Controlling the APO Gene That Increases Risk Of Alzheimers Through Reducing Cholesterol Consumption
If you could severely reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, would you do it?. If that meant you needed to reduce your cholesterol consumption, would you do it?
APOE4 is a gene that makes you susceptible to Alzheimer’s. 15 % of the U.S. population has 1 APOE gene inherited from either their mother or father. Having one gene triples the chances of developing Alzheimer’s.
It is a good thing only 2% of the population has an APOE gene from both the mother and father because that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s 9 times.
It is also a good thing your genes don’t determine who you are by themselves. Nigerians have the highest frequency of APOE genes, but they also have some of the lowest Alzheimer’s rates.
The difference was their diets centered of plant foods. They generally consumed a diet low in cholesterol because whole plant foods do not contain cholesterol. Only animal foods contain cholesterol.
A Western diet is centered on meat, so it goes to say it also contains a lot of cholesterol. Studies have shown a clear link between excessive cholesterol consumption and the development of atherosclerosis in the brain as in the arteries of the heart.
Atherosclerosis, the condition where cholesterol and fat builds up in the arteries, hardens and reduces the diameter of the opening of the arteries of the brain and reduces blood and nutrient flow to the brain.
This can cause mini strokes, brain shrinkage, and other conditions which all play a major role in issuing in Alzheimer’s disease. APOE is the principle cholesterol carrier in the brain. The more APOE, the more plaque in the brain and the greater the risk of Alzheimer’s.
