The Travis Corner

[Travis]

I would like to know your opinion on the carnivorous diet Travis. A lot of people are trying it, obviously because of the popularity of it on social media recently.

I’ve heard all of the generic reasons why people think it is apparently very effective for some, but I am really interested in your perspective.

There is a population model for this, and that is the Inuit. These people had eaten essentially all meat, and since they'd eaten it raw the vitamin C content had been preserved. Because of this they'd been largely free of scurvy and cardiovascular disease, which had further been ensured by their avoidance of omega−6 fatty acids: They had eaten practically all sea animals with an outrageously-high omega−6/omega−3 ratio, leading to negligible amounts arachidonic acid and 2-series prostaglandins. Since only thromboxane A₂ is a potent platelet aggregator and not thromboxane A₃, derived from EPA (20∶5ω−3), they had been practically 99.9% free of stroke and heart attack. The Inuit had bleeding times twice as long as their Danish neighbors and an EPA∶AA ratio so high that aspirin had actually shortened this, ostensibly by inhibiting thromboxane A₃ synthesis (Dyerberg, 1979). Yet most people eating a carnivorous diet would cook their food beforehand and it'd come with a much greater omega−6/omega−3 besides. An American carnivore would likely be quite different, and were a person to cronometer an all-cooked beef diet I don't imagine they'd be very impressed. Such a diet would have an osteoporotically-high level of protein (204 g), low calcium (221 mg), and high phosphorous so it should be no surprise that the Inuit are known for low bone density (Lazenby, 1997). I would also imagine that the Inuit would have substantial amounts of lipofuscin in their neurons from their excessive intake of long chain marine oils and iron.

 

[Travis]

I can only find baicalin to buy. is this a prodrug for baicalein and can I safely assume it has basically equivalent effects for this purpose?

I will try and do a root tincture of any skullcap plants on my property, but that takes time, and I'd like to try this soon. It also seems like baicalein has other generally protective effects, on GABA, estrogen, etc

Baicalin is the glycoside of baicalein and far more absorbable, so it's actually what you want. There are many studies on baicalein, and I certainly think it's the best flavonoid out of the dozens commonly studied.

 

[Travis]

For someone who doesn't have that much money but wants to try A2 milk, could I just switch to goat milk/cheese, or find a provider of jersey milk around me? I live in rural area where it's often cheap to buy raw milk.
Also what do you think of the use of colostrum in immuno-deficient people, or people who have concurrent high bands of IgG and overall low IgG/low bands? Same with IVIG, what do you think about that?

This would certainly enhance the immunity of the kid, calf, or child that would naturally consume it. Protective antibodies of course are found in colostrum, and the digestive tracts of the young are apparently better at assimilating its proteins. Yet it would be quite different for an adult human to consume bovine colostrum, and I don't see a reason to suppose the cow's antibodies would be particularly effective. I could see colostrum being helpful if you were to share conditions with the cow that'd made it, and in that way you'd have more antibodies against ambient bacteria and airborne fungal spores inhaled by the colostrum-donating cow. Yet antibodies from colostrum made from a cow far removed geographically may not even find a target to neutralize in an adult human, even should they escape proteolysis by their lower-pH stomach. Take an extreme example: The anti-malaria antibodies found in Ethiopian camel colostrum probably wouldn't be particularly helpful for Tony Sinclair, when in England, especially considering the amount of protective Gin & Tonics he consumes. [Did you know? Glyoxalase inhibitors are also used prophylactically against malaria (Urscher, 2011)].

 

[moss]

I will try and do a root tincture of any skullcap plants on my property, but that takes time, and I'd like to try this soon. It also seems like baicalein has other generally protective effects, on GABA, estrogen, etc

Before digging up your plants and making a tincture, in case you don't know your Scullcaps, be sure to identify the right species. Skullcap Scutellaria laterifolia and Baical Scullcap Scutellaria baicalensis both contain baicalein and both have very different actions on the body. One is anti-convulsive, antispasmodic and the other is an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial. They are striking plants with handsome flowers.

 

[Wagner83]

But also: steamed spinach and kale are not radical departures from the native state, no worse than salting really. The majority of vitamins remain unaffected by steaming, yet the food matrix thus modified food does have implications for the microbiota.

Do you have any idea how nutritious a kale broth (leaves discarded) would be? Is there any boiling time that should be favored to maximize the nutrient content in the broth?

Have you ever looked into xylitol and its potential effects on gram-negative bacteria?

