Keto & ApoE4

Hey All!

  

If you’ve been around the low carb and keto communities for a while, you might’ve run across the term “ApoE4.” ApoE4 is a gene that increases risk for cardiovascular disease and even more so for Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, if you’re homozygous for ApoE4 (meaning that you have 2 copies of the gene), you have between a 50-90% chance of developing Alzheimer’s. YIKES! That is not something to take lightly, so what’s the deal here? What is ApoE4 and why does it make people so much more susceptible to this frightening form of cognitive decline & impairment? And what are the implications for people following low-carb, high-fat diets? ApoE4 carriers are often cautioned to go lower in dietary saturated fat, but why? Is this truly warranted? Do you have to give up your beloved butter & cheese if you're E4?  

If you’ve heard of the ApoE4 gene and you’re curious about what it is and what it means, or if you know you carry one or two copies of ApoE4, you’ll want to check out my latest video. I cover the basics on what the gene is (it codes for the epsilon-4 [ε4] variant of the apoE protein, short for apolipoprotein E), why this matters, and what to do about it to potentially reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s and the other issues E4s are at greater risk for.

Most of what I know about ApoE4 is in relation to Alzheimer’s, owing to research I did for my book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote, which is about using a ketogenic or LCHF diet as a nutritional intervention for Alzheimer’s and other forms of cognitive impairment. (Didja know they regularly call Alzheimer's "type 3 diabetes" or "brain insulin resistance?" Now you know why it might be wise to adopt such a dietary approach to support healthy cognitive function.) But I would say that even if you don’t have any ApoE4 genes (the other forms are ApoE2 and ApoE3), or you’re not concerned about Alzheimer’s disease, I encourage you to watch the video anyway, because you might learn something that helps someone you know, and there’s a lot of information in the video that applies to everyone, regardless of your genetics.  

For those of you who prefer to read rather than watch videos, stay tuned. I’ll have a blog post on this in a few weeks. It won’t be a transcript of the video, but it’ll include all the same pertinent information and links to relevant research. But in the meantime, if you can’t wait to learn more and you’d really like to get some clarity on the whole ApoE4 “thing,” hop on over to my YouTube channel and watch the video.

For other videos and podcasts I’ve done on Alzheimer’s, covering issues far beyond ApoE4, you might enjoy these: 

• Video: Alzheimer’s talk at Low Carb Houston (October 2018)
• Video: Alzheimer’s talk at KetoCon (June 2018)
• Podcast: Interview on Ketovangelist (one of my best & most informative ever!)

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

A Couple More Videos and an Update

Whaddup, y’all?

I am going to get back to writing “real” blog posts soon, I promise!

Just been a bit swamped with travel to speak at a couple of nutrition and health events, plus a move!

First, I spoke at the Weston A. Price Foundation’s annual Wise Traditions Conference. My Alzheimer’s talk was such a hit last year that the president of the foundation asked me to give the same talk again this year. Nice!

I also gave two talks at a keto event in Kingston, Ontario. If you’re in Canada and you’d like to find out when more such events will be taking place in your beautiful country, check out https://keto-retreat.ca/  (They also have a Facebook page where you can get updates.) Videos of both talks will be available soon, and I’ll let you know when they are. One of them was on the concept of the personal fat threshold, and the other was a talk unlike any I’d ever given before. In fact, I think it was unlike any talk anyone has ever given in the keto community. I opened a conversation that is long overdue and brought up some issues I’d love to see us all talking more about. I’ll leave it at that until the video is available to the public and will explain more when the link is live and I can share it. I’m excited to see what you’ll think of it. Like I said, a talk unlike any I’m aware of in 15 years of following a low carb diet.

About the move…

I moved three and a half hours south, from Fredericksburg, VA, to Durham, NC. I’ve been crashing at a friend’s place while I buy furniture and get things settled, because in all the previous places I’d lived in the DC metro area since 2009, I always rented furnished places, so until recently, I owned zero furniture. (Unless a Squatty Potty counts!) Owing to this furniture deficiency and the travel, I’ve been living out of a duffel bag for almost a month. Eek! Even though I was living in Virginia for the past 9 years, now that I’m in North Carolina, I’m definitely in The South™. I’m already a natural at saying “Bless their hearts,” and I look forward to making homemade pimento cheese, because man, that stuff is gooood. (It’s basically keto as is, except if you read labels, many of the prepared ones you can buy at the supermarket have added sugar. It would be delicious without any sweetening at all, but for those who like a hint of sweetness to it, a pinch of Splenda, Swerve, or your low-carb sweetener of choice would mix in just fine. What? Artificial sweeteners? Yes. Yes, I use them. I’ve been using them for 18 years and I’m not dead yet. But maybe tomorrow.)

