Does this include the beta sitosterol that is in most prostate supplements?

How can I get tested for sitosterolemia?

I know for a fact that Costco sells 5000+ bottles of CholestOff every WEEK! The stuff is a blend of sterols.

Yeah costco also has "sterol" oatmeal bars.

I try to stick to the freezer and wine section.

I like how you state plainly it's "rare," and now your followers are going to start to believe themselves to have this ailment. I like your blog, but as of late, you're war on heart disease is imitating the ad baculum aspects of America's war on terror.

Excellent article. I've had the same exact thoughts and that's why I don't take supplementary plant sterols.

It's pretty comical. When people supplement with sterols, all they are doing is swapping some of their cholesterol in LDL particles with sterols. The sterols essentially take the place of the cholesterol in the blood. But both have the proclivity to cause atherosclerosis.

So, the cholesterol lowering effect is just an illusion.

I'm not so sure Apo E4 would even be considered 'rare' amongst those who have heart disease problems... or who are considered high risk.

E4/E4 is quite rare, but E3/E4 isn't really. I think it's around 25% of the population, if I recall correctly. And I'd expect amongst those with heart issues, it'd be higher than that.

So what do you eat if you are disp. to Apo E4. If I eat sat. fat my LDP
rocket up. If I eat more veg. and fruit and lean mead it rocket dovn.
Am I on the track??

Hi, Kathy--

Yes, it does.


Lucy--

In general, testing for sitosterolemia is not something I would recommend except in specific situations, in which case the various sterols in the blood can be measured.

That was not the point of the discussion, but the far more common Apo E4 that affects 25% of the population, who thereby potentially hyperabsorb sterols.

For those wanting to follow up on the role of Apo E4 here is an interesting article.
APOE-4: The Clue to Why Low Fat Diet and Statins may Cause Alzheimer's by Stephanie Seneff

I tracked it down after reading
Nutrition and Alzheimer's disease: The detrimental role of a high carbohydrate diet
I never thought I would read in a peer reviewed paper the words The strong influence of Ancel Keys, beginning in the 1960s, has led to dietary avoidance of fats and cholesterol along with over-zealous prescription of cholesterol-reducing medications over the same decades in which there has been a parallel rise in AD prevalence."

Ted,
I can do you one better. This prospective cohort study (n=1137) found "Higher levels of HDL-C (>55 mg/dL) were associated with a decreased risk of both probable and possible AD and probable AD compared with lower HDL-C levels (hazard ratio, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-0.9; P = .03 and hazard ratio, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-0.9; P = .03). In addition, higher levels of total and non–HDL-C were associated with a decreased risk of AD in analyses adjusting for age, sex, education, ethnic group, and APOE e4 genotype." Here's the link to the abstract:  http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/12/1491.
Makes you wonder the REAL reason behind statin drugs.

I used beta-sitosterol for over a year.  I used it because I didn't want to take a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor such as Proscar.  But I developed the same side effects that Procar is known to cause:  Poor libido, gynecomastia and generalized muscle weakness.  I don't track cholesterol so I don't know what the beta-sit might have done to it.  Six months off the beta-sit and I'm just now starting to feel like a normal man again:  morning wood, etc.

That was my reason for asking... because I'm a 3/4

Both links are to the second study.
The correct link for the first study is:

Alterations in cholesterol absorption/synthesis markers characterize Framingham offspring study participants with CHD

Fructose Alters Brain Metabolism
One of the competing theories to explain the obesity epidemic is a rise in fructose consumption causing alterations in hormone levels that increase appetite. UCSF med school prof Robert Lustig has a pretty good rant-lecture on the evils of fructose. Well, here's another study on part of the mechanism in the brain of how fructose might be causing increased obesity.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The dietary concerns of too much fructose is well documented. High-fructose corn syrup has become the sweetener most commonly added to processed foods. Many dietary experts believe this increase directly correlates to the nation's growing obesity epidemic. Now, new research at Oregon Health & Science University demonstrates that the brain – which serves as a master control for body weight – reacts differently to fructose compared with another common sweetener, glucose. The research is published in the online edition of the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism and will appear in the March print edition.

In humans the cortical brain control areas of the brain were inhibited by the influx of fructose.

Functional MRI allows researchers to watch brain activity in real time. To conduct the research, nine normal-weight human study subjects were imaged as they received an infusion of fructose, glucose or a saline solution. When the resulting brain scans from these three groups were compared, the scientists observed distinct differences.

Brain activity in the hypothalamus, one brain area involved in regulating food intake, was not affected by either fructose or glucose. However, activity in the cortical brain control areas showed the opposite response during infusions of the sugars. Activity in these areas was inhibited when fructose was given but activated during glucose infusion.

This is an important finding because these control brain areas included sites that are thought to be important in determining how we respond to food taste, smells, and pictures, which the American public is bombarded with daily.

The result increases the plausibility of fructose as a causal agent.

"This study provides evidence in humans that fructose and glucose elicits opposite responses in the brain. It supports the animal research that shows similar findings and links fructose with obesity," added Purnell.

If you want to reduce your weight also consider other theories for the cause of obesity including grains as a possible major cause.

By Randall Parker 2011 February 09 05:42 PM  Brain Appetite

Hi, Peter--

Thanks for catching that.

Now fixed.

Foods with naturaly occuring levels of Beta-sisterol: fruits like avocado, nuts like pecan & cashew, seeds like flax & pumpkin,
legumes like soya & peanut, grains like wheat germ & rice bran, oils like corn & soy, plus herbs like Saw Palmetto & Pygeum. Once again it is good to recall that if something is good for you that doesn't automaticly mean more is better for you.

