Cyd Notter

Author and Nutrition Educator, Founder of The "Plan A" Diet™

Diet and the Alzheimer Gene

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(Originally Published 2016; Updated 6-15-22.)

Dear Coach:  One of my parents died with Alzheimer’s disease.  I plan to get tested to see if I have the gene but wanted to know if you could recommend any foods to help prevent Alzheimer’s.   Anonymous

Dear Anon:  My sincere condolences to you on your loss.  It’s a real struggle when a loved one develops Alzheimer’s; I applaud you for being concerned about your own cognitive function. I know that you’re not alone in your concerns; the class that I offer on this topic fills up each time it’s offered.

health risk There is good news – you are not a helpless victim without options. There is MUCH you can do to lower your risk. But first let’s take a look at the Alzheimer’s gene.  Back in the 1990’s, the ApoE4 gene was discovered to be a major player in the susceptibility of Alzheimer’s.

The ApoE4 gene is the principal carrier of cholesterol in the brain. If someone inherits the gene from either parent, their risk of getting the disease triples (this affects about 15% of the U.S. population). If someone inherits the gene from both parents, their risk increases nine-fold (this affects about 1 in 50 people).

Research reveals DIET trumps genes

To date, the people in Nigeria have the highest frequency of the ApoE4 gene in the world. Yet they have some of the LOWEST rates of Alzheimer’s. This paradox is explained by the grain and vegetable diet of the Nigerians, which results in low cholesterol levels that have appeared to trump their genes.

Cholesterol encourages the production of beta-amyloid (plaques that lie between brain cells). People whoplaque buildup have the ApoE4 gene absorb cholesterol more easily from their digestive tracts compared with people who don’t have the gene. They tend to have higher cholesterol levels and higher risk of both heart disease and stroke.

In a 20-year study of 1,000 people, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine Journal that having the ApoE4 gene doubled the odds of Alzheimer’s, but high cholesterol nearly tripled the threat.

So if the greatest threat of Alzheimer’s are treatable factors – such as high cholesterol and blood pressure – then controlling these lifestyle factors could reduce a person’s risk, even if they have the DOUBLE ApoE4 gene (the odds decrease from 9x down to 2x). This is great news for anyone concerned not only about their brain health, but heart disease and stroke as well.

Cholesterol in Mid-life

Another study of 9844 people Kaiser Permanent subscribers in California showed that a high cholesterol level in midlife (early 40’s) predicted their Alzheimer risk twenty to thirty years later. If your cholesterol is around 220, your Alzheimer risk is about 25% higher. And if your cholesterol is in the 250 range or higher, your likelihood of developing the disease would be about 50% higher.

Diet Trumps All

IMG_1648What’s the best way to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure? Diet trumps all. Cholesterol is only found in animal foods - meat, fish, dairy, eggs - and so lowering or eliminating the intake of meat and dairy is crucial. Don't be fooled by believing that chicken and fish are healthier - they contain as much cholesterol as beef.

Enjoy a diet which focuses on beans, potatoes, rice, corn, pasta, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. It’s not rabbit food – but delicious entrees of lasagna, burritos, stews, tamale casseroles, burgers, stir frys, cheesy soups, sloppy joes and much more. A plant-centered diet is not a diet of restriction – but a gift!  I continually urge people to lower cholesterol through food, not statins (which have terrible side effects and only lower risk of cardiovascular events by 1.6%).

Should you get tested for the gene? Doctors can check which ApoE genes you are carrying with a simple blood test, and some people are eager to find out as much as possible about themselves. A negative reading could put their minds at rest.

On the other hand, there’s nothing you can do to change your genes, but you can do much to reduce the risk of their expression. If you discover you have the gene, how will that affect you mentally? Only you can determine if testing is right for you. Not having the gene does not guarantee freedom from Alzheimer’s; just as having the gene does not guarantee you’ll develop the disease. The Nigerians are a good example.  Remember that genetics load the gun, but lifestyle typically pulls the trigger.

Aluminum Makes a Difference

Click here to read why you should stop/limit ingesting aluminum (or using toiletries which contain it).

Books I Recommend

Click here to see which books I recommend on this topic.

Your best defense against dementia is a low-fat, whole food, plant-based diet. The most anti-inflammatory and health promoting way of eating available. So powerful it can even reverse advanced stages of heart disease!

To learn more about which foods to eat, check out this free webinar and then schedule a call if you'd like to chat about how you can get started.

If you’d like to be notified of our classes or if you have a question, please contact me through www.cydnotter.com.  (Sources: Dr. N. Barnard Power Foods for the Brain; Dr. M. Greger, NutritionFacts.org: The Alzheimer Gene: Controlling ApoeE).

Coconut Oil – Miracle Food or Marketing Hype?

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       Coconut Oil – (Source: Dr. Pam Popper, The Wellness Forum)

By January 2006, food companies were required to clearly state on their labels the amount of trans fat in packaged foods. Knowing that consumers would begin avoiding the consumption of foods containing trans-fat, many of them have replaced trans-fat with palm oil, coconut oil and other tropical oils. This does not represent an improvement in these packaged foods and they should still be avoided.

