Any basics you can help with?

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
JJ 007
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by JJ 007 »

Thank you :)
I wondered if it was too simplistic/optimistic.

I'm so interested in this sugar thing.
Can I just ask two question?
The below are my main risk genes. How does it work, do I add the risks together, making my risk approx 9.5 times higher than most. or multiply? Also, if its 9.5 higher, that's about 100% EEK! or do they run separately somehow.. (sorry if it seems a silly question, I'm quite new to this).
second Q :) The lifestyle in Stavia's wonderful post (which I have already begun) and am extremely grateful for :) do you think that it will still work (has potential), even with all of the other additional genes below?
Do you know if there are any other things I can do, for these other genes, or would that lifestyle help them all?
I mean, it goes without saying that the lifestyle would help everything of course, as its brilliant, but is there anything specific I can do about TOMM40, SERP and these other major risk factors?

rs2254958(C;T) = 1.24x increased risk for Alzheimer's
rs2075650(A;G) = 2x higher Alzheimer's risk
rs4420638(A;G) = ~3x increased Alzheimer's risk
rs2177369(C;C) = 1.5x increased risk for Alzheimer's disease
rs449647(A;A) =lower levels of ApoE = Significant Alzheimer's disease associations
rs4934(A;A) = 2.5x increased risk of Azheimer's and decreased age at onset (SERPINA3 gene)
e4/E3 as far as APOE goes.
"good"
rs3865444(G;T) = slight reduction in risk for Alzheimer's disease
rs11136000(C;T) = 0.84x decreased risk for Alzheimer's disease
rs6583817(C;T) = ~0.80x (lower) risk for late onset Alzheimer's disease
rs5882(A;G) = Lower risk of dementia (approx 30% lower risk)

Thank you :)
JJ
JJ 007
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by JJ 007 »

So I have a few questions if that's okay?
I have read the majority of Stavias fantastic info (with thanks) and made myself summaries to live by.

Just a couple of questions, I would be very grateful to know. As I didn't want to get it wrong and do myself more harm than good ;) lol

Exercise
Is it okay if it's 20 mins in the morning and 20 in the evening or is it better if its all in one go?
I noticed that the B chemical (can't remember full acronym) was after 30 mins.

Food:
Seafood (is that also good like fish).
Lentils (and humous) still good?
Garlic (I eat buckets) is that okay?
Is canned tuna still useful?
Dark low sugar chocolate (is that good due to flavonoids or should be avoided due to sugar).

If I took a supplement rasvastrol and omega 3 would they be good or at least not do any harm? I saw something that said DhA is bad unless you have enough anti oxidant so thought the red wine tablet could balance it. This red wine pill sounds just right for us?
Also should I avoid a vitamin which has zinc and iron in (re: the bit about heavy metals being bad for us).

Finally from my interpretation of the diet I've had salmon for dinner 4 times this week, avocado and smoked salmon (+seafood) for lunch and tons of veggies. +Nuts and blue berries. Meat only once (chicken).
Just checking that's not too much fatty fish? Is all of this too much good fat?

Finally if you wanted to have a tiny amount of alcohol what type do you think is best (something like a spirit with no sugary mixer) or is red wine better?

Oh and are olives themselves ready great to eat too? As well as the oil. Also is other white meat okay (sometimes) like pork?
Thanks so much (sorry for all of the questions). X X X
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by marthaNH »

I'll share my personal position/opinion/understanding on these questions, which you should not take too much to heart.

Exercise: I have decided it's best for me to mix the exercise up. Sometimes a longer session, sometimes broken up. Always as much as I can find time to do without pushing too hard for my current fitness level.

Seafood: yes, probably good. You can dig into the details as you go. Frozen fish sticks? I would skip. Oysters or mussels? I would eat.

Lentils (and humous): I still eat lentils, hummus, and beans. Also something some people rethink depending on personal situation.

Garlic (I eat buckets) is that okay?: I eat as much as I want, too, and I want a lot.

Is canned tuna still useful?: I gave this up a long time ago for various reasons, because I think there are better choices. Canned salmon, for instance.

Dark low sugar chocolate (is that good due to flavonoids or should be avoided due to sugar).: Modest amounts probably ok, you may later want to look into best choices for low cadmium, etc. I am not convinced that it is all that essential and still treat it like a treat.

If I took a supplement rasvastrol and omega 3 would they be good or at least not do any harm?: I take resveratrol because it might help and I take fish oil as a source of Omega 3s and DHA for pretty much the same reason. Buy the best quality you can re: fish oil. You don't want cheap drug store O3s that have been sitting on the shelf. But makes more sense maybe to just eat lots of it in real fish form.

