Support for people with APO4 genotype

So maybe you've discovered that you have the dreaded APO4 genotype. This is what Dr. Steven Gundry refers to as the fragility gene. Some refer to it as the Alzheimers gene. Having this genotype is not a death sentence. Epigenitics is what we can do in our lives that can turn on or off genes that have a propensity toward certain diseases.

I have been on many nutritional programs to improve my health since I was 25 years old starting in 1980. For the last few years I have been on a Paleo/Ketogenic diet. I ate a good amount of animal protein (always very good quality, 100% grass fed or pasture raised) not too much fish as I have high levels of mercury in my body. I cut out most shell fish as I was concerned about toxins they might have since our oceans are pretty polluted. I ate a lot of fats including animal and plant saturated fats like lamb, chicken, beef, ghee and coconut oil. And of course, tons of vegetables, mostly non-starchy veggies.

For some people, this diet is the bomb, meaning it works really well at keeping them healthy and improves their lipid numbers. However, for me, my LDL cholesterol continued to rise...what a bummer! Here I am thinking I'm doing a great thing for myself and my lipid panels and advanced lipid panels were getting worse not better, how discouraging! On the advanced lipid panels I discovered that I have too many small, dense LDL particles which are a risk factor for cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease.

So I've been doing extensive research and found a great youtube video of Dr. Steven Gundry's specifically addressing the best diet for the APO4 genotype. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfr9RPq0HFg

Dr Gundry stated that coconut oil seems to produce the small dense LDL particles specifically in the people with APO4. Darn...I love coconut oil!!! He also stated that people with APO4 love cheese which is like kryptonite for us. I used to love cheese, but gave it up years ago when I had an IGG food allergy panel. Also, too much protein turns into sugar in the body. I was wondering why my fasting glucose was always on the high end of normal given my pristine diet.

So via Dr. Gundry, I am going to incorporate more shellfish in my diet and cut way back on grass fed red meats and poultry. I'll be eating some goat meat since it has less saturated fats then chicken. Dr Gundry suggested that we eat lots of green leaves as our great ape ancestors do and that green leaves have a good amount of protein. He also said that the purpose of food is to get olive oil into the mouth...olive oil is the magic substance that helps with cholesterol, heart and brain among other things. The studies Dr. Gundry sited suggested consuming one liter per week of olive oil.

So now I'm tweeking my eating plan once again to see if I can lower my small dense LDL particles, wish me luck!