Sarena sent me some interesting numbers from some old and current blood work. They beautifully illustrate what happens when we control insulin levels and emulate our ancestral diet.
Here is what Sarena sent me:
This was from about a month before starting IFing.
Just thought this may be of use to you!
Oct 27, 2006
chol total 168
HDL 54
Chol/HDL ratioo 3.1
LDL
102
Triglycerides 61
HA1C 6.0
Oct 19, 2007
Chol total 156
HDL 63
Chol/HDL ratio 2.5
LDL 85
Triglycerides 41
HA1C 5.9
I think the numbers speak for themselves. This was the
addition of CF, a return to eating meat, after 14 years
of being vegetarian, and going Paleo with Zone
macronutrients and the addition of Omega 3s. I cut out
all the grains that were supposed to be good for me and
started life over as a carnivore!!
So, we have about one year elapsed in which Sarena adopted a paleo
diet and she started playing with intermittent fasting. The results
are pretty striking: HDL’s are up, LDL’s are down along with triglycerides.
We see a little shift in the HA1C which is good since Sarena is a type
1 diabetic. HA1C is a measure of how much sugar is sticking to red blood
cells and is a function of average blood sugar levels. I’d like to see that
come down more, but all things considered, this is a fantastic shift.
Let’s put this in a bit of context: Sarena cut out bread, rice, pasta
and all the Food Pyramid-Scheme crap we are told to eat. She replaced
these worthless items with nutrient dense lean proteins, veggies, a
little fruit and good fats from olive oil, nuts and avocado. Not even the
clueless Dr. McDougal could argue with the shifts in blood lipids.
A big thank you to Sarena for sending these numbers and letting me share them.
19 Comments
Robb
here is another interesting one for you – people with lower cholesterol levels find it harder to build muscle!
I note it here:
http://conditioningresearch.blogspot.com/2008/01/chlesterol-is-good-for-building-muscle.html
from a press release here:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/tau-sc010908.php
Chris-
GREAT stuff. We see some interesting things like increased depression in situations of low cholesterol. Uffe Ravanscove, right again!
Sure, Robb hope this helps others and leads them to fitness!! But, one minor correction, I had been diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic 5 years ago when I was still obese and a size 20+. Today I bought new running tights in size 4!!
Oh and also I eat high fat/saturated fat from meat Also, I am not concerned with lean meat, since I feel I burn it sufficiently with my fitness program!
Sarena-
I blew it on this! I thought you were type 1 diabetic AND I thought you have been following IF for a year. If it’s possible can you re-check those numbers in a month or so and we can see what intermittent fasting does for the numbers?
Robb
How is this relevant to Intermittent Fasting since Sarena didn’t start IF’ing until after Oct. 2007? More relevant to Paleo and Zone compliance.
Still excellent results (congrats, Sarena!) but the characterization of it being due to IF is misleading.
Right you are Keith! I modified things accordingly and hopefully Sarena will get a re-check after a month or two on IF so we can see how that tweaks things.
Robb
As someone who is a researcher, but not in this field, I immediately question the validity of any inference drawn from just two samples. Are these levels stable enough that two samples are truly indicative? If not, I guess all those cholesterol tests etc. offered by health centres are a waste of time!
Noel-
You are right, we have N=1. Not much to sink out teeth into for ANOVA or any type of statistical analysis. We DO however have an interesting case study that perhaps we might not bet the farm on but it’s damn intriguing.
If we put someone on a legit low carb, paleo-esque diet we see HDL’s increase, triglycerides decrease and TYPICALLY LDL’s will both decrease in number and increase in particle size. The increased particle size is thought to be less likely to stick in the vascular lumen and is more chemically stable (less oxidizable). Some folks do see in increase in LDL numbers but this seems to be less important than improving particle size and the other alterations mentioned.
In contrast, if we throw someone on Ornish’s “Reversing Heart Disease” program we see the triglycerides increase, HDL’s drop and inflammatory markers increase.
