Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer's, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases; biomarkers, lifestyle, supplements, drugs, and health care.
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SusanJ
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Re: Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

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MsCindy wrote:Thank you so much for writing it and sharing it!
Thanks for the kind words and you are very welcome. Glad it is a good resource for you.

If you find additional articles or online resources, feel free to edit the wiki, or you could message me with the details and I will update it. I do try to keep the wikis I write up-to-date as best I have time.
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Re: Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

Post by BenF »

Wow, what a fantastic wealth of links here! (This is another subject I’ve been researching) The CRP bit is totally new to me, as are a couple other points.

quote=TheresaB post_id=68314 time=1560903667 user_id=646]
Meatsavesbrains wrote:Look into carnivore/zero carb diets. It may possibly save your brain.
Meatsavesbrains has some valid points, nevertheless I HAVE looked into the carnivore/zero carb and don’t recommend it, ESPECIALLY for APOEε4s.

I know some very smart people who are strict carnivores, listened to presentations/podcasts, and have talked with folks at low carb conferences who have relayed amazing anecdotes of how it helped turn around their health situation.

I think the diet is great – for SOME people under CERTAIN circumstances. What I observed from the folks who told me stories of health turnarounds is that they likely were very damaged to begin with, leading to their health issues.

In listening to Amber O’Hearn’s (carnivore advocate) interview with Ivor Cummings, https://thefatemperor.com/the-science-b ... odcast-23/ I understand a carnivore diet is basically a cleansing diet. it eliminates all the food that the body has been reacting to in an autoimmune response. With the diet, inflammation goes down, leaky gut gets healed, and TA-DA, an amazing health turn-around occurs.

However, I am of the opinion that, if necessary, a carnivore diet should be temporary, not a life long diet, particularly for ApoE4s. Once a person has healed their leaky gut and reduced their inflammation, they should slowly reintroduce good, healthy, low glycemic, low-inflammatory carbohydrates, i.e certain vegetables. Especially so for APOEε4 carriers.

Considerations with a zero-carb/carnivore diet:

1. APOEε4s are ancestral genes, we should eat in a way that makes our genes comfortable. Our ancestors were the original humans who had evolved from the apes living in trees and eating a mostly vegan – tree leaves diet with occasional grubs and insects added in for animal protein. We were hunter-gathers, we wandered the savannah, ate whatever was available, when it was available, sometime hunted (meat) sometimes gathered (plants). Our DNA still thinks we are in the savannah. There’s a theory that thinks APOEε3 came about as an adaptation when more meat was introduced to the human diet. Regardless, there is no evolutionary support for an all-meat diet just as there is no evolutionary support for a completely vegan diet. There are things called “Blue Zones” populations which tend to live longer and healthier. These zones are in various climates and eat various diets, but what these diets DO have in common is low meat consumption.

2. It’s not so much about APOEε4s reducing cholesterol, but rather saturated fats, of which meat can be a significant source. Oxidized LDL is indeed it is the “sticky” cholesterol that’s very damaging. Sugars increase oxLDL but so can saturated fats. This is particularly an issue for Apo4s. Referencing Dr Rhonda Patrick’s discussion on saturated fat https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/saturated-fat
APOE4 is associated with LDL cholesterol not being recycled by the liver very well, as a consequence higher concentrations of LDL particles are in the circulatory system for a longer period of time, which then have a higher chance of undergoing inflammatory transformation thus forming small dense LDL particles and/or oxidized LDL. It’s probably wise for people with APOEε4 to moderate their saturated fat intake.
3. Saturated fat may also increase CRP (inflammation) in ε4s. From APOE genotype influences triglyceride and C-reactive protein responses to altered dietary fat intake in UK adults
We provide novel evidence of a divergent CRP response to SFA according to APOE genotype, with a significant increase in CRP concentrations after increased SFA intakes evident only in APOE4 carriers.
4. APOEε4s have a greater tendency to become glycated than the other forms of APOE. When meat is cooked at high temperatures, as in grilling, frying or toasting, they tend to be very high in these Advanced Glycation end-products (AGEs). When the body can’t keep up AGEs in the body, they will accumulate. High levels of AGEs have been linked with the development of many different diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, Alzheimer's and even premature aging. From this, Advanced glycation end-products: a review
It has been proposed that the accumulation of food derived AGE in uraemia can act as glycotoxins resulting in cytokine generation (an autoimmune response) and histological changes showing glomerular damage [52].
5. Another problem is triglycerides. Triglycerides should be kept low. Where do triglycerides come from? Sugar, simple starches, fruit/fructose, grains, and too much protein. Excess protein gets converted to sugar/glucose in the body (gluconeogenesis), which raises insulin (not a good thing - leads to insulin resistance), and that excess protein gets converted into fat and triglycerides.

