Sugar and Cholesterol Experiment – Part I

Hypothesis

The increase in sugar from Stage 2 (Intervention) will result in LDL cholesterol of Stage 3 (Aftermath) to be lower than stage 1 (Washout).

Experiment Design

For the first three days (Washout stage) and last five days (Aftermath stage), I will have the keto shake only. For the three days in the middle (Intervention stage), I will have both the keto shake and Skittles candy. The intent is to increase my energy status and thus result in my blood tests ultimately having lower LDL cholesterol.

Why This is Different

Unlike the experiments I’ve done before, this one is distinctly different in three ways:

• It is an addition of carbs, not a “swapping” of carbs. I’m keeping the quantity of shake the same throughout the entire experiment. I’ve never done an experiment where carbs on top of an existing high fat, high-calorie diet. And no, I don’t believe this will be especially good for me and quite enthusiastically discourage others from trying it.
• I’ll be taking refined sugars in the form of high fructose corn syrup — something I never thought I’d ingest again!
• And finally, this outcome is a lot more unknown! Most other experiments I do have something smaller I’ve built on from before, but this one is a lot different. For example, the higher carb intake well above my maintenance level could lead to more de novo lipogenesis which could counter or exceed the (theoretical) LDL lowering of energy status, leading to higher LDL for Stage 3 and disproving my hypothesis. I genuinely don’t know yet.

Needless to say, this experiment is certainly a lot more volatile and exploratory than any I’ve done in a long time.

A Short Note on Fructose Malabsorption

One thing to know is that long before starting keto I found I had fructose malabsorption. It’s an intense GI stress with the gut that can come on hours or even a day later than the dosage that activated it. I’m pretty confident this was induced along with my two childhood friends who also have it due to how much soda we drank growing up (Big Gulps and video game binges).

Before going low carb, I found I could have limited amounts of fructose and even HFCS, but it was often unknown whether I’d feel the GI stress effects of it since it can often manifest that evening or the next day. So it’s possible I could be well into the experiment when this becomes a problem.

If the problem manifests and it is indeed severe, I’ll have to abort the experiment.

Vlogging Throughout For Patrons

I also plan to do live vlogging updates throughout the experiment for my Patreon. Thanks once again to everyone who has supported this research directly!

A special shoutout to Keto and Co who generously provided the keto shakes for this experiment: Chocolate Ketolent. (These links are not affiliates and while I accept product and service support for my research, I do not allow for any financial compensation from any business entity)