Mac,
You wrote,
You mention shellfish 1st priority intake and then white fish...can I consider all fish good to eat in the context of replacing meat? I mostly eat white fish or salmon?
In our first consult with Dr Gundry, he went over his dietary “rules” for ApoE4s, which means we have to limit animal protein/fats and eat no cheese. Non-ApoE4s have a little more latitude here, although they are still restricted as to amount and type of animal protein on his diet.
Our animal protein is limited to 4 ounces a day total and only in the form of shellfish, white fish, or 2 eggs . The shellfish and white fish should be wild caught only and the eggs should be omega-3 or pastured only. With shellfish, I think this mostly applies to shrimp. As I understand it, farmed raised animals tend to be fed grains and other things that are bad for us, so our food intake needs to be kept as “real” as possible.
We alternate these animal proteins in our evening meals adding one vegan meal a week where the protein source comes from something like Hemp Tofu, or Tempeh (fermented soy, so okay). The vegetarian meat substitutes that are now common in the freezer section of the grocery store are NOT allowed, except for any non-breaded Quorn products, which we can’t find locally anyway.
Regarding our evening meal: For an appetizer, we share a container of guacamole, we use jicama (resistant starch) in lieu of chips with it. George eats nuts, tiger nuts (resistant starch) and some sauerkraut or kim chi (fermented, good for the gut). I don’t eat that in the evening, that’s typically my lunch. (George only eats once a day, fasting for 22 hours, I only eat twice a day, fasting 16 hours). If dinner cooked with any oil, it’s always olive oil, no vegetable oils. We have a steamed vegetable, typically asparagus, artichokes or okra. We always have a big salad of raw veggies using Dr Wahl’s protocol of 1/3 deep, leafy green, 1/3 colored, and 1/3 sulfur. We top the salad with organic, unfiltered, Extra Virgin Olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And for a “treat” once a week we’ll have a resistant starch in the form of plantain chips, yucca fries, taro root, Okinawan sweet potatoes, something like that.
Ah, but I digress, …
From Dr Gundry's slide presentation at the Ancestral Health Symposium, “shellfish are emphasized as the animal protein of choice, if desired, owing to our observed sdLDL lowering when these foods were added. Particularly crab. Crab is incredibly effective at lowering small dense LDLs.”
You’re wondering about other sources of fish, beyond shellfish and white fish. During the Q&A session someone did ask about salmon, mackerel and sardines. Dr Gundry did acknowledge they are great sources of Omega-3 fats, but cautioned that they are also a source of animal protein and he mentioned two very large studies recently published that show that animal protein is just as obesogenic (tending to cause obesity) as sugar, something he says he’s been saying for the last 10 years and that he’ll talk about in his next book. He likes to restrict animal protein to reduce insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which he says is the best marker for accelerated aging. He said that the more he can take away animal protein from humans, particularly ApoE4s, the better off we are and that the belief is the ApoE3 gene came about to allow humans to handle meat proteins.
So this is an area where you're going to have to weigh the options for yourself.
Remember Dr Gundry got interested in this as cardiovascular surgeon, and a brilliant one at that. When he discovered he could reverse cardiovascular disease through diet and supplements, he resigned as chairman and professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Loma Linda University to devote his time to restorative medicine. He sought out ApoE4s to study because we’re more susceptible to cardiovascular disease. But now his emphasis is on overall wellness and longevity. I know you’ve been asking specifically about brain health. All I can say to that is the more I learn, the more I recognize that what’s good for the body is good for the brain. We are all exquisite examples of systems engineering.
And on your comment,
The fasting period (16 hrs) is extreme for me I think.
I didn’t start there, I’ve been working my way up and I still struggle with hunger issues sometimes. But getting off the carbs led to more even/low blood sugar levels which keeps feelings of extreme hunger to nonexistant levels. To help get over the hunger issues, I sometimes add coconut oil (because we have it in the house, I should probably switch to MCT oil when it’s exhausted) to my coffee in the morning. I suppose technically that breaks my fast, but since it’s a fat, it doesn’t spike my blood sugar, it's still helping increase my insulin sensitivity.