To pass the time until I post something more substantial, I wanted to share two more videos with you. One was an interview with me about Alzheimer’s recorded at Low Carb Houston. Many of you reading out there have probably already watched some of my other Alz videos (and maybe you’ve even checked out my book). If you’re new to the concept of Alzheimer’s as “type 3 diabetes” or “brain insulin resistance,” this new one is highly recommended. And it’s recommended even if you have already seen some of the other videos. This one is only 25 minutes long, and thanks to the good questions the interviewer asked, we covered a lot of educational information in that time. Here’s the link.

Toward the very end, I buck the keto police and explain that not everyone needs to be on a medically therapeutic ketogenic diet. We can’t deny the millions (billions?) of healthy people around the world who age gracefully and with their cognitive faculties intact who do not follow ketogenic diets. They eat fruit, they eat beans, they even … *gasp!* … eat grains. So no, a strict keto diet is not the only way to be healthy and maintain a body weight you’re happy with. (I have to find a new way to talk about weight, because I’d rather not use the phrases “healthy body weight” or “normal body weight.” I know people who are heavy and healthy, and people who are thin and quite sick. [In fact, this is exactly what the personal fat threshold is all about.] And who the heck gets to decide what a “normal” weight is, anyway? Certainly not me!) Yes, you can stick to 20g of carbs a day for the rest of your life if you enjoy that and it works for you. But many people have a higher carb tolerance than that. And not only can they “tolerate” more carbs, but they might actually feel better, physically and mentally/emotionally, with a bit more carbs in their diet. (Read this old favorite post for more on this. And here’s a video from my new YouTube channel on the topic of keto police in general.)

I’ve gotta say, I think I look pretty good here! I should wear bold makeup more often! (I would like to; the fact is, I’m usually just too lazy to take the time to apply it before grabbing my purse and heading out the door. Plus, I never really learned how to apply makeup correctly. I go into Sephora and I honestly have no idea what half the products are even for, let alone how to put them on my face without making myself look like a clown, or look 30 years older than I am. Anyone know any good YouTube makeup tutorial channels for normal people? I’m open to recommendations.) I should also probably smile more. That’s really the best makeup anyone can wear anyway.

The second video I’d like to share is even shorter (less than 22 minutes), and it’s also about Alzheimer’s. I make a few short cameo appearances, and there are appearances by some of my favorite Alzheimer’s researchers, Stephen Cunnane, PhD, Dale Bredesen, MD, and Mary Newport, MD. I cite and celebrate their work in my book and in every Alz talk I’ve given. The video is extremely well done and provides a fabulous overview of the metabolic aspects of Alzheimer’s, the latest research, and the therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets and exogenous ketones. (Link to the video here.)

About the next “real” post: I plan my next blog post to be on the topic of the personal fat threshold. There’s a sneak peek in this video I did a few months ago, but the blog post will dive a little deeper and will contain links to relevant research for those of you who’d like to learn more. (Or to verify that I’m not making this stuff up out of thin air. I try not to do that unless someone is paying me obscene amounts of money to do so.) I suspect this post will take a while to write, and if time gets away from me and I’d rather not go too long without anything new on the blog, I might post a book review or two. I’ve read several good nutrition books since the last book review post, and those are usually pretty quick to write. (See here for all the book review posts.)

If you’re into videos, don’t forget about my YouTube channel. Half ranting and half information that I hope is educational and helpful. (Kind of like my blog!)  

Back soon to what I love best: writing.

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Alzheimer's Talk: Amyloid, ApoE4, Insulin, and More

Hey everyone,

Since it’s going to be another couple of weeks before I’ll have time to write a new in-depth post, I wanted to share another video with you. I know some of you aren’t into videos and much prefer to read, so if that’s you, just hang tight; I’ll start writing “for real” again as soon as I can. For the rest of you, though, here’s the talk I gave about Alzheimer’s disease at Low Carb Houston just two weeks ago. I had 30 minutes to give a talk that I normally give in 45-60 minutes, so I had to cut a few things out. (Also had to speak quickly!) If you want the full version, I covered a little bit more during a talk at KetoCon back in June.  

