Olive oil driving cholesterol up

A primer for newbies and old pros alike.
Post Reply
gpaz
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:24 am

Olive oil driving cholesterol up

Post by gpaz »

Hello everyone!

I'm new to the boards but know a decent amount about APOE4, etc. I read Dale's book. I follow a healthy lifestyle, etc. I am APOE 3/4 and my dad is starting to show signs of dementia. His sister (my aunt) has dementia/AD and my grandmother (their mom) had it for 8 years in her 80's.

I recently started to make a "smoothie" with lemons, 1/2 grapefruit and 2 TB of organic olive oil. I wanted to give my liver and gallbladder a gentle flush in the morning. I sometimes threw in a egg yolk or two for protein.

I was having a little tightness in chest so thought I should get some blood work done. I'm 47 and have a normal BMI and 28.5 waist circumference.

Would you know that my cholesterol was through the roof! Eek!

Total cholesterol: 286
HDL: 108 (!) I'm normally in high 70's.
LDL: 170 (!!!!) I'm normally in low 100's
Triglycerides: 55 (that's typical)

So, my ratio is good but still overall not feeling great about it especially because my CRP was also at 3.8 and it has always, always been barely there and I was always in the lowest risk for CRP numbers.

Do you think this could be from olive oil?! I am so baffled. I read a book called Healthy Heart, Healthy Mind by Dr. Bradley Bale and he claims that APOE 3/4 and APOE 4/4 should follow a low fat diet of under 20% from fat. I normally would scoff at that advice but after seeing my numbers, I'm now not so sure. I don't eat a lot of saturated fat.

I am going to do some more blood work and I stopped eating the smoothie. I also made a cardiologist appointment to see if this is tied to my tightness in the chest.

Any way, curious if anyone else had this happen with GOOD fats.

I also had a fasting blood glucose of 77, my insulin was 2 and my H1AC was 5.

Thank you for any insights.
User avatar
Tincup
Mod
Mod
Posts: 3623
Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Front Range, CO

Re: Olive oil driving cholesterol up

Post by Tincup »

gpaz wrote: Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:43 am I'm new to the boards but know a decent amount about APOE4, etc. I read Dale's book. I follow a healthy lifestyle, etc. I am APOE 3/4 and my dad is starting to show signs of dementia. His sister (my aunt) has dementia/AD and my grandmother (their mom) had it for 8 years in her 80's.

I recently started to make a "smoothie" with lemons, 1/2 grapefruit and 2 TB of organic olive oil. I wanted to give my liver and gallbladder a gentle flush in the morning. I sometimes threw in a egg yolk or two for protein.

I was having a little tightness in chest so thought I should get some blood work done. I'm 47 and have a normal BMI and 28.5 waist circumference.

Would you know that my cholesterol was through the roof! Eek!

Total cholesterol: 286
HDL: 108 (!) I'm normally in high 70's.
LDL: 170 (!!!!) I'm normally in low 100's
Triglycerides: 55 (that's typical)

So, my ratio is good but still overall not feeling great about it especially because my CRP was also at 3.8 and it has always, always been barely there and I was always in the lowest risk for CRP numbers.

Do you think this could be from olive oil?! I am so baffled. I read a book called Healthy Heart, Healthy Mind by Dr. Bradley Bale and he claims that APOE 3/4 and APOE 4/4 should follow a low fat diet of under 20% from fat. I normally would scoff at that advice but after seeing my numbers, I'm now not so sure. I don't eat a lot of saturated fat.

I am going to do some more blood work and I stopped eating the smoothie. I also made a cardiologist appointment to see if this is tied to my tightness in the chest.

Any way, curious if anyone else had this happen with GOOD fats.