6. There is no fiber in meat, dairy, or sugar. Dr Bredesen, renowned neurodegeneration researcher and author of The End of Alzheimer’s has expressed concern for the lack of fiber in today’s diet. He’s said that people used to have 100 grams of fiber in their diet, today, that number is closer to 5, it would be zero on a carnivore diet. Fiber feeds the good gut bugs and helps eliminate toxins from the body.

7. And while we’re on the subject of Dr Bredesen, he advocates a plant rich ketogenic diet. He says there are several reasons for this. He’s found phytonutrients (foods from plants) offer good anti-Alzheimer’s nutrients, they offer various anthocyanins and polyphenols that are quite helpful.

8. NeuG5, found in red meat, is thought to be inflammatory. From https://perfecthealthdiet.com/2015/01/n ... ease-part/
Neu5Gc from mammalian meats, such as beef and pork, is incorporated into the cell surface coats and walls of gut microbes and some human cells, mainly in the gut and in tumors. Neu5gc in bacterial walls is immunogenic and 85% of people have detectable antibodies to Neu5Gc. Eating beef and pork supplies antigens for these antibodies, potentially triggering inflammation. There are concerns that this inflammation may have negative health effects
.

9. Animal protein, along with sugar, elevates Insulin Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1). Measuring IGF-1 tells us the extent to which the mTOR pathway is being activated. The mTOR pathway in the body senses energy availability in the body and when it senses plentiful energy, it assumes the body is in a growth cycle and activates IGF-1. When IGF-1 is constantly elevated, this leads to disease. IGF-1 tells cells to grow, all of them, heathy cells and cancer cells. When constantly in a growth pattern, the body doesn’t have a chance to dispose of/recycle old or dysfunctional cells through autophagy. Human and animal studies show lower levels of IGF-1 is correlated with a longer life. Animal protein in particular contain certain amino acids that are most necessary for growth: methionine, cysteine, and isoleucine.

10. Meat, particularly red meat is a good source of iron, but that’s not a good thing. This study Frequent blood donors live longer found that reducing the amount of iron in the body led to longer lives because Iron interferes with mitochondrial function. From this 2018 study, Scientists find excess mitochondrial iron, Huntington's disease link
The research identifying a pathway for the neurodegenerative disease also has relevance to understanding related disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease, says Jonathan Fox, a professor in UW's Department of Veterinary Sciences.
There’s also this study Getting the iron out: Phlebotomy for Alzheimer’s disease?
Body iron stores that increase with age could be pivotal to AD pathogenesis and progression.
11. Lastly, meat today is not the meat our ancestors ate. Our ancestors hunted the animal roaming freely and grazing on the land. A successful hunt wasn’t an everyday event, so they ate all the animal, including the organ meat. Today we eat little to no organ meat. Most meat is sourced from CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operation), they’re fed in a manner that fattens them up rapidly: grains, corn, and soy (inflammatory), with added hormones and antibiotics. We then eat what they ate, and what they ate affects us. In his book, The Plant Paradox, Dr Steven Gundry writes that chickens (insectivores) are typically given feed of soybeans and corn, both of which contain estrogenlike substances, he says, “Ultimately, that “healthy” chicken breast boasts the equivalent of one birth control pill’s worth of estrogenic substances.” Yikes! Finding good, healthy meat is difficult, you have to understand what the label says, better yet, go local and get to know the farm and their practices. Unfortunately, hunting may not be a good option. Chronic wasting disease is a prion disease (neurodegenerative disorders) and it is being been found in deer, elk, moose and others. There is concern there may be risk to humans. https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/index.html