If you’re interested in Alzheimer’s disease as “type 3 diabetes” or “diabetes of the brain,” I think you’ll find these talks very educational. Even though the Low Carb Houston talk was a little shorter than the one at KetoCon, it was a bit more in-depth on the science specifically surrounding beta-amyloid. I added in some aspects that I don’t normally include, because continuing medical education credits (CMEs) were being offered for the event, so I felt like I should step things up a bit and include some of the technical details I usually leave out for an audience that’s mostly laypeople. (Turns out Houston had a big mix of everyone, so it was fine either way.) If you’re especially interested in amyloid and why I don’t think it’s a cause of Alzheimer’s and, in fact, is more likely a protective thing, you’ll want to watch the Houston talk.

The KetoCon talk includes some details on cholesterol that I skipped over in Houston due to time constraints, and also because Dr. David Diamond, Dr. Nadir Ali, Dr. Maryanne Demasi, and Dave Feldman had all spoken before I did, and they covered cholesterol and statin drugs better than I ever could have. (Good thing, because it helped that I was able to skip the cholesterol details…freed up time for looking more closely at amyloid.)

You can find more of my presentations and articles on Alzheimer’s here. I haven’t had a chance to update it in a while, but I’ll do that soon. (Need to include the Houston talk for sure!)

And don’t forget about my shiny new YouTube channel. I know many of you (me included!) prefer reading to watching videos, but for those who might enjoy watching me remind people to keep low carb and keto simple and sane, please consider checking out the channel. Topics already addressed include an intro to why I started the channel, my personal history & background with low carb, how keto works, and measuring ketones. Upcoming topics include the Keto Police™, food quality, protein (and gluconeogenesis), weight loss stalls, and thyroid function. (I see probably 2 clients a month who have unrecognized/undiagnosed hypothyroidism, and it is a major roadblock to fat loss.) If you have a specific topic you’d like me to address, feel free to suggest it in the comments.

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Update: Podcasts, Videos, Alzheimer's, and More

Hey Everyone!

  

Just wanted to let you know I’ve updated two tabs on the site:

Info on Alzheimer’s, and my podcast and video interviews.

Alzheimer’s

In case anyone’s new here, I am the author of the book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote: Using a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet to Fight Alzheimer's Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline.

I’ve done a bunch of interviews about the book and the concept in general – that Alzheimer’s disease is a metabolic problem – one the scientific literature regularly refers to as “type 3 diabetes,” or “brain insulin resistance.”

On the Alzheimer’s tab, you can find links to all my published articles and blog posts, as well as links to some of my favorite scientific papers on Alzheimer’s.

Podcasts & Videos

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while but have never heard my voice or seen what I look like (other than the photo on the blog), you can check me out in these videos and podcasts.  You’ll notice differences in my face and general appearance, depending when the various videos were recorded.  That’s what trying to figure out your thyroid will do to you!  Swollen looking in one video, down 15 pounds in another only a few months later.  The info in this one is great, but my thyroid-related weight gain had reared its head again.  In my opinion, I look best in this one and this one.) 

For those of you who are familiar with prominent low carb physician and researcher Eric Westman, MD, I’ve recorded two videos for his Adapt Your Life Program, one on Alzheimer’s, and one called “Keto Sense and Nonsense.”  The latter one goes hand-in-hand with this blog post I wrote about keeping low carb and keto simple, and how UNcomplicated they really are.  (If you’re interested in the blog series on insulin I mention during the Alzheimer’s video, you can check it out here.)

Another video I’d like to share with you is a webinar I did for the Irish Institute of Nutrition & Health.  It’s a bit long – about 2 hours – but it’s the most detailed and informative presentation I’ve ever given.  (I’ve given this talk, called “Nourish Your Neurons,” at professional conferences.)  There’s a Q&A for the last approximately 40 minutes. I recommend watching through to the end, because there’s some good extra information during that time.  You can download and save the file here (it’s a very large file), or simply watch it here. 

Posts for KetoDiet

I’m happy to announce I’ve joined the writing team at Martina Slajerova’s KetoDiet/KetoDiet App.  I am humbled to be part of this team, as I am in the company of people I deeply respect, including Franziska Spritzler, Bill Lagakos, Emily Maguire, and other nutrition professionals.

If you’re not familiar with Martina, she’s an AMAZING and prolific recipe developer and all-around good person.  She has several great keto cookbooks out, not to mention all the fabulous recipes available for free on her website.  (I reviewed The KetoDiet Cookbook here, and the Sweet & Savory Fat Bombs cookbook here.)