@Anon about naturally occurring sitosterol levels -

As an APO E4 person, should I be concerned about my intake of avocado, flax seed, and tofu?

couldn't leaky gut syndrome cause increased sterols in the bloodstream?

So... how much sterols?
For example almonds and other nuts are high in sterols. Lot of vegetables are high in sterols. In this blog nuts have been recommended often as well as a plant based diet. So does this change that?
What should apoe4 people eat? They can't eat fat, now they can't eat vegetables? Is starving to death the only way to avoid heart disease?

Also tofu and soy has been promoted which have esterols...

Another benefit to total avoidance of plant oils!

Miniscule n-6 means miniscule fat soluble sitosterols.

Are you ready to advocate an animal-fat based diet for ApoE4 and the 45 total reported cases of sitosterolemia?

If you worry about LDL, ApoE4 needs to be "low fat", but if you worry about early death and AD, I think high animal fat is the way to go for these folks.

Isn't the problem for APOE4 the way the molecule degrades? Quite recently fish oil Omega 3 has been cited for allaying APOE4's side effects. The Omega 3 balances out the metabolite (an APOE4 protein fragment) that otherwise messes with the lipid structure of the mitochondria(s) membrane(s); it (fish oil) prevents dysfunction.

http://m.npr.org/news/front/139889533

I heard a report on this study on NPR yesterday.  It's important to note who sponsored the study in the first place.

I found this blog and found and joined the Track Your Plaque (TYP) program 7 weeks ago now.

I struggled to figure out how to get the right blood testing done per Dr. Davis for several weeks.  If I knew then what I know now, here are the steps I would take without thinking about it and which are consistent with the TYP program.  I'm sure Dr. Davis will correct me if I advocate anything he opposes.

1)  Go to LipoScience.com and order the NMR test from LabSafe.  The specific link appears below.  Dr. Davis, in multiple forum or blog posts has stated that he prefers the LipoScience NMR above the other two blood tests he mentions in his post.  The NMR test ran about $100 when I ordered it.  You'll get the paperwork or a phone call in a couple days with a list of blood draw centers in your area.  Here's a link to the page with the LabSafe Order icon.

http://www.lipoprofile.com/control.cfm?id=69

When you order the NMR test, BE SURE to add the LipoProtein(a) (aka LP(a)) test to your order.

2)  Go to the Life Extension Foundation (LEF.org) website and order a Vitamin D test.  Dr. Davis would certainly say that the Vitamin D test is less a priority than #1 above but, hey, for about $47 or $62 more you can get the test out of the way at the same time that you do the NMR test.  Here's the link to the LEF Vitamin D test.

http://www.lef.org/newshop/items/itemLC081950.html

==>> The two LipoScience tests and the LEF Vitamin D test can be done at LabCorp drawing centers.  So, if you order them at the same time and wait a week to get all the paperwork you can get all the blood drawn in a single lab visit.

So, there, about $200 outside of insurance reimbursement, boom, done...  in a week...

Ok... That's all well and good but now you're thinking to yourself... "I need a Doctor's evaluation just like Dr. Davis has recommended in this blog post."

Well, I think Dr. Davis has significantly UNDERSTATED the value of joining his Track Your Plaque program for what, $40 for the first 3 months and $19 for every quarter after that?

Once you join the TYP program, you get access to the TYP forum.  Once you get your blood test results a week or so after the blood draw then you post those results (anonymously) to the forum and ask for advice about what to do.  Forum members who know what they're talking about (because they've been following Dr. Davis' work for a while) will provide you with feedback about what your numbers mean and what you need to do and can do about them.

Since I became a member, Dr. Davis has personally answered each post also unless the post didn't really require a reply.  Usually he replies within 24-48 hours.  Can you get an appointment with any doctor more qualified than he is to provide feedback in less time?  Well, no, you can't.  And then, when you have follow up questions, you can post those questions and get solid answers from other members or from Dr. Davis... about blood testing, heartscans, supplements, diet, etc.

I suppose you could ask for a personalized report from him for $75 as well.  My impression is that it wouldn't say much more than what he would say to you anyway in the forum.

From the forum, you'll often be referred to one or more of dozens of special reports Dr. Davis has written on the most critical issues related to coronary artery disease, including all the most harmful results you may learn of through the blood testing you got done.

One of the most important things about the forum is this:  Forum members, who have been doing the TYP program for a while, often post their 1 year results.  It's incredibly inspiring to read about folks reducing their coronary plaque measured by CT heart scans and improving their blood lipoprotein numbers.

So, 20 days, start to finish, less than $250 outside of insurance reimbursement, boom, you're armed with the information you need to move forward.

7 to 10 days from initial blood draw ordering to getting the blood draw done.  7 to 10 days from blood draw to receiving your results and getting world-class feedback from Dr. Davis and TYP members under his tutelage on your specific numbers that you post anonymously.

wccaguy--

Excellent points about vit D and practical ways to get this done.

And thanks for the wonderful comments.

How do we avail ourselves of the opportunity to send you our results for $75?  

I saw an "anti-aging" doctor who insisted I have the Atherotech VAP test, but frankly in my follow-up visit, I don't remember him saying much about the results.  In fairness, he ran about dozens of other tests as well, including extensive hormone tests, so the discussion may have gotten lost among discussion of the other test results, but he also spent a lot of time trying to sell me expensive vitamin "infusions" and other alternative therapies.

Just forward your lipoprotein results to contact@trackyourplaque.com. The link is on the website.

I'd like to make clear, however, that I discourage use of this route. It is  a last resort.

I frankly don’t like doing this because I feel that I can only provide limited information through this method and, frankly, it is very time consuming. I provide a written discussion of the implications and choices for treatment with the caveat to discuss them with your doctor, since I can’t provide medical advice without a formal medical relationship. We also charge $75 for the interpretation. But it’s better than nothing.