EDIT ADDITIONs AFTER ORIGINAL POST

12. TMAO in red meat. According to this May 2019 paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a peer-reviewed medical journal TMAO and Heart Disease: The New Red Meat Risk?
Now, researchers are homing in on another possible culprit: a dietary metabolite linked to red meat called trimethylamine N-oxide, or TMAO. Three recent meta-analyses confirmed that high blood levels of TMAO are associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. One of the studies, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in 2017, found a more than 60% heightened risk of both major adverse cardiovascular events and death from all causes in people with elevated TMAO. Other research has associated higher TMAO levels with heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
Multiple studies involving animals and humans—many conducted at the Cleveland Clinic—now suggest that TMAO is atherogenic, prothrombotic, and inflammatory, making it a “triple threat to the cardiovascular system,” said Kim Williams, MD, chief of cardiology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
13. Lipopolysaccharides (aka LPS, aka Little Pieces of Sh_t) are an endotoxin. LPS “hitch rides” on saturated fats (found in many sources, but particularly animal products) and travel in the body inciting inflammation. High–Saturated Fat Diet Increases Endotoxemia, June 2018,
These results suggest that the consumption of the HSFA [High Saturated Fatty Acid] diet increases the intestinal absorption of LPS, which increases postprandial endotoxemia levels and the postprandial inflammatory response.
and Saturated Fat Ingestion Promotes Lipopolysaccharide-Mediated Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, March 2019 and Abstract 18977: High Fat Diet Enriched With Saturated Fat Increases Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Atherosclerosis in Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Deficient Mice, Nov 2016
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Re: Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

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BenF wrote: Sat May 20, 2023 7:53 am
Meatsavesbrains has some valid points, nevertheless I HAVE looked into the carnivore/zero carb and don’t recommend it, ESPECIALLY for APOEε4s.
Hi BenF, thanks for taking the time to assemble various concerns about and supporting arguments regarding a zero carb diet. It is an interesting post. Thanks for providing the links too. I often come to check out this thread because it is so distinct from any of the ways I have eaten in my life. For a long time I ate a whole food, very high carb, almost vegetarian diet. For the past several years, I’ve been following more of a Keto-Flex plan, mainly plant-based, with low carbs and high fats.
It is fascinating to read the stories about individuals who are experiencing great health benefits as carnivores.
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Re: Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

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I know some very smart people who are strict carnivores, listened to presentations/podcasts, and have talked with folks at low carb conferences who have relayed amazing anecdotes of how it helped turn around their health situation.

I think the diet is great – for SOME people under CERTAIN circumstances. What I observed from the folks who told me stories of health turnarounds is that they likely were very damaged to begin with, leading to their health issues.

In listening to Amber O’Hearn’s (carnivore advocate) interview with Ivor Cummings, https://thefatemperor.com/the-science-b ... odcast-23/ I understand a carnivore diet is basically a cleansing diet. it eliminates all the food that the body has been reacting to in an autoimmune response. With the diet, inflammation goes down, leaky gut gets healed, and TA-DA, an amazing health turn-around occurs.

However, I am of the opinion that, if necessary, a carnivore diet should be temporary, not a life long diet, particularly for ApoE4s. Once a person has healed their leaky gut and reduced their inflammation, they should slowly reintroduce good, healthy, low glycemic, low-inflammatory carbohydrates, i.e certain vegetables. Especially so for APOEε4 carriers.
Thank you for this beautifully written post, BenF. I agree with your position wholeheartedly. I also know some who've been helped with this approach. However, I agree that it should be utilized on a short term basis while working to heal underlying gut issues that are at the heart of so many chronic conditions, ultimately creating the health to tolerate a wider variety of phytonutrients. I strongly believe in the concept of food as medicine. Since we are working to prevent/heal a fatal progressive disease, why not use all of the available foods (polyphenols, flavanols, anthocyans, etc.) that have shown healing benefit?

Below see a few other points to consider with a carnivore diet.

It is pro-aging and we all know that aging is the greatest risk factor for AD: https://novoslabs.com/why-high-animal-p ... ate-aging/

Like veganism, it can lead to specific nutrient deficiencies that can put one at risk for AD: https://chriskresser.com/the-carnivore- ... y-healthy/
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Re: Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

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TheresaB wrote: Tue Jun 18, 2019 6:21 pm 1. APOEε4s are ancestral genes, we should eat in a way that makes our genes comfortable. Our ancestors were the original humans who had evolved from the apes living in trees and eating a mostly vegan – tree leaves diet with occasional grubs and insects added in for animal protein. We were hunter-gathers, we wandered the savannah, ate whatever was available, when it was available, sometime hunted (meat) sometimes gathered (plants). Our DNA still thinks we are in the savannah. There’s a theory that thinks APOEε3 came about as an adaptation when more meat was introduced to the human diet. Regardless, there is no evolutionary support for an all-meat diet just as there is no evolutionary support for a completely vegan diet. There are things called “Blue Zones” populations which tend to live longer and healthier. These zones are in various climates and eat various diets, but what these diets DO have in common is low meat consumption.
Theresa, the theory that "ApoE3 came about as an adaption when meat was introduced to the human diet" does not match up with current science relating to early man and meat:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/food ... n-of-diet/
Eating meat is thought by some scientists to have been crucial to the evolution of our ancestors’ larger brains about two million years ago. By starting to eat calorie-dense meat and marrow instead of the low-quality plant diet of apes, our direct ancestor, Homo erectus, took in enough extra energy at each meal to help fuel a bigger brain. Digesting a higher quality diet and less bulky plant fiber would have allowed these humans to have much smaller guts. The energy freed up as a result of smaller guts could be used by the greedy brain, according to Leslie Aiello, who first proposed the idea with paleoanthropologist Peter Wheeler. The brain requires 20 percent of a human’s energy when resting; by comparison, an ape’s brain requires only 8 percent. This means that from the time of H. erectus, the human body has depended on a diet of energy-dense food—especially meat.