Three of my articles have been published so far: 

• Can a Ketogenic Diet Help People with Acid Reflux?
• Is Alzheimer’s a Metabolic Disease?  (part 1)
• The Ketogenic Diet for Alzheimer’s Disease (part 2)

There will be several more articles in the coming months, including basic ones on things like meal prep and dining out on low carb/keto, and some that are a bit more in-depth on insulin resistance and associated metabolic dysfunction.

The best way to stay up to date on my latest publications, podcasts, other interviews, and public appearances (yes, I do occasionally leave the house and interact with other humans!) is to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TuitNutrition.  

P.S.  I’m working on three new posts that I’m very excited about.  Lots of fascinating stuff to talk about.  I think they’ll blow your mind, just like they did mine.  They’re a bit in-depth, though, so they’re going to take a while to write.  I’ll be posting some less heavy-hitting stuff in the meantime, but just know that some really good and educational stuff is on the horizon.  Y’all know that what I love about the blog is that when I learn new things that change the way I see insulin, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, and more, I get to share those insights with you!   

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Dietary Recommendations for Alzheimer's -- NPR Gets it ... Almost

“There’s a growing body of evidence linking elevated blood sugar to memory problems.”

Mainstream media is catching on, folks. The quote above, taken from this story from NPR over three years ago, is reflective of the growing awareness among the medical community and laypeople alike that there might actually be something to the wild and crazy notion of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment as “type 3 diabetes” or “diabetes of the brain.” I have written about this over and over again and need not rehash the details here. (If you want to know the full story, consider purchasing my book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote.)  Even The New York Times published a piece just the other day profiling a famous chef who is using a low-carb, high-fat diet to fight dementia. (Shout out to liberal use of butter abd MCT oil in her morning coffee!)

The NPR article is pretty good. It gets the point across while being very succinct – a feat I have proven I am totally incapable of. What I like best about it is that it references this paper, the key finding of which is that elevated blood glucose may be a risk for dementia even at levels lower than the diabetic range. This is not news to me, and probably not to you, but it’s nice to see this getting out to the general public, among whom it probably is news. (Or should have been a few years ago when this came out.) It’s not news to us because you and I already know that hyperinsulinemia alone—not high glucose, but high insulin—is an independent risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, compared to people with “normal” insulin levels, those who are not diabetic but are hyperinsulinemic have double the risk of developing AD.

BIG NEWS: MY BOOK!

Hey Everyone!

You may recall that a while back I released an e-book about Alzheimer’s disease and the potential therapeutic role of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and other lifestyle interventions. Well, I’m happy to announce that the book has been completely rewritten and expanded for release this month as a print book from Chelsea Green Publishing, with a foreword by none other than David Perlmutter, MD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Grain Brain!! 

Chelsea Green is a big deal, folks. They publish the fermentation bible, a.k.a. Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz. They are also the U.S. distributor for Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride’s books—Put Your Heart in Your Mouth and Gut and Psychology Syndrome (the original GAPS™ diet book), which are both outstanding. They’re also the U.S. publishers for The Ketogenic Kitchen, by Domini Kemp and Patricia Daly. (Patricia is Ireland and the U.K.’s go-to gal for all things related to keto for cancer.) CG is also publishing the new release of Travis Christofferson’s Tripping Over the Truth (which I reviewed here) – the book that inspired my blog series on the metabolic theory of cancer. So you can see I am in very, very good company among these folks.

My book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote: Using a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline, has been rewritten and expanded with new and even more powerful information, all of which only strengthens my basic premise: Alzheimer’s disease is, at least in part, a systemic metabolic condition, and as such, there are dietary and lifestyle interventions that could potentially stop or slow the progression of this condition, and possibly even reverse some of the damage that has already occurred.

One of the fundamental aspects of Alzheimer’s disease is that neurons in regions of the brain involved in memory processing lose the ability to metabolize glucose efficiently. In fact, in noting that Alzheimer’s patients show as much as a 45% reduction in cerebral glucose utilization, one study’s authors said that this is “the predominant abnormality in incipient late onset Alzheimer’s disease...” This is not a matter of debate. There are many things we don’t know and don’t understand about Alzheimer’s disease. This isn’t one of them.  That metabolic issues involving perturbed glucose and insulin processing in the brain are major factors either directly causing or at least exacerbating Alzheimer’s pathology and progression are so undeniable that the phrases “type 3 diabetes,” “brain insulin resistance,” and “metabolic-cognitive syndrome” are now regularly used in the scientific literature. (Yep, you already knew about plain ol’ metabolic syndrome, but when you throw dementia and cognitive impairment into the mix, you have metabolic-cognitive syndrome.)  The reduction in cerebral glucose metabolism is not controversial. The controversy lies in what causes this and what to do about it.