I also had a fasting blood glucose of 77, my insulin was 2 and my H1AC was 5.
Welcome gpaz,

A few thoughts, the EVOO is extremely unlikely to raise your CRP. Whatever is raising your CRP may be impacting your lipids. Have you gone lower carb than before? Fasting some? Those can also raise LDL because if you are now using fat for fuel, there has to be a transport for it. When I ate a vegan, high carb, low fat (10-15%) diet, my LDL was below 100. I don't eat that way now and typically have an LDL of 140.. My 4/4 wife's LDL is commonly higher. If I eat a very low saturated fat diet (including reducing EVOO), I can lower my LDL below 100. The data I've reviewed suggest 140 is lowest all cause mortality.
Tincup
E3,E4
gpaz
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:24 am

Re: Olive oil driving cholesterol up

Post by gpaz »

Thank you Tincup :) I did fast for about 16 hours before my blood was taken so maybe that was part of it? I do know that olive oil increases HDL, and it definitely did for me! But maybe the fasting caused that LDL to go up.

Do you feel better on your current diet versus the low fat version? Again, I am very pro fat so all of this is surprising. I don't feel great on lots of carbs unless I do ample protein and some fat. I will say that I tend to lose more weight when I eat lower fat, higher carb than if I eat higher fat, lower carb, which is weird. I'm so confused on what to eat 😆

That Dr. Bale has only had 3 people who have had cardiac events under his care since he's added in the APOE diet advice. APOE 2's eat the most fat... APOE 3's moderate fat... APOE 4's low fat. His results are pretty impressive as he has many patients who are obese, etc. Any way, food for thought.

I am going to retake cholesterol panel after being off the extra olive oil and with just a 12 hour standard fast and see if it's any different. I so appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me!
Alexia C
Support Team
Support Team
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:20 pm

Re: Olive oil driving cholesterol up

Post by Alexia C »

gpaz wrote: Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:43 am Hello everyone!

I'm new to the boards but know a decent amount about APOE4, etc. I read Dale's book. I follow a healthy lifestyle, etc. I am APOE 3/4 and my dad is starting to show signs of dementia. His sister (my aunt) has dementia/AD and my grandmother (their mom) had it for 8 years in her 80's.

I recently started to make a "smoothie" with lemons, 1/2 grapefruit and 2 TB of organic olive oil. I wanted to give my liver and gallbladder a gentle flush in the morning. I sometimes threw in a egg yolk or two for protein.

I was having a little tightness in chest so thought I should get some blood work done. I'm 47 and have a normal BMI and 28.5 waist circumference.

Would you know that my cholesterol was through the roof! Eek!

Total cholesterol: 286
HDL: 108 (!) I'm normally in high 70's.
LDL: 170 (!!!!) I'm normally in low 100's
Triglycerides: 55 (that's typical)

So, my ratio is good but still overall not feeling great about it especially because my CRP was also at 3.8 and it has always, always been barely there and I was always in the lowest risk for CRP numbers.

Do you think this could be from olive oil?! I am so baffled. I read a book called Healthy Heart, Healthy Mind by Dr. Bradley Bale and he claims that APOE 3/4 and APOE 4/4 should follow a low fat diet of under 20% from fat. I normally would scoff at that advice but after seeing my numbers, I'm now not so sure. I don't eat a lot of saturated fat.

I am going to do some more blood work and I stopped eating the smoothie. I also made a cardiologist appointment to see if this is tied to my tightness in the chest.

Any way, curious if anyone else had this happen with GOOD fats.

I also had a fasting blood glucose of 77, my insulin was 2 and my H1AC was 5.

Thank you for any insights.
Hello Gpaz and Welcome!

I am so glad you posted in our forum and shared your findings with us. Many will benefit from your apoe4 knowledge. Tincup, one of our moderators, already had some insights to your questions. I am sure many other members are likely to share their experiences and have suggestions.

As a welcome intern, I would like to point out some links/resources that might be helpful as you explore the site further:
Fats, Omega 3 & 6, DHA and More
Cholesterol, Lipids and Treatments, including statins

Also, if you are interested in learning more about other members check out Our Stories. You might find other members with similar experiences.

Again, I am so glad you joined our forum and hope you find the support you need. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Warm regards,

Alexia C
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
gpaz
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:24 am

Re: Olive oil driving cholesterol up

Post by gpaz »

Thanks Alexia!
Alexia C
Support Team
Support Team
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:20 pm

Re: Olive oil driving cholesterol up

Post by Alexia C »

You're welcome.
Hope you find the links useful.
Have a great day.
Best,
Alexia C
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
Post Reply