Greetings!

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
hstapell
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Greetings!

Post by hstapell »

Greetings!

I’ll be in Boulder in August for the AHS conference, and wanted to introduce myself to the forum. I’m ApoE 3/4. I’m also male, 44 years old, 175 lbs, six feet tall, and 23 BMI. I do strength or aerobic training most days a weeks. Overall, my nutritional experimentation and lab numbers happen to be very similar to the BJJ Caveman (http://bjjcaveman.com/).

I am currently following a “Gundry/Bredesen/Rhonda Patrick/William Davis/Michael Rose Protocol.” Julie was also kind enough to speak to me a couple of months ago in order to get me up to date on what’s been happening on the forum.

I usually do comprehensive blood work every three months. I’m scheduled to do lab tests again next week (June 15). Here are my most problematic numbers from March 2016:

LDL-P: 1812
LDL-C: 155
Total Cholesterol: 232
Small LDL-P: 654

In addition, I had a positive coronary calcium scan in 2014: 166 Agatston Score
I also have chronically low WBC (2.8) and an IgG Subclass 1 and 3 deficiency, which no one can explain.

I have a few questions for the forum, which I hope you don’t mind me asking:

1) What is the difference between “sdLDL” and “Small LDL-P”? Also, is there a proxy for sdLDL, as it is not part of the standard NMR panel?

2) Does anyone have a favorite unfiltered extra virgin olive oil that is reasonably priced and widely available (from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc.)?

3) Does anyone know why “almonds” are not on Gundry’s approved foods list? (I see “almond flour” but not “almonds.”)

4) Does anyone know why “flax seeds” are on Gundry’s approved foods list? Multiple sources say they are high in lectins.

5) Why does Gundy not recommend oily fish (like salmon) for ApoE4 folks?

6) GeorgeN, did you have a follow-up call with Gundry back in January? How did that go? The original write-up of your first conversation with him was extremely helpful. Thank you for taking the time to post that transcript.

From what I’ve seen, this is an incredibly supportive and open-minded community (which is not always so common on the internet!). I hope I will be able to make some positive contributions here as well!
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Julie G
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Re: Greetings!

Post by Julie G »

Welcome hstapell; very nice to see you posting! I look forward to meeting up with you in Boulder. If you're interested, we're setting up informal Q & A dinners at area restaurants with Drs. Bredesen, Gundry & Wahls to meet with our group. While Dr. Wahls isn't an ApoE4 specialist, her overlap with mitochondrial issues (huge for us!) and desire to learn adapt her high SFA approach for E4 carriers makes her a very welcome guest of honor. RSVP on this thread thread if you and your partner would like to join us.

You've keyed in on some great areas of past discussion that I'm sure many will want to chime in on. Things that stand out for me:
1.) MANY of us have tried to hack that and haven't come to a satisfactory answer. By definition, there must be some overlap. A proxy for sdLDL may be LDL3 + LDL4, but there's some confusion over the different units of measurements. Here's an older thread thread discussion re. sdLDL calculation. Here's another thread discussing the best & cheapest way to obtain that value. FWIW, your higher small LDL-P suggest that this should be an area of concern for you.

2.) I sometimes buy the California Olive Ranch (robust) from Whole Foods. It gets good reviews and is decent in that they provide a harvest and use by date that suggest a higher polyphenol count and some level of integrity. Lately, I've resorted to buying it by the case from Amphora Nueva in Berkley, CA. They source the tastiest, freshest, and highest polyphenols from around the world. They've offered a great deal for our members. You can learn more here.