FREE Alzheimer's Webinar THIS WEEK

Hey Everyone,

As you know, I’ve done some work regarding the role of dietary and lifestyle factors in causing, exacerbating, and most importantly, possibly HELPING Alzheimer’s disease.

For anyone who’s interested not just in Alzheimer’s, but in using real food and sensible lifestyle “stuff” to support brain health and cognitive function in general, I wanted to let you know about a FREE WEBINAR I’m participating in this Thursday, May 12 at 4pm U.S. Eastern time.

And the best part is, it’s LIVE, so you can chime in to ask questions! I don’t promise to have all the answers, but hopefully I’ll have some, hehheh. Click here for the details and to register.

The webinar is being produced by Elisa Haggarty of Culinary Farmacy (is that a great name or what?). Elisa has also put together a stellar program called The Brain Fog Solution. Feel like you're living with cobwebs in your brain? Mind not as sharp as it used to be? Suffer from CRS (Can't Remember Sh*t?) Don’t accept it as “normal.” You’re not “just getting older,” and you don’t have to sit there and take it. (Let alone continue helplessly while it gets worse!) Learn how to nourish your body and brain and stave off the 3pm dash to the vending machine for a sugary pick-me-up. Get to the root causes of your brain fog, mood swings, energy dips, and junk food cravings, and then get rid of them! Click here for details.

To clarify: the webinar is free, but The Brain Fog Solution is a program available for purchase. (Includes recipes, coaching calls, and tons of other good stuff you can find out about by checking it out here.)

As always, you know I am pathologically honest here on the blog, so allow me to disclose that I am an affiliate for The Brain Fog Solution and will receive a small portion of the registration fee should you choose to participate. If you enjoy my writing but have no brain health and cognition issues, and would like to find some other way to support my blogging (which takes many, many hours of time, all completely unpaid), a nice way is to make a direct contribution, via the PayPal links toward the right on my website. Not required at all, but every little bit helps. Thanks!  :-)  (However long you guess it takes me to write one of my long-ish and well-referenced posts, triple it, and you might be in the ballpark, haha! You know what they say: “Easy reading is damn hard writing.”) You can also click through to Amazon using my affiliate link, and I'll get a tiny portion of the purchase price of whatever you buy, even if it has nothing to do with food, nutrition, or health. Buy anything after going to Amazon from that link and they'll throw a couple cents my way. Sweet! Also, consider purchasing protein powders, stevia, coconut oil, Quest Bars, DaVinci sugar-free syrups, and other goodies from Netrition via my affiliate link. Netrition has by far the best prices I've found on the vast majority of this stuff anywhere, except that I have not yet explored Thrive Market. (With Netrition, there is no sign-up fee, and no commitment. It's just a company to buy stuff from. I've used them for years and have had nothing but great experiences with them.)

  

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Podcast Interview - Ketogenic Diets for Neurological Health

For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook and missed the announcement last week, I’ve recorded another episode of the Real World Paleo Podcast with Christine Lehmann, the Reverse Diabetes Coach, and a fellow Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. (In fact, Christine and I met when we were in the same class for our NTP training.) You can check out the details here, and the show is available on iTunes and Stitcher.

You may recall I was on this show a few months ago, talking about ketogenic diets for Alzheimer’s disease. This time, we expanded the discussion to other neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s, ALS, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. We briefly touched upon the potential efficacy of ketogenic approaches for psychological conditions as well, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. We also spent a few minutes talking about intermittent fasting and how it might be an additional tool in the arsenal to combat neurological and neurodegenerative conditions.

Alzheimer's Book Now on AMAZON for KINDLE!

BIG NEWS, EVERYONE!

 

My e-book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote, is now available for sale on Amazon, for Kindle readers. =D  In celebration of this semi-momentous event for me, I am running a pre-sale discount of “30% by the 30th.” If you order the kindle format book before March 30, the sale price is $6.99. Beginning April 1, the book will be available for the full price of $9.99. (Note: you can order the Kindle version any time before 3/30, but it will not be delivered to your device until that date.)

I would like to once again thank Ellen Davis, the brilliant mind behind Ketogenic Diet Resource, which is the single best one-stop-shop I know of for anything and everything you could possibly want to know about ketogenic diets for everything from weight loss to diabetes management and adjunct cancer therapy. (In fact, she has three excellent e-books on implementing ketogenic diets, one for cancer, one for type 2 diabetes, and one for type 1 diabetes.)