Just do a google search with this:
“Serum lipids after a low-fat diet isocaloric”
EVERY study that compares a low carb diet to a high carb diet shows more favorable changes with low carb. Most of these studies are hypocaloric so we see improvement from both camps due to weight loss but the magnitude is greater in the low carb camps. What we need to find are the studies that compare low/high carb diets at weight maintenance caloric levels.
Robb
Here’s another testimonial for ya:
Oct 74: begin western diet (60% carb, 3 meal-per-day)
Feb 05: begin IF on western diet (1 meal-per-day btw 6pm-8pm)
March 07 bloodtest: TG-249, LDL-180, fasting glucose-125
April 07: begin IF+Paleo (5% carb, 70%fat)
Nov 07 bloodtest: TG-48, LDL-130, H1C-4.9
Kayman-
That is a stunning change…wow!
Robb
Congratulations!
Wonderful blood indicators for anyone, let alone a type 1 Diabetes.
Nevertheless, I think that the addition of some supplements could help lower HA1C:
- (R+) LIPOIC ACID: 150-300 mg/daily (you may need to reduce your insulin dosage)
- BIOTIN: 10-16 mg/daily
- CHROMIUM POLYNICOTINATE: up to 600 mcg (I wouldn’t go over this, and people eating a low glycemic load diet need less chromium)
I would also add:
- GLA (Type 1 diabetics don’t convert well Linoleic Acid to Gamma-Linoleic Acid): up to 1000 mg/daily (best source: borage seed oil), maintining supplementation with EPA and DHA (fish oil)
- MAGNESIUM: up to 400 mg/daily in divided doses
- CARNOSINE (a good anti-glycation agent): up to 1000 mg/daily
- Vitamins C and E (the whole 4 tocopherols and 4 tocotrienols)
And I would:
- increase the amount of bilberries in the diet, as they can decrease the risk for retinopathy,
- start drinking green tea, as it contain catechins, which are are powerful antioxidants
- increase the consumption of garlic and onions, as they can contribute to an increase in a very powerful and important endogenous antioxidant, called glutathione, and multiple studies show that garlic can prevent atherosclerosis.
- Don’t forget to maintain a high potassium diet (lots of vegetables and low glycemic load fruit), as diabetics tend to loose more potassium (as well as magnesium) through the urine.
Congratulations on your wonderful work Robb!
Pedro-
Great stuff! Thank you!
Robb
So Robbo,
What are your suspicions when it comes to the effects of IF’ing (can’t type that without a giggle) on lipid levels? I’ve always had good-very good HDL/LDL ratios and low Tri-g’s.
After doing the IF thing for about 8 months, I am curious as to the changes. Too bad no “before” levels for you.
Ron-
Intermittent fasting appears to decrease insulin levels which tends to drop triglycerides, increase LDL particle size and increase HDL’s. It should be “good” for any parameter we can measure.
Robb
Will redo bloods in a month or two!
Awesome Sarena! You rock!
Interesting post. I feel burning fat sufficiently is important. Diet4idiots diet plan is based on fat burning
SEMA-
I should have deleted the spam…the 20 pages of HTML extolling the virtues of a “revolutionary diet secret” pisses me off soooooo badly it’s tough to describe. have a product for sale? fine, no problem there but why don’t you skip the shit-bag marketing crap and actually HELP people? GRRRRR…
Robb
Thought you’d be interested in this You Tube debut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIgNpsbvcVM
Susan-
mmmmm…fats!
Robb
I’m very glad to see such positive results. Congratulations, Sarena! You’ve inspired me.
What most people realise is that intermittent fasting *was* part of the Paleolithic human’s life. I’m of the opinion that following a *true* Paleo diet takes into account the realities that our ancestors faced: *forced* fasting between successful hunts, *forced* vegetarianism/fruitarianism when hunts failed, some days of excess (meat),… In other words, a highly *varied* diet, from a caloric, food types, macronutrient ratio perspectives,and many others. Also, meat was food of kings, but were not everyday (or whole day) foods, IMHO. This is encoded in our genomes, and we *should* eat this way!