I saw something that said DhA is bad unless you have enough anti oxidant so thought the red wine tablet could balance it: If you are eating a very good, vegetable-rich diet and taking carefully vetted supplements you will have lots of anti-oxidants. I don't know anything about DHA being bad and can't tell you anything about red wine pills. I would probably skip it, myself.

Also should I avoid a vitamin which has zinc and iron in (re: the bit about heavy metals being bad for us): I don't take iron supplements because I have no reason to. I take a little zinc because I tend to get not quite enough from my diet.

Finally from my interpretation of the diet I've had salmon for dinner 4 times this week, avocado and smoked salmon (+seafood) for lunch and tons of veggies. +Nuts and blue berries. Meat only once (chicken).
Just checking that's not too much fatty fish? Is all of this too much good fat?: I think that sounds like a pretty good diet but I wouldn't eat salmon four times plus smoked salmon. There is no reason to eat a lot more protein than you need and it might cause harm. I love smoked salmon and eat it once in a while but it is too close to what they call "processed meats" for me to consider large amounts safe.

I'm sure others will weigh in.

Finally if you wanted to have a tiny amount of alcohol what type do you think is best (something like a spirit with no sugary mixer) or is red wine better?: I don't drink but if I did it would be red wine, period. No whiskey, gin, or cordials.

Oh and are olives themselves ready great to eat too? As well as the oil. Also is other white meat okay (sometimes) like pork?
Thanks so much (sorry for all of the questions).: Olives are great, the oil is fine but again, you don't want to go crazy with it. It's a good food, not a cure-all. Again, buy the best, freshest you can find and/or afford. As for pork, I live in a Polish neighborhood where fresh roasted pork shoulder is under your nose all the time. Once in a while I indulge in a little bit. But I don't think a meat-heavy diet is called for under most any circumstances.

Most of us play around with cronometer to get a sense of how much of which foods help us to meet our targets. You're still figuring out what your targets are. Good luck with this. And again, all just my take on this. And I am symptom-free, pretty much, without any pressing health issues right now. Everybody's needs are in some way different.

Best, MNH
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TheresaB
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by TheresaB »

JJ 007, you asked:
Lentils (and humous) still good?
I hate to be a Debbie downer, but probably not. These are lectins, there appears to be a lectin-dementia connection, so some of us choose to avoid them. Lectins include grains, legumes, dairy, and plants of the nightshade family which are tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes/yams (not sweet potatoes.) I feel ya with regard to this, I love many of the foods that fall in this grouping. Sniff, sniff.

I found this to be a good primer on lectins. http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html

We* were introduced to avoiding lectins in our consult with Dr. Stephen Gundry, a heart surgeon/inventor who has been fascinated by genetic evolution since his undergraduate thesis. He wrote the book “Diet Evolution: Turn off the Genes That are Killing You – and Your Waistline –and Drop the Weight for Good.” He has another book coming out later this year which we understand will discuss lectins. (*I say we, not because I am of royal lineage, but my husband (3/4) and I (4/4) both follow him.) Dr Gundry tests for ApoE status and modified his baseline “Matrix” diet to address our ApoE4 results.

Dr G advised us to avoid lectins based on our bloodwork levels of adiponectin and TNF-alpha. He cited a Framingham study where skinny women who had high rate of Alzheimer’s Disease also had elevated levels of Adiponectin. In this paper, http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/129/Suppl_1/AP354 Dr G writes there is a strong association of elevated Adiponectin and TNF-alpha levels in thin women with dementia, osteopenia, and/or coronary artery disease.

Dr. Gundry seems to think everyone is sensitive to lectins, the degree to which is individual, but it seems to have a lot to do with how healthy the gut biome is.

Lectins can’t be destroyed by cooking or heating. Fermentation does destroy lectins somewhat. Pressure cooking is very good at destroying lectins. If they can't be avoided, he recommends taking MSM and/or Glucosamine before a meal with lectins as they contain lectin binding sugars. He discusses lectins in this newsletter. http://www.drgundry.com/articles/Lectins/
Last edited by TheresaB on Mon May 09, 2016 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-Theresa
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marthaNH
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by marthaNH »

Yes, the above post on lectin avoidance is one of the topics that I am not very knowledgeable about, but I'm aware that a number of people on the forum are. I was hoping someone would offer an introduction to the issue.

