It made me angry. I couldn't believe that I had never been told about this before by any medical or nutritional professional...One can be much more creative than this-- but it's a safe way to transition and stabilize your Keto status. I'm very interested what others have to share on this issue![/quote]

Hi Indygrl76! Welcome to the site. You have already accomplished so much!

Please remember that you don't have to do it all at once. Feeling anger is normal. The good news is that you now have a source for reputable information and a supportive community with which to share your journey. You may find our primer, written by Dr. Stavia, helpful for a prioritized list of prevention strategies. The primer is a great starting point for gathering information. For a few ideas on adding excitement to your recipes, you may like our member recipes or a quick search of the site for cookbooks will yield threads with great ideas.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with questions. I look forward to seeing your future posts!

[CarrieS]

I have found that my appetite has reduced so much (since all cravings are gone) that it is less challenging now than at the beginning to keep saturated fat low. I generally eat a pasture raised hen egg for breakfast with some veggies and an avocado. For "lunch" it is a huge salad (all raw veggies-- greens, cabbage, broccoli florets, flax seed, sunflower seeds, walnuts, avocado, EVOO dressing, etc.) and I have 4-6 oz of wild caught salmon (about four days a week) may have chicken, etc. on other days. This get the macros to: Fat = 72% (SF = 15 g) Protein = 17% Carbs = 12 % (net = 17 g)

Hellow Indygrl and Welcome to the Community!
Your breakfast sounds a lot like how I start my day. "Dinner" for breakfast seems to work best for my personal chemistry and I love feeling satisfied and not hungry for hours. I commend you for paying attention to what works for you.

Since you are new to the site, I'd also like to point you in the direction of our Wiki as a source for more in depth information and lists. One of my favorite Wiki posts is this How To Guide. It's THE information source on how to figure out nuances of posting, quoting, following threads, searching and more. Again, Welcome! I look forward to reading your posts.

[Tincup]

I have MS

If you haven't, check out Terry Wahls' work. TEDx talk book (scroll down) We met Dr. Wahls at AHS16, when our group invited Steven Gundry and Dale Bredesen to present. I chatted with her at dinner several nights. Though Dr. Wahls isn't ApoE4, her ghoostwriter is and so she's interested. We eat per Gundry and it is low sat fat. We also incorporate many of Dr. Wahls' concepts when planning our meals (like many cups of veggies with 1/3 greens, 1/3 sulfur containing and 1/3 colored all the way through with at least 3 colors. Our diet is keto (when we test, we are always in nutritional ketosis - >0.5 mmol/L serum BHB ketones, though our carb intake ranges from 80-180g/day with 50-60g of that being fiber). We go into more detail on what we do here.