 

[Lee Simeon]

Mister @Travis what do you think would be the best treatments and/or prevention tactics for someone that gets sick a lot and have a lot of colds.

 

[Mito]

Acne largely appears to be a dose-dependent function of androgens and/or insulin-like growth factor.

For the majority, acne seems to be more prevalent in the teenage years and becomes less prevalent as a person ages. Is that related to androgen or insulin-like growth factor levels falling during aging?

 

[energyandstruct]

This would certainly enhance the immunity of the kid, calf, or child that would naturally consume it. Protective antibodies of course are found in colostrum, and the digestive tracts of the young are apparently better at assimilating its proteins. Yet it would be quite different for an adult human to consume bovine colostrum, and I don't see a reason to suppose the cow's antibodies would be particularly effective. I could see colostrum being helpful if you were to share conditions with the cow that'd made it, and in that way you'd have more antibodies against ambient bacteria and airborne fungal spores inhaled by the colostrum-donating cow. Yet antibodies from colostrum made from a cow far removed geographically may not even find a target to neutralize in an adult human, even should they escape proteolysis by their lower-pH stomach. Take an extreme example: The anti-malaria antibodies found in Ethiopian camel colostrum probably wouldn't be particularly helpful for Tony Sinclair, when in England, especially considering the amount of protective Gin & Tonics he consumes. [Did you know? Glyoxalase inhibitors are also used prophylactically against malaria (Urscher, 2011)].

I can get colostrum from my neighbors' cows, so I guess it would be prophylactic against local pathogens (I really wonder about cow immunity to lyme)... But I get your point. I thought it helped with total IgG levels but if it's just about specific antibodies I guess more blended colostrum or IVIG which takes from a wide pool of the general population would be better

 

[energyandstruct]

Progesterone? Any experiences at all? : Nootropics


This is the only anecdote I've found of progesterone possibly having a very negative effect. I've seen anecdotes of not that great responses, but this is more intense.

Any thoughts on this? i don't think the guy is lying but it could've been a progestin
"
"Panic attacks where she felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest/pop and die that lasted anywhere from 5min to 20hrs, immediately followed by a huge drop in blood pressure (we have a cuff). At this point she'd feel like she was going to pass out and die. Again, this would last for 5min to half a day until her body would (again) dump cortisol & adrenaline.

At first it would last 7-10 days, 24hrs a day, every month (following her cycle). Then December 1 came... and it was 2 months non-stop...



In the spirit of helping others who might read or find this thread, I'm going to elaborate... Long, short story.

Two years ago she decided she should come off of birth control (been using for 16 years). "Just because" and in the event we wanted to have a kid. That first three+ weeks were rough - couldn't sleep, mood swings, etc. Nothing undocumented but it was tough.

This next part is important for everyone here to read

Her Naturopath gave her a bio-identical Progesterone cream to take ORALLY. Her symptoms fell off overnight. Used it for ~4-6 months, wanted to move on from it. The next step was Pregnenelone. Used the same way; orally. Used that for another ~6 months and wanted off of everything, but would still have sleep issues when she quit the Preg.

Still with me?

She tried a couple other things to get off the Preg, one finally worked although I suspect it was as much Placebo as anything. Anyway.

She was scheduled/had planned to do a full, 30-day hormonal saliva test beginning Oct 1 (need 1 full cycle off EVERYTHING to do it, and the Preg went into August's cycle, so.). We got pregnant Mid-Sept without knowing her hormone levels.

She saw some spotting a few weeks in and - THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART began using Progesterone TOPICALLY. Apparently you absorb a fraction when it's oral... Topical is straight into the bloodstream.

She used it for ~4 weeks. The first saliva hormone test she did was on Thanksgiving day (blood hormone tests won't pick this up). So even 1 month later (granted, we can't really speak to what her levels may have been before the topical use, though there were NO symptoms) her ratio (Prog:Estro) was insane.

Those benzo withdrawal symptoms are EXACTLY what she experienced. Exactly. Scary ******* ***t. We went to the ER once and they thought she was nuts. I mean, this stuff just isn't documented.

Just for the ladies that might find this thread:

rhythmicliving.org is where you need to start if you ever have symptoms of Progesterone Overdose. There is a Yahoo Group of women and they can direct you to (some) help, though it seems like you've got to bear with it, let it work its way out of your system.

I can't stress enough how much I WOULD NOT **** with progesterone. Find a Doc who REALLY knows what they're doing, test before, during (a lot!) and after. Do not assume it's "just going to help."