Fast-forward a couple of million years to when the human diet took another major turn with the invention of agriculture. The domestication of grains such as sorghum, barley, wheat, corn, and rice created a plentiful and predictable food supply, allowing farmers’ wives to bear babies in rapid succession—one every 2.5 years instead of one every 3.5 years for hunter-gatherers. A population explosion followed; before long, farmers outnumbered foragers.
Man has been eating meat for over a million years. What has changed in the more recent evolutionary past is the introduction of farming and the constant Carbs that come with that lifestyle. ApoE3 is the Carb variant, not the meat variant.

I have to eat mostly carnivore because of my diabetes and brainstem stroke. It is not a short-term diet for me.
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Re: Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

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mike wrote: Mon May 22, 2023 11:14 am Theresa, the theory that "ApoE3 came about as an adaption when meat was introduced to the human diet" does not match up with current science relating to early man and meat:
I did say it’s a theory, there’s a paper, I don’t have time to dig it up right now.

I agree meat probably aided in the development of the human brain, along with other factors such as bone marrow consumption from scavenging, fire, ketosis, tool making, language, even just standing upright, etc. Yes, man has been eating meat for a million years, I’ve never argued with that. And yes, I agree agriculture with the domestication of certain foods and animals has not been advantageous to humans. After the introduction of agriculture is where there’s evidence of arthritis, brain shrinkage, and other health issues.

Where the huge leap I see comes from those who insist early man ate mostly-to-entirely meat therefore it is an ancestral way of eating and good for ApoE4s since everyone was a 4/4 for 96% of human history, that’s the chasm I see.

Yuval Noah Harari PhD, has constructed a timeline of great complexity detailing human evolutionary events and is the author of the many footnoted book, “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”.

Yes humans ate meat a million years ago, but from his book:
For nearly the entire history of our species, Sapiens lived as foragers.
Thus humans who lived a million years ago, despite their big brains and sharp stone tools, dwelt in constant fear of predators, rarely hunted large game, and subsisted mainly by gathering plants, scooping up insects, stalking small animals, and eating the carrion left behind by other more powerful carnivores.
For millions of years, humans hunted smaller creatures and gathered what they could, all the while being hunted by larger predators. It was only 400,000 years ago that several species of man began to hunt large game on a regular basis, and only in the last 100,000 years – with the rise of Homo sapiens – that man jumped to the top of the food chain.
our DNA still thinks we are in the savannah.
The foragers’ secret of success, which protected them from starvation and malnutrition, was their varied diet. .... ancient foragers regularly ate dozens of different foodstuffs.
it goes on.
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Re: Zero carb diet will help prevent Alzheimer’s

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TheresaB wrote: Mon May 22, 2023 12:34 pm Where the huge leap I see comes from those who insist early man ate mostly-to-entirely meat therefore it is an ancestral way of eating and good for ApoE4s since everyone was a 4/4 for 96% of human history, that’s the chasm I see.

Yuval Noah Harari PhD, has constructed a timeline of great complexity detailing human evolutionary events and is the author of the many footnoted book, “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”.
Published in 2011. Twelve years is a long time in this field. This one from 6 months ago explains that for a long period, we did eat mostly meat...

https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-hu ... tudy-finds
A look through hundreds of previous studies – on everything from modern human anatomy and physiology to measures of the isotopes inside ancient human bones and teeth – suggests we were primarily apex predators until roughly 12,000 years ago.
[C]ompared with other primates, our bodies need more energy per unit of body mass. Especially when it comes to our energy-hungry brains. Our social time, such as when it comes to raising children, also limits the amount of time we can spend looking for food.
We have higher fat reserves, and can make use of them by rapidly turning fats into ketones when the need arises. Unlike other omnivores, where fat cells are few but large, ours are small and numerous, echoing those of a predator.
Our digestive systems are also suspiciously like that of animals higher up the food chain. Having unusually strong stomach acid is just the thing we might need for breaking down proteins and killing harmful bacteria you’d expect to find on a week-old mammoth chop.
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