This time around, I would also like to thank Mike Sheridan, who is basically the only reason my book is now available for Kindle at all. I may have written this thing, but he’s the one who formatted it for kindle and took care of all the technical logistics. (Not my strong suit!) Mike has an adorable Canadian accent, but even better than that, he’s got a few books of his own that you might be interested in. (Tell me, dear readers, has there ever been a book title in the centuries-old history of publishing better than Eat Meat and Stop Jogging?) He’s also got a blog where he writes aboot nutrition, food, and stuff I don’t really cover at all, like exercise and athletic performance. Go check it out, eh?

I am so grateful to both Ellen and Mike for helping me to make this potentially lifesaving information available to a much wider audience.

Also: If you’ve already purchased the e-book, or plan to purchase it for Kindle, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. (Especially if you liked it and found it educational & helpful!) If you do write a review, please specify somewhere in it that you purchased the book through the author’s website before it was available on Amazon, and that’s why it is not an official “verified purchase.” (Because the Kindle version will not be delivered until 3/30, Amazon might not give you the option to leave a review until after then, but keep it on your radar to do so when you have a chance!) 

And one more thing before I get out of your hair for the day:

The convenience of e-books is tempered by the risk that some of the links included will change and no longer direct you to the correct pages. I recently went through the e-book to update broken links and add some brief thoughts on the use of exogenous ketones for Alzheimer’s. If you purchased the book, you should have received an email notification about the update, including a link for a free download of the updated version. If you have not received this email, but purchased the original e-book and would like a free copy of the update, please contact me.

P.S. I have had a couple of requests for a print version of the book. At the moment, that is not available, but I might be doing a print-on-demand option in the near future. For now, it's just the e-book as a pdf, or the Kindle version.

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Podcast Interview: Lyme Ninja Radio

In case anyone out there isn’t completely sick yet of hearing me talk about the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and the potential therapeutic role of very low-carb diets, I wanted to let you know about my latest podcast interview.

Hop on over to Lyme Ninja Radio, where I had a great conversation with the head ninja himself, Mackay Rippey. You can also find it on iTunes, but I’m not sure if this episode has been posted there yet. (I’m on episode 70.)

Some of it will be old news if you’ve listened to my previous podcast interviews on this subject, but Mackay was super fun to talk to, and we get into a couple of other low-carb and “real food” issues beyond Alzheimer’s. We recorded this one by phone, so there’s no static like when I was on Robb Wolf’s show, but I do kind of sound like I’m talking from inside a tin can. Not really sure why that happened, but you should be able to understand me just fine. (Except that I talk way too fast, just like my mother used to tell me, hehheh.)

And for those of you who are particularly interested in the notion of Alzheimer’s as “type 3 diabetes,” or “diabetes of the brain,” I’ve compiled links to my blog posts, journal articles, and podcast interviews, plus some of my favorite scientific papers, in a new tab on my website.

Enjoy!

Remember: Amy Berger, M.S., NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Podcast Interview: Real World Paleo

My third podcast interview is in the hopper and ready for you to go have a listen! First, it was Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ la Vida Low Carb Show, then it was Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution Podcast, and now, I’m talking about real food, low-carb, and Alzheimer’s on the Real World Paleo Podcast. I’ve also recorded a fourth show, which I’m told will air sometime in December. (Details to follow.) Hey, it’s almost like I kinda-sorta know what I’m talking about! (Either that, or I’m doing a great job of fooling people into thinking I do!)

If you’ve never heard of the Real World Paleo Podcast, that’s probably because it’s pretty new. The first episode went live just this past September. The hosts are Christine Lehmann, MS, NTP, and Stephanie Ewals, NTP. Christine lives in Alexandria, VA, not far from me, and she and I met when we took the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner training together back in 2013. Christine is the “Reverse Diabetes Coach™,” and Stephanie practices nutritional therapy at Out of the Woods Nutrition, in Minnesota.

Both of these ladies know what they’re doing, and it was a privilege to be able to share my Alzheimer’s research with them and their audience. If you’ve read some of my past posts about Alzheimer’s disease, then most of what we discussed won’t be new to you, but hey, a little refresher never hurt anyone! (Unfortunately, there was a little bit of feedback on my mic again, but not as bad as when I recorded with the great Mr. Wolf.)

