Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Alzheimer's, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases; biomarkers, lifestyle, supplements, drugs, and health care.
User avatar
LillyBritches
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 588
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:35 pm

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by LillyBritches »

Oh, and I meant to tell y'all something about exercise and female e4s. It's probably gonna be a stretch, but bear with me:

When I was in my mid-20s (I want to say 25?) and living in NYC, I started having horrible PMS and extremely painful secondary dysmenorrhea. Guess it was karmic payback for my poo-pooing all my high school girlfriends who complained about cramps in their teens...I never experienced them...until I hit my mid-20s.

Okay, so in addition to the painful cramps, I would blow up like the Michelin/Stay Puft Marshmallow man. It wasn't unusual at all for me to gain 8-15 lbs. in water weight one-two weeks before my menses. And I was thin-normal in my 20s and fairly fit. This was the dawn of Jane Fonda's aerobic tapes and I was a practitioner of same. Not consistently, but I would do them.

This was also at the start of the whole PMS thing, so I started reading all the books I could find (even then, I was a PITA with the medical learning). There was one gyny who was the tippy-top PMS expert - he wrote one of the landmark books on PMS - damned if I can recall his name. AND his practice just happened to be in NYC. Yay!

So I made an appointment. Got some labs drawn. Did a followup. At the followup, he spent a lot of time with me and asked if I exercised. I said yeah, sporadically, but I do. I'll never forget this - and this was before ApoE hubbub was somewhat mainstream - he very seriously told me: "Lillianne, you must, must, must exercise aerobically most of the time all of your life and never ease up. Your specific biology needs it just to be normal. I cannot emphasize this enough. You need it just to be normal."

So. Did I fit a profile? Was my whacked-out PMS body a female 4/4 body even then? Dunno. But it's kinda eerie to me...

:)
I'm just a oily slick in a windup world with a nervous tick.
James
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 9:48 am

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by James »

pal wrote:Wow, interesting article. Thanks Dr. Cain; it doesn't hurt to practice your new name since it's only a few weeks away -- congrats. :D
Thanks!
If you have access to the original study (Etnier), I would be super interested in seeing it as I've been looking for the full text for a while; I previously checked all the co-authors' websites to no avail.
Etnier et al. - 2007 - Cognitive performance in older women relative to ApoE-epsilon4 genotype and aerobic fitness
Dropbox link.
LillyBritches wrote:Wait. We have a doctor in this house (okay, a three-week-to-be-MD)???

My spidey senses are getting all tingly...from excitement! :lol:
Not MD, but PhD (in nutrition). I also have an MS in exercise physiology for what that's worth. I mentioned my dissertation to clarify PhD, and I generally dislike the public use of "doctor" with a PhD in health-related fields since it is often misleading. Still, pretty much every health writer/blogger with a PhD or some other non-MD doctorate tries to gain some extra credibility through this confusion.
pal
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 10:30 am

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by pal »

Excellent, thanks so much for the Etnier study!

Same theme of increased fitness begets increased cognition:
"Because higher levels of aerobic fitness were demonstrated to be positively associated with the cognitive performance of older adults at the highest genetic risk for AD, these individuals might experience some degree of protection of their cognitive abilities as a function of maintaining (or attaining) higher levels of aerobic fitness."

You worked very hard for your PhD so I think you should enjoy your new title, Dr. Cain. Plus it has a nice ring to it. :D
RBK
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 153
Joined: Wed Feb 26, 2014 9:38 pm

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by RBK »

James, thanks for the full texts. Appreciate it.

Lilly, that is definitely eerie. Funny, but when I'm consistently( and at a more intense level) exercising, I basically have no PMS symptoms. If I'm slacking, I'm a moody winch, gain 5-ish lbs and am achy with some cramps. I'm 3/4, so maybe those effects are my e-4 playing a role. Interesting. They are absolutely completely gone when I am on a roll working out, and that's always been the case.
shellymalek
New User
New User
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2022 4:27 am

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by shellymalek »

Thank you everyone for all the great info. My mother and grandmother passed of Alzheimer’s and since learning my numbers I’ve been discouraged. Now I feel like there’s hope. Ive done weight training but will definitely add aerobic activity to my schedule.
Alexia C
Support Team
Support Team
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:20 pm

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by Alexia C »

shellymalek wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 5:39 pm Thank you everyone for all the great info. My mother and grandmother passed of Alzheimer’s and since learning my numbers I’ve been discouraged. Now I feel like there’s hope. Ive done weight training but will definitely add aerobic activity to my schedule.
Hi Shellymalek,

I am so sorry you have gone through the difficult times of seeing loved ones struggle with AD. I had the same experience with my grandmother, so I know how challenging and discouraging it can feel.
I am so glad you are finding the information posted by our members useful and that you are feeling encouraged to add more activity to your lifestyle. Your commitment to weight training, I am sure, is bringing much benefit to your health and with the addition of aerobics, you will be in great shape! Your curiosity and determination to learn more can only bring forth good results to your wellbeing. We know that exercise is always good for the brain and for the body.

Here is a link for more information regarding exercise that you might find useful- Exercise-Types,Lengths and Benefits

If you would like to tell us more about yourself or are interested in learning more about other members check out Our Stories.

I looks like you are exploring this site thoroughly and learning all you can to keep yourself healthy. I hope this has been helpful and feel free to use this forum to search out other resources, specially when you are feeling discouraged.

There is always someone here to support you or guide you in the right direction.

Warm regards,
Alexia C
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
Chrisweides
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:32 am

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by Chrisweides »

I am a bit surprised the studies claim that exercise doesn’t benefit heterozygotic E4s or E3s. I gathered it benefits everyone and helps prevent cognitive decline
51 years old. APO E3/4. Mother, grandmother and great grandmother had/are starting with dementia. Afflicted with anxiety disorder atm. Very eager to save brain and live a long healthy life. Grateful to you all for your knowledge and kindness!
NF52
Support Team
Support Team
Posts: 2772
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2016 9:41 am
Location: Eastern U.S.

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by NF52 »

Chrisweides wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 6:03 pm I am a bit surprised the studies claim that exercise doesn’t benefit heterozygotic E4s or E3s. I gathered it benefits everyone and helps prevent cognitive decline
Hi Chris,
Exercise does benefit everyone! It might just provide more of a benefit to people with two copies of ApoE 4/4, because they are starting out with a higher risK of Alzheimer's. So if my risk drops 20% for example, with exercise, then the my risk based on my age group might drop from roughly 50% to 35% (30% less than 50). Someone with ApoE 3/4 may have a baseline risk of 20%, so a 30% drop for them would be a risk of 14%. Someone with ApoE 3/3 is supposedly at a 5-10% risk of Alzheimer's, so a 30%. drop for them would be a risk of 3.5-7%.
Both groups are still at a lower risk than me, but the absolute benefit to me is a 15 point drop, and for them is a 6 pt drop for ApoE 3/4 and a 1.5-3 point drop of ApoE 3/3.
This is my interpretation of the data; I've seen recent studies that say that having about a 2.6 mile per hour pace is enough to get benefit, and activity that's just "not sitting" is also beneficial, even if it's not a walk.
So I guess we were made to keep moving!

Nancy
4/4 and still an optimist!
Chrisweides
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:32 am

Re: Exercise EVEN BETTER for 4/4s

Post by Chrisweides »

Thank you Nancy. That is consistent with what I thought I read.
51 years old. APO E3/4. Mother, grandmother and great grandmother had/are starting with dementia. Afflicted with anxiety disorder atm. Very eager to save brain and live a long healthy life. Grateful to you all for your knowledge and kindness!
Post Reply