Hi,
I'm starting this thread to record thoughts about RBTI, which bits of it seem compatible/incompatible with Peat's ideas, and which may be useful, based on my shallow beginner's understanding of both. Apparently there are others out there (hi Jennifer :) ) who know a lot more about it than I do. Please add your thoughts (and corrections if I am msisrepresenting RBTI).
Carey Reams was a chemist, a mathematician, and an agricultural expert. He analysed lots of vegetables to find out what was in them. He was very good at figuring out what to add to soils to grow healthy, high-brix* crops and healthy well-nourished animals.
He eventually applied himself to helping restore humans' health by measuring a bunch of parameters, and prescribing individual diets to bring them back towards optimum values. He saw minerally impoverished soils as a major contributor to human ill health (along with some unsuitable eating habits). As a general guideline, he encouraged people to eat as wide a variety of of fruits and vegetables as possible to help ensure they were getting all the minerals they needed (barring specific counter-indications depending on the numbers).
He did many measurements in the beginning, and eventually settled on 7 key parameters that were non-invasive to measure, and sufficient to see what was going on and guide towards what was needed. The 7 parameters were:
Urine brix (1.5), pH (6.4); conductivity (7 -forgotten the units); a couple of nitrogenous substances - representing protein available for building and protein on it's way out; and insoluble suspended particles; saliva pH (6.4).
When we are unwell, these numbers move away from optimum homeostasis, and make it hard for the body to use the nutrients in food to repair and replace cells. If you eat an appropriate diet, you can bring these numbers gradually closer to optimum, and restore health.
The idea of optimising these parameters, which tell something about the environment the cells are trying to maintain themselves in, makes sense to me.
Ideas apparently compatible with Peat's ideas
Mineral deficiencies are important. Especially Calcium.
Optimise intercellular environment for cellular repair.
Aim to get nutrition from nutricious food.
Grow and eat high-brix mineral-dense vegetables.
Drink little and often, not too much, not too little.
If you have a tendency to blood sugars plummeting, keep them stable by drinking a little juice every hour.
Measure individual's state, and design individual diet. Likely to change, so remeasure and adapt.
If you are a long way off optimum homeostasis, it is hard to absorb and use some minerals.
Eat most protein early in the day.
Spend at least a couple of hours outside each day.
Walking is good exercise. Do some every day.
Not too much bread.
Tended to favour sweet fruit and veges over high starch ones?
Eat (and drink) to maintain stable blood sugars, and your weight will go up or down to where it should be (where your genes prescribe, not always where you want it to be).
Reams' ideas incompatible with Peat's:
Avoid liver (I think?),
Reams seemed to have a record of helping very many people restore their health after the US medical system had nothing to offer them. He was hounded by the AMA for practicing medicine. He said he was not making diagnoses (diagnoses are guesses - the numbers were acurate analyses), and was only recommending diet (not prescribing drugs), so he wasn't practicing medicine. He was not aiming at immortality for anyone, but aimed to overcome serious disease, including diabetes, risks of sudden unexpected heart attacks, and a myriad other conditions.
His theories seem very complicated to learn, and the language Reams used to describe his theories is not aligned with current common scientific descriptions of biochemistry. He described biology/biochemistry in terms of frequencies, which is probably quite a valid to describe things, but it's not the way things are usually described. It was hard for me to get a grip on how his descriptions aligned with other science. Maybe it would be easier with more chemistry and maths background.
His students developed an ability to see patterns in the numbers.
But even experienced followers of Ream's seem to have differing views in some cases about how to treat particular situations, and while they seem to be helpful to many, there also seem to be some whose situation worsened with inappropriate advice.
I suspect he was really brilliant. Whole there seem to be some experience people around who have learned a lot from his methods, I didn't get the impression that anyone fully understood his theories, or is further developing them or verifying them using the usual scientific method. I could be wrong bout htis - I didn't take it all that far.
Personally, I tried to learn and apply some of the methods to my own situation, but never did it fully because I couldn't figure out how to get the reagents for a couple of the tests here. And they were a bit daunting. Couldn't find anyone in cooee here who was doing it. However, I did get a refractomer, a pH meter and strips, and a conductivity meter. I tested many times for the these measures, and used calcium supplements to bring pH from a bit too acid closer to optimal range. I measured urine pH about a month ago, figuring it would be good to check that the calcium I've been supplementing hasn't pushed me into the alkaline. I was happy with it being slightly acid - 6.8ish I think. For anyone concerned about milk-alkali syndrome, I think this would be a useful test. Does that make sense to others?
*Brix values tell you something about how much sugar and minerals are in the juice of a plant. The higher the brix for a particular plant type, the more nutrition it contains. If the minerals are not in the soil, they won't be in the plants.
I'm starting this thread to record thoughts about RBTI, which bits of it seem compatible/incompatible with Peat's ideas, and which may be useful, based on my shallow beginner's understanding of both. Apparently there are others out there (hi Jennifer :) ) who know a lot more about it than I do. Please add your thoughts (and corrections if I am msisrepresenting RBTI).