I'm not necessarily in disagreement, I just have other priorities right now. As you'll find, there is a certain amount of trade-off involved in hitting all your targets, and I am still eating modest amounts of lectins because they don't disagree with me in any obvious way and some lectin-containing foods play a role in helping me meet other goals.
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

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JJ 007 wrote:So I have a few questions if that's okay?


Exercise
Is it okay if it's 20 mins in the morning and 20 in the evening or is it better if its all in one go?

I noticed that the B chemical (can't remember full acronym) was after 30 mins.
Depends what you mean by evening? You don't want to exercise late as it will mess with your sleep.
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Julie G
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by Julie G »

Exercise
Is it okay if it's 20 mins in the morning and 20 in the evening or is it better if its all in one go?
I noticed that the B chemical (can't remember full acronym) was after 30 mins.
Just.do.it :D. Whatever works for you is fine. Intensity and consistency are key. I try to get around an hour a day and incorporate exercise into my daily life. I park as far away from my destination as possible, use stairs (not elevators,) try to carry baskets at the grocery store (as opposed to a cart,) etc. So even when I'm not formally "exercising" I'm still getting benefit. I'm guessing the study you read was discussing BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor.) Here's a great link with helpful tips.
Seafood (is that also good like fish).
Sure, wild-caught seafood is great. "SMASH" (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon, herring) are the best. These options are all super high in long chain Omega-3 fatty acids, high in anti-inflammatory properties, and low in mercury. It's worth noting that Dr. Gundry (a heart surgeon who treats many E4s) recommends avoiding fatty fish as it can elevate sdLDL. FWIW, I eat lots of fatty fish and seem not to have an issue with sdLDL. YMMV.
Lentils (and humous) still good?
You might need to be cautious if you're sensitive to lectins. I love Theresa's post above!
Garlic (I eat buckets) is that okay?
Sure, just brush your teeth a lot, LOL. Seriously, we actually have evidence that fastidious oral hygiene is both cardio and nuero protective.
Is canned tuna still useful?
Caution again. Tuna (at least in the U.S.) is VERY high in mercury. We have some evidence that E4 carriers clear metals more poorly than other ApoE genotypes. Any fish high in mercury (tuna, shark, mahi mahi, swordfish) should be avoided.
Dark low sugar chocolate (is that good due to flavonoids or should be avoided due to sugar).
Yay flavonoids!/boo sugar! Now, we're learning much of it is also high in cadmium- a neurotoxin :shock: . A small square now and then is probably fine.
If I took a supplement rasvastrol and omega 3 would they be good or at least not do any harm? I saw something that said DhA is bad unless you have enough anti oxidant so thought the red wine tablet could balance it. This red wine pill sounds just right for us?
The evidence on whether or not E4 carriers can benefit from supplementing with fish oil is evolving. The most recent evidence (from multiple sources) suggests that our genotype may benefit the most from maintaining a high Omage-3 index especially when combined with other strategies: exercise, a healthy diet, cognitive & social stimulation. I take around 900mg of DHA daily and eat fatty fish several times a week. Resveratrol (red wine pill) may be helpful in upregulating our SIRT1, which is negatively affected by ApoE4. Taking it with your fish or fish oil is fine.
Also should I avoid a vitamin which has zinc and iron in (re: the bit about heavy metals being bad for us).
Supplemental zinc may actually be beneficial for us. It would be nice to know your copper/zinc ratio to be sure. We have evidence that iron is actually detrimental for E4 carriers. I would proceed very cautiously with any supplemental iron unless you are treating anemia.
Finally from my interpretation of the diet I've had salmon for dinner 4 times this week, avocado and smoked salmon (+seafood) for lunch and tons of veggies. +Nuts and blue berries. Meat only once (chicken).
Just checking that's not too much fatty fish? Is all of this too much good fat?
Sounds great to me; very much like how I eat. Chicken can be tricky as most of it is grain-fed and some us do poorly with grains due to lectin sensitivity.
Finally if you wanted to have a tiny amount of alcohol what type do you think is best (something like a spirit with no sugary mixer) or is red wine better?
All alcohol is a neurotoxin. From the limited evidence available, it appears that alcohol is not advisable for E4 carriers. That being said, a dry red wine (resveratrol) is probably your safest bet. I indulge in a few ounces several times a week- gotta live a little ;).
Oh and are olives themselves ready great to eat too? As well as the oil. Also is other white meat okay (sometimes) like pork?
Olives and olive oil (high in polyphenols!) are grand. Other meat can be consumed occasionally as long as it's 100% pastured. Remember, Dr. Gundry finds that any fat from animals can raise sdLDL in E4 carriers, so maybe consider it a treat.
Thanks so much (sorry for all of the questions). X X X
You're welcome :D
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by simonh01 »

