APOE4 question
How do I tell whether a new supplement or habit actually changed my results?
Measure first, change one thing, give it two to three months, then measure again under the same conditions. Log what you take and how you feel every day, because memory is a poor judge and several changes at once hide what worked. Remember that lab results bounce around on their own, so one before-and-after pair is a clue for you, not proof.
This is not medical advice. Phoenix educates. Your doctor decides what is right for you.
What the research and Kevin's videos say
What the research says
APOE4-specific evidence: none
Formal single-person (n-of-1) trials switch between a treatment and a control period several times; a single before-and-after test can be fooled by normal ups and downs, which for brain blood markers can be as big as 20 to 40% between draws.
Key studies
Vohra 2015, BMJ
CONSORT extension (CENT) setting out how single-person crossover trials should be designed and reported.
Read on PubMed (opens in a new tab)Brum 2024, Alzheimers Dement
In healthy people, Alzheimer's blood markers varied within person; changes of about 20 to 40% between draws could be normal variation.
Read on PubMed (opens in a new tab)
What Kevin and experts say
Now showing: Dr. Kevin Tran · 23:05
Open on YouTube (opens in a new tab)
Change one thing at a time and re-test.
“changing hopefully only one parameter, not too many correlated parameters, and evaluating after if it changed”
Dr. Kevin Tran, Founder of The Phoenix Community, Doctor of Pharmacy, APOE4/4 carrier
Test each change for 2-3 months.
“Then you want to run this interventions from two to three months usually.”
Dr. Kevin Tran, Founder of The Phoenix Community, Doctor of Pharmacy, APOE4/4 carrier
Log interventions alongside sleep data.
“You want to link your interventions like if you're doing you know, like cooling your room, if you're taking supplements, with whatever data is coming from your Oura Ring”
Dr. Kevin Tran, Founder of The Phoenix Community, Doctor of Pharmacy, APOE4/4 carrier
Many life factors blur the effect of one supplement.
“question is a little bit more complicated not taking [omega-3] and see how your brain respond because brain respond only how you sleep what is your stress level”
Boris Goldstein, Founder of BrainBit (EEG and neurofeedback devices), PhD in real-time processing
Last reviewed