Carey Reams was a chemist, a mathematician, and an agricultural expert. He analysed lots of vegetables to find out what was in them. He was very good at figuring out what to add to soils to grow healthy, high-brix* crops and healthy well-nourished animals.
He eventually applied himself to helping restore humans' health by measuring a bunch of parameters, and prescribing individual diets to bring them back towards optimum values. He saw minerally impoverished soils as a major contributor to human ill health (along with some unsuitable eating habits). As a general guideline, he encouraged people to eat as wide a variety of of fruits and vegetables as possible to help ensure they were getting all the minerals they needed (barring specific counter-indications depending on the numbers).
He did many measurements in the beginning, and eventually settled on 7 key parameters that were non-invasive to measure, and sufficient to see what was going on and guide towards what was needed. The 7 parameters were:
Urine brix (1.5), pH (6.4); conductivity (7 -forgotten the units); a couple of nitrogenous substances - representing protein available for building and protein on it's way out; and insoluble suspended particles; saliva pH (6.4).
When we are unwell, these numbers move away from optimum homeostasis, and make it hard for the body to use the nutrients in food to repair and replace cells. If you eat an appropriate diet, you can bring these numbers gradually closer to optimum, and restore health.
The idea of optimising these parameters, which tell something about the environment the cells are trying to maintain themselves in, makes sense to me.
Ideas apparently compatible with Peat's ideas
Mineral deficiencies are important. Especially Calcium.
Optimise intercellular environment for cellular repair.
Aim to get nutrition from nutricious food.
Grow and eat high-brix mineral-dense vegetables.
Drink little and often, not too much, not too little.
If you have a tendency to blood sugars plummeting, keep them stable by drinking a little juice every hour.
Measure individual's state, and design individual diet. Likely to change, so remeasure and adapt.
If you are a long way off optimum homeostasis, it is hard to absorb and use some minerals.
Eat most protein early in the day.
Spend at least a couple of hours outside each day.
Walking is good exercise. Do some every day.
Not too much bread.
Tended to favour sweet fruit and veges over high starch ones?
Eat (and drink) to maintain stable blood sugars, and your weight will go up or down to where it should be (where your genes prescribe, not always where you want it to be).
Reams' ideas incompatible with Peat's:
Avoid liver (I think?),
- Avoid shell fish (not kosher - he claimed it threw the numbers off for days after, something to do with a lot of phosphate being released ina hurry at some stage of digestion/assimilation).
- Avoid refined sucrose; use molasses and a variety of other sweeteners
- Not too many potatoes.
- Don't feed meat to kids.
- Favour corn oil for cooking over saturated fats.
- A little weak coffe is good, but not lots of strong stuff.
- Grain-based breakfast is good for many people.
- Eat salad before meals.
- Drink fresh green juice for the chlorophyl before meals.
- Follow your prescribed diet and drinking regimen; don't trust your own tastes; let your advisor adjust the prescription if it's not working (not sure how accurate this is - may only have applied to people in serious trouble).
- Be careful with salts
- Follow kosher food rules
Reams seemed to have a record of helping very many people restore their health after the US medical system had nothing to offer them. He was hounded by the AMA for practicing medicine. He said he was not making diagnoses (diagnoses are guesses - the numbers were acurate analyses), and was only recommending diet (not prescribing drugs), so he wasn't practicing medicine. He was not aiming at immortality for anyone, but aimed to overcome serious disease, including diabetes, risks of sudden unexpected heart attacks, and a myriad other conditions.
His theories seem very complicated to learn, and the language Reams used to describe his theories is not aligned with current common scientific descriptions of biochemistry. He described biology/biochemistry in terms of frequencies, which is probably quite a valid to describe things, but it's not the way things are usually described. It was hard for me to get a grip on how his descriptions aligned with other science. Maybe it would be easier with more chemistry and maths background.
His students developed an ability to see patterns in the numbers.
But even experienced followers of Ream's seem to have differing views in some cases about how to treat particular situations, and while they seem to be helpful to many, there also seem to be some whose situation worsened with inappropriate advice.
I suspect he was really brilliant. Whole there seem to be some experience people around who have learned a lot from his methods, I didn't get the impression that anyone fully understood his theories, or is further developing them or verifying them using the usual scientific method. I could be wrong bout htis - I didn't take it all that far.
Personally, I tried to learn and apply some of the methods to my own situation, but never did it fully because I couldn't figure out how to get the reagents for a couple of the tests here. And they were a bit daunting. Couldn't find anyone in cooee here who was doing it. However, I did get a refractomer, a pH meter and strips, and a conductivity meter. I tested many times for the these measures, and used calcium supplements to bring pH from a bit too acid closer to optimal range. I measured urine pH about a month ago, figuring it would be good to check that the calcium I've been supplementing hasn't pushed me into the alkaline. I was happy with it being slightly acid - 6.8ish I think. For anyone concerned about milk-alkali syndrome, I think this would be a useful test. Does that make sense to others?
*Brix values tell you something about how much sugar and minerals are in the juice of a plant. The higher the brix for a particular plant type, the more nutrition it contains. If the minerals are not in the soil, they won't be in the plants.