Cholesterol Update After Stopping Bionic Fiber

Posted on by BJJ Caveman

Bionic Fiber and Cholesterol 1

Brief Summary

I had normal cholesterol, went low carb, and then ketogenic, and saw that my cholesterol started to go crazy.  I tried a host of things to bring it down including raising my carbs and taking various supplements to no effect.  I finally saw a lipidologist, did some more research, and came up with a 12 point gameplan which surprisingly worked!

I’m now in the process of peeling away parts of my gameplan to see what changes, if any happen to my cholesterol levels.

Most recently I stopped taking Bergamot and saw that my LDL-P and Small LDL-P both bumped up.

My next step was to stop taking Grace Liu PhD’s special fiber combination that she calls Bionic Fiber:

Bionic Fiber Version C [Amped Up Bionic Fiber for Fat Burning].

Rotating in the following:

I plan to write a separate post on my Bionic Fiber experiences so I won’t go into too much detail here, but suffice it to say, I was eager to stop taking it.

Oh yeah, I also started drinking coffee again.  Just couldn’t resist the siren song of a warm cup of joe in the morning.  I know I shouldn’t be changing more than one variable at a time, and this is really making for poor science… but it is what it is.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/coffee-snob-photos_n_4177849.html
*Image from here

What Happened to my Cholesterol?

Bionic Fiber and Cholesterol 2

Bionic Fiber and Cholesterol 3

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Here is the tabulated data including all of my prior tests (the BJJ Cavewife likes to make fun of my love for spreadsheets).  You can click on the table to make it bigger in case the font is too small:

 

Bionic Fiber and Cholesterol 4

 

LDL-P: It came back down to 1611 from 1817, for a drop in 207 points.  It’s also at the second lowest level it’s been since I started measuring.

Small LDL-P: This dropped to 547 from 886, for a total loss of 339 points.  This is the absolute lowest it’s been since I’ve been measuring AND is only 20 points above the normal range!

LDL-C: This paradoxically went up to 143 from 135.

Triglycerides: Slight elevation to 86 from 69, suggesting that I may have increased my carb intake a tad bit more compared to prior.

HDL-C:  Minimal decrease to 50 from 56, still within the range of where it’s been for the past 5 years.

Vitamin D: This is still low at 35.2 and didn’t really change from my most recent measurement in July 2015 when it measured 31.  While I’ve been supplementing regularly with 2000-4000 IU with Exos Vitamin D + K, this tells me that it’s not enough.  In order to get it to the optimal range of 50-90 recommended by my lipidologist, I’ll probably need to double the dose.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

So, here’s what we know so far.  Doing all 12 things brought my cholesterol down.  Removing the bergamot made it go back up a bit. And now stopping the bionic fiber and adding in a cup of coffee per day brought it back down again.

I don’t think we can conclude that that bergamot and coffee are good while bionic fiber is bad.

Maybe taking all of that bionic fiber and probiotics have changed my gut biome for the better and the changes persist despite removing the bionic fiber?

Maybe it’s all within the range of normal variation?

Maybe it’s all due to a prolonged reduction in saturated fat given my Apo E 3/4 status?

Maybe it’s all due to my improved oral hygiene?  We already know that there is a relationship between oral hygiene and cholesterol, and we know that my oral biome is colonized by high risk bacteria.  Perhaps I was able to eradicate all the baddies in my mouth.

At this point, I’m not entirely sure that I care about why!  I’m just happy that things are normalizing.  Besides, I think that what I’m doing is much easier than Jimmy Moore’s 17 day fasting protocol.

For the sake of completion though, I’ll keep on trucking on.  The next component of my Anti-Cholesterol Gameplan I’ll be removing is Berberine.  I’ll be continuing with:

  1. Reduce saturated fat intake
  2. Eat more beans
  3. Eat low carb but not ketogenic
  4. Probiotics including VSL#3, Prescript Assist, and Primadophilus Reuteri.
  5. Omega 3
  6. Vitamins and Minerals (Athletic Greens, Vitamins D+K, Magnesium Threonate)
  7. Optimize Oral Hygiene
    1. Brushing at my gum line with my Oral B electric brush
    2. Using Oxyfresh Mouthwash
    3. Flossing
    4. Brushing with these angled go between brushes
  8. Maintain exercise (BJJ 4-5x per week, weight lift 1-2x per week).

I’ll do another blood test in a month or so and see what happens.

Category: Cholesterol, Vitamin D

11 thoughts on “Cholesterol Update After Stopping Bionic Fiber”

  1. Quick Comments:

    From my perspective, you are focusing on the wrong thing and I think this was also noted in your Lipidologist post:

    I think the order of focus should be:

    LDL-P – too high, every reporting period
    ApoB – too high last time tested, s/b tracked monthly
    Sm LDL-P – too high, every reporting period
    LP-IR – Geez how are you enjoying the carbs in your diet! A1C is the truth teller.

    Cholesterol – don’t care unless over 400.

    If you get particles down with ApoB and stay off of the carbs then everything else will more correctly.

    Coffee is good!

    Also, since this is a not a scientific level experiment, throw in 3 grams of Niacin, with the flush, and particles will drop.

    Thanks again for sharing.

    1. LDL-P actually is my main focus, and all my efforts, however misguided they may be, are an attempt to bring down LDL-P.

      ApoB will go hand in hand with LDL-P, as will Sm LDL-P.

      I agree with you, I don’t care too much about total cholesterol.

      LP-IR doesn’t really tell much regarding insulin resistance, since as Dr. Dall said, it’s just a calculation based on the lipid data.

      A1C is the truth teller, but in my case I’m not 100% sure. My carb in take really isn’t that high (i’ve started tracking again), and my fasting sugars are in the 90s, so I don’t know why my A1C is 5.7%. The only explanation is underlying insulin reistance for which the dietary treatment would be super low carb…

      Not sure how I feel about niacin. No real mortality benefit from what I understand.

  2. Will you add Bergamot back at some point? it seems to bring down LDL-P the most, no? I only started with it a couple weeks ago. Since I am a ‘super absorber’ and only a borderline high ‘producer’ regarding cholesterol, i am unsure what result i will get from taking Bergamot.

      1. My doctor wants me to be on Bergamot and Noni supplements for 6 months, then test again. That would be in June. I have doubt over Bergamot’s effect for me a cholesterol super absorber, and wonder if I should try Niacin. But use both will make it hard to know which one works.

        1. If its in your budget, you can consider taking bergamot for 4-8 weeks and then testing on your own, just to see what effect if any it has on you.

          Then you can stop it and then go on Niacin for another 4-8 weeks and then test again.

          Then take both for 4-8 weeks, and test when your Dr. sees you.

          1. Where do you get test on your own? Just NMR or a lot more?

            Have you done test on Oxidized LDL panel?

    1. No I haven’t. It’s not something I’m familiar with… any data showing it to be helpful?

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