5.) That puzzles me too. Because my small LDL-P is always under 90, I assume sdLDL isn't an issue for me and I eat lots of fatty fish. Remember, animal fat (per Gundry) raises sdLDL. YMMV, but given your high small LDL-P I'd tread cautiously here.
I also have chronically low WBC (2.8) and an IgG Subclass 1 and 3 deficiency, which no one can explain.
Oh dear, I may be able to help. I've had the exact same presentation for years. My last IgG came in at 473. My biggest deficiency is subclass 1. Per Dr. Bredesen's persistent prodding, I just underwent testing for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) and my results were overwhelmingly positive. We're beginning to learn that chronic infections, biotoxins & inflammation are strong drivers in AD and I suspect in CAD. I just started a new topic on the subject here.

Thank you for your kind words about our community. We're delighted to have you join and learn with us. I'll be looking for you in Boulder!
hstapell
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Re: Greetings!

Post by hstapell »

Thanks very much, Julie. I look forward to meeting you in person in Boulder as well. I will check out the dinner times, and will let you know if I am able to attend.

I've been trying to work on improving the small LDL-P thing. Hopefully my numbers will be better this time around.

Thanks very much for the information about the olive oil. That's very helpful indeed!

Thanks also for the information about CIRS. I will have to read that whole thread more carefully. My total IgG is within the "normal" range, averaging around 770 (reference range: 700-1600). My Subclass 1 tends to be a little low, and my Subclass 3 tends to be quite low. I just completed the VCS Test, and it came back negative:
VCSTest.JPG
I know a negative VCS Test doesn't rule out CIRS, so my next step is to try to figure out the HLA thing. It appears as though that information is not in Promethease, so I'll look into doing some additional testing.

Thank you again for your willingness to help. All of your efforts are greatly appreciated!
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TheresaB
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Re: Greetings!

Post by TheresaB »

Welcome aboard hstapell. We will also see you in Boulder this August.

In your post you asked:
6) GeorgeN, did you have a follow-up call with Gundry back in January? How did that go? The original write-up of your first conversation with him was extremely helpful. Thank you for taking the time to post that transcript
George must have missed this, I am his wife, we consulted with Dr Gundry together, so hopefully, I can help. We’ve had two consultations with Dr G so far. One was almost a year ago, and one was this past January. We will soon be taking our blood tests to talk to him again at the end of next month (July).

Is your question about our January call? I did transcribe our January conversation with Dr Gundry, did George not post it? I think this is what you’re asking about.
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Re: Greetings!

Post by circular »

Hi hstapell!

Re almonds I think the skin has lectins while the almond 'flour' is made from skinned almonds. But that doesn't explain including flax seeds if they're high in lectins. Sometimes some of his unexpected bits of advice come from an historical perspective. All foods have lectins. He'll sometimes exclude New World foods as having come into our diet later, suggesting we haven't yet adapted well to them (and maybe specifically their lectins). Flax seeds have 'Old World' origins, but then so do almonds I think. It's this kind of stuff that drive people nutty, but he's been tweaking his protocol for something like 15 or more years, much longer than Dr. Bredesen. He still makes changes. They seem forever part mystery and hopefully his book will explain some things in better detail. It'll be interesting to hear Dr. Bredesen 15 years from now: 'do this but not that when that looks an awful lot like this'.

As to not recommending oily fish, I'm thinking it's down to the reducing animal fat part of his approach. We need to remember his focus has been on cardiovascular disease. Cardiologists (some) are still the only ones really doing apoe4 testing out of an interest in it as a risk factor for CVD. Dr. Gundry's focus has been on that and he may only more 'recently' be thinking more in terms of AD prevention (just guessing).

Similar Dr. Wahls, who said in her interview with Rhonda Patrick that macronutrient ratios don't matter but micronutrients do. She's not as focused on AD prevention as she's been on MS, understandably, so may not be tuned into the potential problems in e4 in particular with a high carb diet because of glucose hypometabolism.

So I think all these people have a lot to learn from each other and Boulder will be a great cosmic convergence!
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
hstapell
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Re: Greetings!

Post by hstapell »

Hi Theresa!

Thanks very much for the note. I look forward to meeting you and your husband out in Boulder.