Check out some more of my ramblings on my still-in-diapers blog: http://paleonutritionandexercise.blogspot.com
“What most people realise is that intermittent fasting *was* part of…”
I meant to say: “What most people *don’t* realise…”
Hi Robb,
Can I get your quick analysis of Dr. Eades’ latest post in IF and how it does not work in humans? I wonder if the affects of decreasing thermogenesis increases life span, but does not necessarily translates into weight loss.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/intermittent-fasting-rad-fad/
Thanks as always.
Mikey-
I think it makes the point that intermittent fasting is not of benefit for all situations. I think there is benefit when we already have sound nutrition, good sleep and use the IF in a controlled manner. Add it to stress, bad sleep and dicey food and you are likely not making things better. I’ll pat myself on the back a bit in that I suspected this was the case when I first started writing about IF. It still comes down to: establish a good paleo based way of eating. THEN get jiggy with things like the Zone or intermittent fasting.
Robb
Hi Robb,
I agree. Also, Dr. Eades points points out that is does not help you lose weight perse because of a decrease in thermogenesis. But, I think that may be a good thing for long term health. I would equate it to running a car engine at a higher than needed RPM. You will burn more fuel in the sort term , but you will decrease the life of the engine.
Thanks!
Mikey-
Agreed. We DO want to run lean enough that we do not have a load of waste heat generated IMO. The mitochondrial de-coupling proteins take excess fuels and just fritter them away as heat. Thi represents a large and more importantly CHRONIC oxidative stress. No bueno.
Robb
Rob.
I have been reading up on IF and had a couple questions for you. I was looking at easing into that style of eating over the next few weeks but I am worried about lacking energy for my a.m. training sessions and sacrificing muscle tissue and possibly strength. I would greatly appreciate any information you could share. Thanks.
Jason.
Hey Jason!
Have you read the PM articles I’ve don on this? In general folks start with relatively short fasts (12-15 hrs). If hunger decreases exercise intensity, it’s not worth it! Check out the PM forum on this topic as well. Myself, Mike OD and Scotty Hagnas to name a few have hashed this around a bunch.
Thank you. I will check it out and you are probably right about having to ease into it with a shorter fast.
Hey Robb,
regarding intermittent fasting, how often is rec? I used to do the Warrior Diet, so that was pretty much 5 days a week of fasting, or just having an apple and cottage cheese at noon and then most of my feeding post workout. On the weekend, I had a regular feeding schedule as I would reserve the weekend for group studying, dinners, get-togethers, etc. Is 5days/week of IF too much? My volume of work is not that of a CFer/MMA guy, its probably going to be way less because I’m in school full time. thoughts?
There is really no formula for this other than you should feel and perform as well or better than before. Otherwise a basic paleo/zone food approach is the way to go and is the smart place to establish a baseline of what/how much to eat. I’ve had people benefit from as little as 2 days/week if IF. I’ve also had people start gaining fat in the mid-section and screwing up their sleep with IF…it’s a tool that may not be appropriate for all situations.
Rob,
I haven’t done any analysis, but would you consider the difference between the two sets of results to be statistically significant? In addition, with only two data sets, is it possible to even consider the significance of such a change?
Us pesky mathematicians always rain on parades. Apologies
See you at the GSX cert next month.
Adam-
it an N=1 data set so in that sense, no I guess it’s not significant. In the sense that if that was MY data I’d consider it VERY significant. Case studies offer the opprotunity to write a clinical observation that might drive more thorough research…certainly important IMO.
Ok so here is the next set of bloods. Mind you these were done (with me dealing from something–perhaps lyme, cmv–waiting for more labs to return)just a few days ago! Please let me know your thoughts Robb! I no longer use zone macronutrients but am very conscious what I eat! Stress has been up
Current labs
Glucose 116
Chol ttl 223
hdl 56
chol/hdl ratio 4.0
LDL 146
Triglyc. 106
Ha1C 5.7
Ok so I can clearly see the diff with the HA1C as positive, how would you interpret the other numbers please, in comparision to the originals (and remember it was Type 2)?
Sarena-
Like I said in the email I’m curious about the increased triglycerides…still thinking on that.
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