Tropical oils are saturated fats… the type that raises cholesterol levels, clogs arteries and increases the risk of many degenerative diseases, including heart disease.  Coconut oil is 100% pure fat, 92% of which is saturated (which means that it is more saturated than butter or lard).  Coconut oil will elevate cholesterol levels more than any other fat because it is so saturated.

Coconut oil has been recommended by many in the health industry as being healthy, but this recommendation is based on faulty science. Proponents state that coconut oil is made up of medium chain fatty acids, which are metabolized differently than long-chain fatty acids. Like much faulty health advice, there is some truth to the statement ; but only a small portion of coconut oil is made from medium chain fatty acids, while the majority of the fatty acids in coconut oil are long-chain fatty acids, such as lauric, myristic and palmitic acids. These long-chain fatty acids have a deleterious effect on health.

Advocates continue to refer to Polynesians who consume a diet containing lots of tropical oils, since they have lower rates of heart disease than Americans. As is often the case, this information is also taken out of context. When evaluating the dietary and lifestyle patterns of populations and their effects on health outcomes, it is important to evaluate the totality of the diet and lifestyle, rather than one component, to get an accurate picture of cause and effect. Polynesians do have lower rates of LDL cholesterol levels than Americans. However, they consume a diet very high in fiber, they consume more Omega-3 fats than the average American, and their diet contains very little sodium. Additionally, almost none of them smoke and they are generally quite physically active. It’s likely that the combination of these factors is responsible for their health outcomes, not simply the consumption of coconut oil.

Like so much of the health information distributed today, health benefits from coconut oil are a myth. Oils are not health foods, since they are concentrated fat and calories, and coconut oil is one of the worst.  In my opinion, it is dangerous for an individual already consuming a less than optimal diet with too much fat to add coconut oil to the diet.

Aren’t Starches Fattening?

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Dear Nutrition Coach, I have heard you speak on the benefits of eating a starch-centered diet, but I always thought that starches make us fat! How can I lose weight or regain my health if I’m eating starches? - Tina

Dear Tina, Thank you for your question about starches! Starchy foods include grains such as barley, corn, millet, oats, rice and wheat; legumes such as beans, peas and lentils; and starchy vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, yams, parsnips, and winter squashes.  The addition of green, yellow and orange non-starchy vegetables, as well as the addition of fruit, is also recommended. All of these foods are complex carbohydrates.....and our bodies require complex carbohydrate to run!   Carbohydrates are our main source of energy, and our brains are also dependent on getting enough complex carbs.

It’s a common misconception that the sugars in starches are readily converted into fat, which is then stored in our abdomen, hips and buttocks. But if you read the published research, you will see that there is no disagreement about this whatsoever among scientists…. they all say that this belief is incorrect.

After eating, we break down the complex carbohydrates of starchy foods into simple sugars. These sugars are absorbed into the blood stream where they are transported to trillions of cells throughout the body for energy. If you eat more carbohydrate than your body needs, you’ll store up to 2 pounds of it invisibly in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen. Any additional carbohydrate consumed after that will be burned off as body heat, and also through physical movement such as walking, yard work, and fidgeting.

 

Satisfying the appetite begins with filling the stomach with starches, which are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Compared to cheese (4 calories per gram), meat (4 calories per gram), and oils (9 calories per gram), starches contribute only about 1 calorie per gram. (Of course, this does not apply if you top your starches with butters, margarines, sour creams, oils, cheeses, or other added fats). Starches are comfort foods and offer a great deal of satisfaction; the fiber will fill you up and you’ll stay full for a long time (whereas when you fill up on fats and oils, you still want to eat more).

Turning sugars into fat is a process called ‘de novo lipogenesis’. Pigs and cows use this process to convert carbohydrates from grains and grasses into calorie-dense fats. We humans on the other hand, are very inefficient at converting carbohydrate to fat; we don’t do it under normal circumstances. As I have often stated, carbs don’t make you fat – fat makes you fat. A passenger on a cruise ship gains an average of 8 pounds on a 7-day voyage – caused by dining on buffets of meats, cheese, oil-soaked vegetables and high-fat desserts. As my mentor Dr. McDougall is often fond of saying:  The fat you eat is the fat you wear. In fact, the body is such an efficient fat storing machine that biopsies of the hip, abdomen or butt can reveal exactly what form of fat you have ingested (chicken, oils, fish, etc.).

So go ahead, enjoy your mashed potatoes (topped with salsa or lentil soup), your butternut squash chili, your corn on the cob, your oatmeal filled with blueberries, your oil-free sweet potato fries, your whole wheat pasta and your bean and rice burritos! (Sources: The Starch Solution, Dr. John McDougall)

Polenta Fries

(These are surprisingly good! Instead of making polenta from scratch, I took a shortcut and purchased plain, pre-made polenta in a tube. This recipe calls for Nutritional yeast, which has a cheesy, nutty flavor; it is not the same as brewer’s yeast)

1 tube plain polenta
Juice of 1 lime
nutritional yeast
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silpat (a reusable silicone liner you can find at Bed, Bath and Beyond). Cut the polenta into strips the size of French fries (my personal preference is thinner). Sprinkle lightly with fresh lime juice, and then cover generously with nutritional yeast – this will coat the fries and add some crunch. Bake until the edges are golden, about 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite condiment.

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