****, man. This ***t might actually be the end of our marriage. It's been that bad. I understand she thought she was doing something to save the pregnancy, and she'll argue she "wasn't being reckless," but the last four months have been a living hell. You stop sleeping for a few days and ***t gets weird... Try having a couple stop for MONTHS... No matter what it gets ugly and some nasty ***t gets said that maybe you can't fix.

I hate to type all of this here but: Beware Progesterone overdose. Test first. Test again. Test again and again and again.

Her levels are finally back to normal as of ~10 days ago, but honestly there's some serious Trauma we both went through as a result. Funny, she IS a shrink, and she'll be in therapy for this alone for who knows how long. Me? For longer. And I already had a full plate.

****.

Just don't mess with Progesterone. Unless you're changing sexes/genders. Then, whatever. But. My 2 cents is it's just not ******* worth it.

Hardest 4 months of my life. No question."

 

[energyandstruct]

I think LSD could be a tool to help understand how consciousness fundamentally works. The mainstream idea seems to be that G protein-coupled receptors are solely responsible for serotonin's effects, but they never explain how the nonspecific second messengers (i.e. cAMP, Ca²⁺) influence consciousness. If serotonin's membrane receptors were the entire story, you'd think LSD would be like 'more-or-less serotonin'—but this is not the case. I am almost tempted to think that certain molecules intercolate within microtubules—the conduit of nervous energy—directly where they influence Förster resonance energy transfer and/or psychofluorescence. While its true that LSD strongly binds serotonin receptors, many far less-psychedelic drugs can do this. The 'highest occupied molecular orbital'—a quantum chemical parameter—has also been correlated with psychedelic potency, and perhaps this has more to do with LSD's peculiar effects than simple binding affinities.

What's the story of how ray seems to think LSD is generally a serotonin antagonist (this is vague because doesn't discuss the diff. subtypes of serotonin receptors) and most sources now say it's an agonist? I've found early literature that said it's an antagonist based on peripherally having the opposite effect or directly opposing serotonin. I guess I don't know how they figure out whether something that binds to a receptor is an agonist or an antagonist... of course ray doesn't believe in receptor theory.
At the same time he seems to think LSD is too much of a stressor at high doses and the visuals are a negative. I frankly don't quite understand this view. I mean of course it's a little bit of a stressor like exercise, and shouldn't be undertaken by sick people, you need reserves for it. But I can't see how tripping could be considered inherently negative.

 

[Wagner83]

I didn't know Travis was into contemporary art as well.

 

[Hairfedup]

Hey Travis, was wondering to what extent, in your opinion, mtDNA haplotype contributes toward a person's hormonal profile and any other health issues present, i.e. hair loss etc. This paper sparked my interest in the possibility of this: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925443913003244

 

[Deleted member 5487]

After reading a bunch from this post. @Travis work seems to either be identical, or the same guy as Fruitarian Diets: How to Make Them Healthy.

1. "Eat as much fresh raw ripe fruit as you need for energy, but there is no evidence to support eating more than 65-70% calories from carbohydrates, especially from fruit sugar. If you eat 5-10% calories from protein, that leaves 20-30% calories from raw plant fat to fully meet your calorie allowance (See: The Body Fat Guide). A sufficient amount of healthy fat helps avoid excessive glucose intake that raises triglycerides and harms bone. If you are an athlete, increase your calorie intake by adding carbohydrates for active energy use, which lowers your percentage of calories from fat, although the absolute amount of dietary fat remains the same to meet resting energy needs.

1. Eat sufficient amounts of protein and calories for your weight on a raw diet, with no more than about 0.6-0.8 grams/kilogram bodyweight or less. Do not be misled by low calorie percentages of protein in food! Add more grams of raw plant protein from nuts and seeds when your overall calorie intake is low, as when dieting to lose weight (See: The Body Fat Guide). On the other hand, do not make the mistake of eating too many nuts to match the high-protein content of animal-based foods.

1. Adults should reduce their phosphorus intake to approach the RDA of 700 mg/day, or about 10-12.6 mg phosphorus/kilogram body weight. I find that a mid-range of 11.4 mg phosphorus/kg body weight is acceptable for an adult who requires a sufficient amount of protein and fat from natural whole food sources to increase healthy lean body weight. This is the approximate amount of phosphorus prescribed for patients with mild chronic kidney disease, at around 800-1000 mg phosphorus/day. The average adult male, vegetarian and omnivorous, consumes almost twice this amount of phosphorus. Select mostly fruits and nuts that are lowest in phosphorus per calorie, like apples, pears, pineapple, macadamias, coconut, etc. However, be aware that the absolute amount of phosphorus in macadamias, coconut, and avocados quickly adds up if you overeat these foods. Oils provide calories without phosphorus, but oils lack fiber and other nutrients, and these should be avoided as empty-calorie foods. The body functions best when the proper ratio of calcium and phosphorus in your meals and in your blood remains consistent throughout the day. Avoid large differences in phosphorus intake at meals which can cause the phosphorus load in your blood to build up, even if you remain within your daily phosphorus allowance. See Prevent Chronic Disease with A Phosphorus-Restricted Raw Vegan Diet.
2. 
   