You can download the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or listen directly through Christine’s website: http://www.reversediabetescoach.com/episode-11-how-you-can-delay-alzheimers-and-dementia/

The show notes in the link above include helpful links to some scientific papers that might be of interest to you if you’d like to delve into the metabolic and mitochondrial underpinnings of Alzheimer’s.

By the way: the Real World Paleo Podcast is a great show for any friends and family members who are new to LCHF, Paleo, Primal, and just plain real food. Stephanie and Christine do a great job of introducing complex concepts and explaining them in simple but informative ways, kind of like I aim to do on my blog. It might be old news if you’ve been eating this way for a while now, but for people who are just starting to dip their toes in these waters, this show is a down-to-earth, non-intimidating way to learn about healthy fats, the importance of good quality proteins, finding the right amount and types of carbohydrates for different goals, etc.

Remember: Amy Berger, M.S., NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition.

ITIS -- It's the Insulin, Stupid (pt 2/8)

Warning: This is a ridiculously long post. I was going to break it up into two, but I figured, what’s the difference between one really long post, and two semi-long ones? You can always read a couple paragraphs and then come back later if you don’t have time to read it all at once.

Also: My blog has a very eclectic audience. I have physicians, PhDs, and others well-educated in biochem and A&P reading this, but I think the bulk of my readers are interested laypeople. I try to tailor my posts to the laypeople, keeping in mind that they are of above-average intelligence, and certainly above-average knowledge about all this low-carb, high-fat, Paleo, and ancestral health "stuff." Just wanted to remind everyone of the diverse audience here, because this post, in particular, contains simplified explanations of complex processes, and I apologize if any of the pros find themselves bored. :-/ 

OKAY! Now we come to the next part of why all of this insulin stuff is so important. (Missed the first part? Click here. And you’ll notice I’ve changed the title of this post to say it’s part 2 of I-don’t-know-how-many. In starting to write part 3, I realized this is going to be more like 5 or 6. I am learning new things about this every day that I feel are important enough to write about, and the number of posts it will take to include them keeps rising.) 

Here we go...

ITIS -- It's the Insulin, Stupid (pt 1 of 8)

As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time educating myself about health, nutrition, and food. Whether I’m reading papers in the scientific and medical literature, keeping up with posts by intelligent bloggers, or learning more about human anatomy and physiology, a good portion of my week is devoted to ensuring that, as a nutritionist and blogger, I know what I’m talking about, and I provide my clients and readers with reliable information. There’s so much hashing and rehashing of old news in this field, and you can’t walk five feet without bumping into a dead horse that’s been beaten over and over—and over—again. So it isn’t often that something comes along that really blows my mind. (Like this. I am still fascinated by this.) Once in a while, something that’s actually very simple, and which should be totally obvious, blows my mind, if only because it makes me think about things in ways I’d never considered before.

With the help of some very cool people in the low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) world, I have been introduced to a new concept—well, new to me, but certainly not “new” at all—and I’d like to share it with you. There’s a lot to talk about, but the overall theme boils down to this: by focusing almost exclusively on blood glucose, the medical and nutrition professions have been missing the boat on a much larger, much more insidious problem: insulin.

As you know, blood glucose and insulin are intimately related. It’s hard to discuss one without the other. But when was the last time your basic bloodwork panel included a measurement of your insulin levels? Have you ever had a doctor look at anything but your fasting glucose and maybe your A1c if (s)he was concerned about your blood sugar management? (Never mind that the A1c isn’t even included in a typical blood panel. You often have to specifically request it.) If you’ve ever been the victim of experienced an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), did your doctor measure your insulin levels, or only your blood glucose?

With a single-minded focus on glucose, glucose, glucose, we have distracted ourselves from what is really driving the ship in type 2 diabetes (T2D), metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, and many more conditions that we’ll explore in detail in part 2 of this series. Hence, the title of this post.

OH - EM - GEE!

HOLY.

CATS.

!!!!!!!!

http://robbwolf.com/2015/09/15/episode-287-amy-berger-nutrition-and-alzheimers/

Remember: Amy Berger, M.S., NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition.

Alzheimer’s, Ketones, and Kidding Ourselves (Pt.3/3)

I concluded the previous post by introducing the idea that, when it comes to a body and brain being fueled by ketones, the absolute concentration of ketone bodies in the blood might be less important than the body’s ability to use those ketones. I expressed concern that placing the sum total of our faith in high β-OHB levels might take our eyes off the marker we should probably be more interested in: how well an AD patient is functioning. Maybe some AD patients do require ketones at upwards of 4-5mM. But maybe some others would do just great at lower levels.