You are correct, I was asking about your January call with Gundry. I don't believe George has posted that transcript yet (or at least I can't seem to find it). The information from your first call (last year) was very useful. I, for one, would love to read more about the follow-up call from January. And just curious, did you both have blood work done in January as well?

Thanks for your help!
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Re: Greetings!

Post by hstapell »

Hi circular!

Thanks very much for your response. I agree about the coming "cosmic convergence." I am looking forward to Boulder!

Thank you for your thoughtful comments on almonds, flax, and oily fish. All of that makes a lot of sense. I've tried to listen to all of Gundry's interviews. As you suggest, he simultaneously comes off as both incredibly persuasive and frustrating (both for some of his generalization and the lack of additional evidence). In the end, I guess I am more persuaded than frustrated.

Most interesting to me are the areas of overlap between people like Gundry, Rhonda Patrick, Peter Attia, Bredesen, Wahls, William Davis, etc. I know there are differences, but there are also many significant similarities. That's where I try to focus.

Finally, I really love the work you are doing on the spreadsheet! Wow, that's an impressive project. I am happy to try to contribute as well.
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Re: Greetings!

Post by circular »

Thank you hstapell! It would be great if you started a thread about the common denominators between these folks. :-D I haven't even heard of William Davis or Michael Rose and no nothing yet about Peter Attia. I'll have to dip in there at some point. Maybe we should add Fuhrman? It would be fascinating if there is a common denominator with them all, probably eat non-processed food like in the 'old days', however each describes that.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
hstapell
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Re: Greetings!

Post by hstapell »

Circular, thanks for the advice about starting a thread on the commonalities. I'll see what I can put together. As for those other folks that you mention, here's some more information if you have the time:

1) Dr. Peter Attia is quite an interesting character. This recent STEM-Talk podcast on health and longevity is a really great place to start; I think it's excellent and worth the time to check out (it's also available on iTunes): http://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode001/

Here's Peter Attia's own website; you can find more about his background here: http://eatingacademy.com/dr-peter-attia

Peter Attia also recently appeared on a panel in Hong Kong with Dr. Robert Lustig. It's a pretty interesting exchange: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOUYjFNAuNQ

Finally, Rhonda Patrick has recently interviewed Peter Attia as well (it's also available on iTunes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fne3Dq3z0yQ

2) William Davis is a cardiologist who formerly ran a popular -- and I would say cutting-edge -- website called Track Your Plaque, which attempted to reverse (not just slow down) heart disease. Davis then wrote the book "Wheat Belly," and is now an anti-grain crusader. Here is his current website; unfortunately, it's now a little basic, as he is trying to appeal to a broad audience: http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/blog/

3) Michael Rose is less well know. He is an anti-aging and longevity researcher who works at UC Irvine. This little gem is a nice introduction to his theories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZuLPDHzuJY

Also, here is a website that is devoted to his work (unfortunately, it hasn't been updated in a long time): https://55theses.org/

If you have any question about any of this, please be sure to let me know!
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Re: Greetings!

Post by Julie G »

hstapell, good news on your VCS test. Your IgG numbers aren't too alarming, but something to keep an eye on. When I was your age, mine were similar and have steadily dropped by 25-50 points a year. The HLA-DR haplotype testing would be instructive in that it might help you identify the culprit that is draining your innate immune system. If your IgG numbers continue to drop, I suspect a TGF-beta 1 test, however, may be even more helpful. It's inversely correlated with IgG; the higher the TGF-Beta 1, the lower your IgG. An elevated number would confirm that inflammation (of an unknown source) is driving down your IgG. Then you could follow-up on the HLA-DR testing. Just trying to save you a nickel ;). This is all new to me. I head out to SFO on Monday to meet with Sunjya Schweig (Chris Kresser's partner) who specializes in this. I'll share what I learn.

Thanks for all of the new links to follow up on. We've spoken extensively here on the site about both Attia & Davis, although not too much lately. Michael Rose is new to me. I look forward to learning more...
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