October 2024 Newsletter | The chicken or eggs?
My mission is to be the first woman in 4 generations to not develop Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). On my journey of discovering ways to mitigate my risk, I pass this information on to you in this Brain-Body-Health (BBH) Newsletter.
Hello BBH Citizen Scientists!
The chicken or the eggs?
You may have heard about the recent study that went viral, where a young Harvard medical student consumed 720 eggs in one month and saw a reduction in his cholesterol. This sensationalized news has large numbers of people rushing into grocery stores and divesting in their bitcoin to invest in eggs- haha- fake news! Our small brains think, oh great I can eat as many eggs as I want now (an example of false consensus effect). However, the real focus of the study wasn’t necessarily on cholesterol levels rising or falling from egg consumption, or human tendency to exhibit cognitive dissonance. Instead, it highlights what we call “N=1 experiments”— the self-experimentation we, as citizen scientists, conduct every day as we pay closer attention to our health, make hypotheses, collect data from what we observe, and make better-informed decisions about our health.
Personalized science, or N=1 studies, are empowering people to become citizen scientists and reshape the future of healthcare
If you have been following the BBH Newsletter, you know this trend has led to not only greater consumer health knowledge but consumer-driven labs and monitoring devices. Examples of this are the glucometer, allowing us to see in real-time how our diets affect blood sugar. There are other monitoring devices and tools to check our steps, heart rate, ketones, oxygen, and GI fermentation, to name a few, (a gadget called the Food Marble) to name a few. Part of the monitoring for N=1 experiments are from blood tests we self-order (see BBH May newsletter), bypassing the need for providers and insurance authorization. Bolstered by online services and available tests that reflect optimization, we are better equipped to become citizen scientists, reclaiming our agency in health care.
“N= 1 is the future. We are all different, and now we can collect a lot of data on a single person to make very specific recommendations.” - Dr. Michael Synder, professor at Stanford Medicine.
Precision medicine is individualized based on the human uniqueness of every cell in your body! There is no one quite like you. Population-based conventional research model, requires mega-bucks, mega-people, and mega-years that neglect individual health. Becoming a BBH citizen scientist requires self-determination, a budget, and your time. Do not attempt without a yearning to learn, avid curiosity, and strong motivation to be an active part of your health journey. It’s not quick or easy. There is no single pill for your ill. Your healthcare provider functions as a co-captain rather than captain, removing the problematic paternalism. Nick Norwitz uses this bizarre diet and storytelling to get more researchers interested and involved in the study of metabolic health. He acknowledges that not everyone is going to have a drop in cholesterol because cholesterol absorption has many genetic factors to it. At BBH, we devoted earlier newsletters (April, May, June) to knowing that metabolic health plays an important role in dementia.
And that is the point! Our metabolic health is about individual genes and lifestyle choices that determine it. Following our metabolic metrics, such as glucose, insulin, cholesterol, liver enzymes etc… are part of the N=1 experiment. That is why it is so important to hypothesize, monitor, test, and observe. Like Norwitz, that is what makes him and us citizen scientists.
It’s not the chicken or eggs fault it's the saturated FAT
Most of the cholesterol in our body is made by our liver and doesn't come from the cholesterol we eat. The liver is stimulated to make cholesterol primarily by saturated fat and trans fat in our diet, not dietary cholesterol. A large egg contains little saturated fat. But guess which has more saturated fat — a serving of meat lasagna or a jumbo blueberry muffin? You might assume it’s the lasagna because two key ingredients, meat and cheese, are common sources of saturated fat. Both the lasagna and the muffin contain about 6 grams of saturated fat — about one-third of the recommended daily amount for most people. A single egg contains 1.5 grams of saturated fat.
Muffins, cookies, pie, and other treats contain butter, lard, vegetable shortening, or tropical oils such as palm or palm kernel oil, which are high in saturated fat.
“It’s always something”, Roseanne Roseannadana (SNL)
Lessons from Coaching:
In keeping with N= 1: You are an integral part of your brain health and the one that controls the steering wheel. It’s not an autonomous car rather, you are driving. ;) We need to stay on the road to optimized health. At BBH, we will be there to inform you of the risks of dementia, advise, and support you, and your loved ones as you navigate these often confusing roads.
The most important part of dementia is learning how to prevent it because the earlier you start, the better chance you have of arresting it. If you are having symptoms of cognitive impairment, obtaining an accurate diagnosis is paramount. Once diagnosis is made, assessing your risk factors can determine what is at the root cause. Remember, diagnoses for Alzheimer's are often made too late or misdiagnosed, and the catch-all term, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), does not imply that your brain has a mild condition. The cause(s) have been burning the candle at both ends for decades. And rest assured, this should not be considered a mild condition, IMHO. When you develop cognitive symptoms it is a sign that something has been brewing because of genetic proclivities or stoked by the flames of lifestyle choices, and your brain is on fire. This is not about shame. As Oprah says: ‘If you would have known better, you would have done better.’ For some, cognitive impairment may be able to be reversed. The same can be said for pre-diabetes and diabetes. I can’t tell you how many friends and family I know who acknowledge they are borderline diabetic and are like, “Oh well, I’ve been like this for years.” BBH Citizen Scientists know that diabetes increases the risk of dementia significantly. Can we pause a moment and ask what is the root cause and what action needs to be taken? What is the N= 1 experiment we can do to reduce blood sugar or cholesterol? We don’t need to eat 700 eggs like Nick Norwitz, but we can be curious about our health and start paying attention to our metabolic health metrics. Remember It’s never to late to improve your brain-body health.
It’s better to be the oldest one in the gym than the youngest in the nursing home. (TY JR)
Your prescription for Optimized health and dementia prevention:
PREVENT DEMENTIA: Know genetic and lifestyle factors that increase risk.
ASSESS YOUR RISK: SLEDSSSS
OPTIMIZE YOUR HEALTH: Meet with a qualified brain health provider
DEVELOP: N=1 experiments with your health care provider/coach
I offer coaching sessions to help navigate and improve brain health for you or a loved one. Contact me to schedule a session.
Lessons from Science:
1) In this large sample of older adults cognitive performance was assessed twice over 4 years. Researchers found that among women, greater egg intake was related to significantly less decline in category fluency, a test of semantic memory and executive function. No associations of egg intake with changes in cognitive function were found in men. This is only the second study that we know of that investigates the association of egg consumption with cognitive change and the first to examine this issue in a US cohort of older individuals using sex-specific analyses.
2) Even the Harvard newsletter gets it wrong, sometimes, IMHO by taking a one size fits all recommending one egg/day in this recent article. In this commentary though they did emphasize what matters most is what you eat with your eggs, ie saturated fat in butter, cheese, bacon, sausage, muffins, or scones, for example, raises your blood cholesterol much more than the cholesterol in your egg. And the highly refined "bad carbs" in white toast, pastries, home fries, and hash browns may also increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.
3) This article from Gene Food focuses on genes and their interplay with cholesterol. Approximately 20-25% of the world are prone to hyperabsorbtion of cholesterol. The author and I share this genetic variation. So, I won’t be doing the egg experiment.
To our optimized health!
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“If you want to go FAST, go alone. If you want to go FAR, go together."
- African proverb
To our optimized health!