Here’s my thinking on this...

Alzheimer’s, Ketones, and Kidding Ourselves (Pt.2/3)

I ended the previous post by introducing the idea of using exogenous ketones for improving the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s, while not requiring the afflicted individual to make any dietary changes. (Recall that, according to researchers, a very low carb diet is “inconvenient” to prepare and consume.) Is there a place for exogenous ketones in AD therapy? Yes. I believe there is. It depends on the person’s age and severity of illness, but I absolutely acknowledge that exogenous ketones can improve quality of life. BUT: with the exception of some very specific cases, which I’ll mention in a bit, I cannot support them being used as the sole intervention. It’s as bad as telling a type-2 diabetic to use insulin and do nothing else to influence the way their body handles glucose, or, really, insulin, itself.  

Please tell me someone out there is on the same page as me here.

“Alzheimer's disease patients frequently undergo changes in food preference toward sweet, carbohydrate-rich foods, which would make compliance to a ketogenic diet difficult.” (Henderson et al., 2009)

Really? Do they undergo changes in food preference toward sweet, carbohydrate-rich foods after they develop Alzheimer’s disease, or are sugar addicts more likely to develop AD? Which is the chicken, and which is the Cadbury Crème Egg?

Now, here’s where things get deep.

Alzheimer’s, Ketones, and Kidding Ourselves (Pt.1/3)

  

The Setup

Picture the following scenario:

You find yourself walking from one room into another and can’t remember why. And it’s been happening more often.

You’ve been misplacing things. Your phone, your keys, your wallet or purse. And it’s been happening more often.

You’ve been forgetting about important appointments, and that’s happening more often, too.

But this isn’t a big deal, right? You’re just getting older. This is normal. “Senior moments.” Happens to everyone.

But what if things are a little worse than that?

What if you’re out running errands and forget how to get back home?

What if you go for a walk by yourself and get lost in your own neighborhood?

What if you set something on the stove to cook, then wander away for a few minutes, and the only reason you remember you had something cooking is because the smoke alarm goes off and acrid smoke fills the house?

What if you start asking people the same simple question—one they’ve already answered—over and over—and over again?

You’re not just having senior moments. You’re having entire senior days. Senior weeks. Senior months.

You are literally losing your mind.

Maybe it’s gotten so bad you’ve had to stop working.

Maybe your family no longer trusts you to be at home by yourself, or cook for yourself, or drive your car.

Scary, huh?

But what if I told you I could fix things for you?

Podcast Interview!

Hey folks! If this is your first visit to my blog after hearing me on Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ la Vida Low Carb Podcast, here are some links to past posts I’ve done regarding Alzheimer’s disease:

• Announcement about my e-book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote
• Rant About the American Academy of Neurology’s Brain Health Fair
• Alzheimer’s Disease: Type 3 Diabetes
• Follow-up Q&A about certain dietary principles and Alzheimer's

And here’s a link to a guest post I wrote for Robb Wolf’s site, about carbs, Alzheimer's, and more, after the first interview he did with Dr. Perlmutter, after the release of the book, Grain Brain.

If you’d like to learn more about me, check out the About Me page here on this site. In the podcast, I touched only briefly on how I found low carb, so if you’re interested in all the gory details of how “eating less and moving more” failed me for most of my adolescence and young adult life, you can read about that here.  (You might also want to wait until you have an hour to spare. You will see from today’s post, or by looking through the archives, that brevity is not my strong suit.)

And now, on to the post!

Thoughts on the Brain Fair (Rant Warning!)

Greetings, Earthlings!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, on April 18^th I had a table at the American Academy of Neurology’s Brain Health Fair, which was part of their annual convention. The event was free and open to the public, and as far as I could tell, it was mostly the public that came through the exhibit hall, since I didn’t get any doctors sidling up to my little corner of this shindig. (None that I know of, anyway.) My presence at this thing coincided with the launch of my e-book on Alzheimer’s disease. I am pleased to report that I had people coming up to me all day. People were very interested in hearing about the influence of food and nutrition on brain health. I don’t expect a lot of book sales to come from it, but I think I’ll be hearing from a few new clients. (And I made an Indian woman very happy when I told her it was okay to eat ghee again!)

There were some encouraging moments, and I think I dropped more than a few “knowledge bombs,” as Sean Croxton likes to say. But there were many discouraging moments, too. In fact, my main feeling on the event can be summed up in two words:

Holy, and crap.