3. Eat sufficient quantities of leafy green vegetables to help keep your dietary calcium: phosphorus ratio at between 1.4-1.7:1. Some authorities recommend a 2:1 ratio with as much as 1500 mg of calcium. The best greens in salads and smoothies are the darker, low-oxalate leaves of radishes, bok choy, kale, collards, arugula, etc. These foods are the best sources of alkaline minerals needed for healthy bone, teeth, nerves, and blood. Do not repeat T. C. Fry's fatal error: fruits cannot replace green leafy vegetables!"

Mabey this way of eating is the way to go?

It's shares a ton of peat principles.

 

[ajp173]

@Travis

Hi Travis,

Do you eat bell peppers or chili peppers?

They seem to have one of the highest vitamin c content of any vegetable (or fruit?), and also are very enjoyable to eat raw. They also look to be low in fat even compared with other vegetables. And lots of vitamin E.

I am also intrigued by rosehips, almost top for vitamin c per gram (I found some obscure fruits with a higher rating). And again almost 0 fat.

 

[Black Ops]

What does of bromelain would be needed to neutralise the gluten exorphons for example in a slice of bread ?

 

[tfcjesse]

After reading a bunch from this post. @Travis work seems to either be identical, or the same guy as Fruitarian Diets: How to Make Them Healthy.

Mabey this way of eating is the way to go?

It's shares a ton of peat principles.

Hmm, interested in his take on this too.

 

[squanch]

Regarding calcium consumption, how many eggshells do you guys think would be necessary to obtain sufficient dietary calcium intake if one is avoiding dairy and reticent about eating leafy greens. For that matter, how much is too many? I've had 4 full white eggshells the past two days, I havent noticed any adverse effects, but calculating my calcium intake i think i may be overdoing it. An egg weighs 57g according to google, 11% of which is the shell, so the shell weighs 2.5g. Now I've seen the numbers 40% and 95% respectively for the content of calcium carbonate in the shell. so that's 1g calcium per eggshell versus roughly 2.4g calcium per shell. with the former, 4 eggshells a day yields 4g of calcium which I think is fine for me given ample cofactors like vits D, A, K2 and magns. On the other hand, 4 * 2.4 yields 9.2g of calcium, that might be too much...
Moreover how much calcium is actually absorbed?

VM69/VM013: Concepts of Eggshell Quality
Chicken eggshell as suitable calcium source at home. - PubMed - NCBI

11 % of 57 g would be 6.27 g not 2.5 g.
Eggshells are 40 % elemental calcium (95 % calcium carbonate), so that gives you ~ 2,5 g of elemental calcium per eggshell.

 

[G Forrest]

Stopping the Aging Process May Be Mathematically Impossible | Smart News | Smithsonian

Hi @Travis

You mentioned you don’t agree with the telomere theory. I’m curious to know your thoughts on this article regarding longevity?

 

[energyandstruct]

Before digging up your plants and making a tincture, in case you don't know your Scullcaps, be sure to identify the right species. Skullcap Scutellaria laterifolia and Baical Scullcap Scutellaria baicalensis both contain baicalein and both have very different actions on the body. One is anti-convulsive, antispasmodic and the other is an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial. They are striking plants with handsome flowers.

we actually have both i think, but mostly chinese skullcap. if they both contain baicalein i would thinkt hey would both be useful tho

 

[Teres]

@Travis , this is trully a golden thread full of so much knowledge that after three days of reading and reaching the 85th page, many questions I've had now have their answers. Thank you and all the people who have contributed, including those who have asked the questions.

Yet I have some more and I get it - probably they might be a bit (okay, maybe more) off topic - but given your depth of understanding of the human physiology, I find it quite difficult to resist to not ask.

1. How do you see the processes that take place in the brain during the subjective feelings of wonder and fascination?

2. How do you see the brain of a person fascinated by science? It's state, it's neurochemical profile, the way it operates at. What is the picture like?