Juliegee wrote:
Is canned tuna still useful?
Caution again. Tuna (at least in the U.S.) is VERY high in mercury. We have some evidence that E4 carriers clear metals more poorly than other ApoE genotypes. Any fish high in mercury (tuna, shark, mahi mahi, swordfish) should be avoided.
I agree basically avoid large fish as they are more likely to have mercury. Also another side benefit to something like sardines is you can get them with the bones and you don't even notice them because they are so small. The bones are well good for your bones and joints, shocking I know. I eat the wild planet sardines as their cans are bpa free.
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JJ 007
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

Post by JJ 007 »

Thank you :)
I am so glad for the help as its so confusing.

So Salmon (my fav :)) is good as it is part of SMASH, is oily. But I just shouldn't eat too much, due to it being fatty (and it may have some Mercury). Is that right? So 3 times a week, is that okay?
Is shellfish the same?

Where I used to eat Chicken and lamb, I've started replacing that with Salmon for every meal. (That's why I ate so much) I think one person asked why I ate so much lol.

Re: supplements, I have taken iron before, but don't need it now. The only reason I ask is because I bought some flaxseed (it also has Brazil nuts, Co q 10) it says it has zinc, selenium, iron - so wasn't sure if the iron would ruin it.

Upside, I did find some "IQ chocolate" with reduced GI and 72% cocoa (it's called IQ chocolate).

The main thing I'm confused about is the lectin.
So I've started eating walnuts, berries, veggies (all colours) like peppers, tomato, mushroom, cucumber thanks to Stavia, thank you thank you I feel good already xxx but..... (it seems like I should cut those down) due to the leptin.
Or is that only if Lectin affects you (and how would I know if it did).

Is Green veg the only thing that is truly limitless? (But even that has iron).

I honestly don't want to bore you to death ;) but does anyone know/can recommend any good meals that would be healthy for us. I can only think of avocado, lettuce, cabbage, which is good to eat lots of, help.
I wrote a good and bad food list to stick on my fridge, but had to cross a lot of good things off due to leptin.

With most meat, quite a lot of veg, cheese, carbs, sugar all no no's I'm struggling to eat and I"m hungry ;)

I promise I will help you guys in return once I've gotten my head around it :geek:
One more Q - probably really dumb question, but with the fasting, does it count if I have a cup of coffee for breakfast? (I guess so due to the millk),

Thanks again so much for your guidance. X
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Re: Any basics you can help with?

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JJ 007 wrote,
The main thing I'm confused about is the lectin.
So I've started eating walnuts, berries, veggies (all colours) like peppers, tomato, mushroom, cucumber thanks to Stavia, thank you thank you I feel good already xxx but..... (it seems like I should cut those down) due to the leptin.
Or is that only if Lectin affects you (and how would I know if it did).
Unfortunately, it’s possible to experience no perceptible digestion or other side effects from eating lectins (I didn’t), but internally your body doesn’t like them because they are hard to digest. The body stresses in reaction and this constant stress can manifest as disease in the long run.

It can be very confusing. I hope this can help:
Leptin = hunger hormone
Lectins = Are hard to “tie a neat bow” around as they are found in so many different foods but below are the foods that are on our “forbidden” list for lectins.
Lectins and Leptin Resistance = According to Wikipedia Lectins may cause Leptin Resistance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectin This is interesting, but secondary to our motivation to reduce chances of Alzheimer’s, Cardiovascular, or other diseases.

Forbidden list:
NUTS AND SEEDS
Chia Seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Brazil nuts
Cashews
Peanuts
Pine nuts

FRUITS
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Gogi berries
Melons (any kind)
Peppers
Pumpkin
Squash (any kind)
Tomatoes
Zucchini

GRAINS, SPROUTED GRAINS, PSEUDO-GRAINS
Barley
Brown rice
Buckwheat
Bulgur
Corn
Corn products
Corn starches
Corn syrups
Einkorn wheat
Kamut
Kashi
Millet
Oats
Popcorn
Quinoa
Rye
Spelt
Wheat
Whole grains

LEGUMES
Beans, All
Chick peas (hummus)
Lentils
Sprouts, All

VEGETABLES
Green beans
Peas
Sugar Snap Peas

SOY
Edemame
Soy
Soy protein
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
Tofu

-Theresa
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