Why I Am Done With Peating Per Se

somuch4food

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First of all, I am forever grateful to Ray Peat for his questioning of authority that has given birth to this wonderful community.

Ray Peat has made me realize just how much we are brainwashed by media. I was on a path that was making me feel less and less alive by following health advice from the media and government. I was becoming orthorexic, Ray Peat or not.

I am now pretty much doing intuitive eating. I'm trying to understand what my body needs and how I feel after eating certain things. I will fail many times and already havr, but I know it's the way to go. Nobody can tell me what my body needs. I am the only one that has an intimate connection with it.

What I take with me from reading about Peat: endotoxins are the main culprits of chronic health problems, fats are not created equal, too much proteins is bad, carbs and sugars are healthy.

My whole relation to life has changed for the best. Where I was obsessed about following external advice to be healthy, I am now starting an internal journey to feel healthy and be able to start living the life I was meant to have.
 

TeaRex14

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Hope things work out for the best. Just for the record, Peat is not a nutritionist nor has he ever given any official "dietary guidelines." The term coined as "peating" is not something he really invented but rather a bunch of his followers. This is what leads some people into orthorexic territory. I've heard of people eating nothing but white rice, skimmed milk, and orange juice before. I don't think that's something Ray would actually ever recommend. I like to refer to it as eating a "Peat inspired diet." It's the only sensible way to approach this in my opinion. Eat pretty much whatever you want, while applying some of the hallmark principles he gives us (like avoiding PUFA for example). This allows for a very loose dieting protocol, so to speak. If nothing else just avoiding PUFA would work. And if you can't avoid PUFA or whatever reasons taking vitamin E with niacinamide and/or aspirin will help protect you from PUFA rich meals.
 

danielbb

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First of all, I am forever grateful to Ray Peat for his questioning of authority that has given birth to this wonderful community.

Ray Peat has made me realize just how much we are brainwashed by media. I was on a path that was making me feel less and less alive by following health advice from the media and government. I was becoming orthorexic, Ray Peat or not.

I am now pretty much doing intuitive eating. I'm trying to understand what my body needs and how I feel after eating certain things. I will fail many times and already havr, but I know it's the way to go. Nobody can tell me what my body needs. I am the only one that has an intimate connection with it.

What I take with me from reading about Peat: endotoxins are the main culprits of chronic health problems, fats are not created equal, too much proteins is bad, carbs and sugars are healthy.

My whole relation to life has changed for the best. Where I was obsessed about following external advice to be healthy, I am now starting an internal journey to feel healthy and be able to start living the life I was meant to have.
I think you are 100% correct. I don't think there is a universal prescription out there that works the same for every person. Ray has convinced me about the dangers of PUFA among other things and for that I am eternally grateful to him. One thing Ray advises that has not worked well for me is coconut oil. I pretty much do not consume any oil other than small amounts of olive oil and only when necessary. I've tested many of Ray's favorites and the ones that have worked well have been incorporated and the ones not so well I've let go. Most of his ideas have aligned with things I like anyways so it has not been hard or limiting.

Here's a simple way in which to manage a diet that I believe solves most problems. If you prepare most of your own food, stay away from processed food and especially avoid fried food along with PUFA, that over time and with some regular exercise, you will be healed.
 

Dobbler

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You are taking information in, experimenting and molding with that information. How do you think RP started? By doing the same exact thing. Do you think someone told him to eat dairy and fruit since age 1? No, he did the same exact thing.
 
OP
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somuch4food

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If nothing else just avoiding PUFA would work. And if you can't avoid PUFA or whatever reasons taking vitamin E with niacinamide and/or aspirin will help protect you from PUFA rich meals.

I am not even 100% on board that all PUFAs are bad. Chemically processed/heat treated oils void of any nutrients certainly cause damage to the body as do many other things. I personally think that as long as you don't cause too much damage and provide enough nutrients the body will figure out the rest.

You are taking information in, experimenting and molding with that information. How do you think RP started? By doing the same exact thing. Do you think someone told him to eat dairy and fruit since age 1? No, he did the same exact thing.
You are 100% percent correct about the man himself, but that's not the sense you get from communities online. Ray Peat does not have a big presence online so his persona is not strong and people run in all sorts of direction with the scarce information he gives which has given birth to the so called "diet".
 

theLaw

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If you listen to his interviews, Peat generally suggests adding milk/cheese + OJ to the diet, and slowly acclimating to improved health. I've never seen or heard Peat condone forcing any diet/lifestyle/supplement.

I always think of this old quote about change:

"You can't get there from here...............You have to go somewhere else to get there.":darts:
 

Vinero

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If you listen to his interviews, Peat generally suggests adding milk/cheese + OJ to the diet, and slowly acclimating to improved health. I've never seen or heard Peat condone forcing any diet/lifestyle/supplement.

I always think of this old quote about change:

"You can't get there from here...............You have to go somewhere else to get there.":darts:
Peat usually says to eat a diet INCLUDING milk and orange juice. Not eating milk and orange juice as the only foods.
And ofcouse he says to avoid the PUFAs, and other thyroid disrupters like nuts, seeds, grains, some vegetables etc.
 

TeaRex14

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I am not even 100% on board that all PUFAs are bad. Chemically processed/heat treated oils void of any nutrients certainly cause damage to the body as do many other things. I personally think that as long as you don't cause too much damage and provide enough nutrients the body will figure out the rest.
The general rule is anything with a concentrated dose of PUFA that's devoid of vitamin E and saturated fat is probably not doing your thyroid any favors. That's because both the vitamin E and the saturated fat help to displace the PUFA and block it. So this would include most any vegetable oil and most nuts and seeds (macadamia excluded). The animals fats from pork and chicken are somewhat of concern as well, but they do generally have enough saturated fat in them to prevent very bad reactions, especially when eaten infrequently and choosing lean cuts. Pastured raised pork eating a natural diet has less PUFA and more vitamin E in it too, so that's worth noting. I have seen a few cases where people have became PUFA paranoid and avoid basically all fats, including eggs, beef, liver, etc. Probably not the smartest thing to do, micronutrient density is more important then getting your PUFA intake under 1 gram.
 

stevrd

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Ray is a very eccentric man. One who's advice or suggestions should be taken with a grain of salt. As the OP stated, his contrarian stance has opened up many minds. Perceive, think, act, is a mantra that we should all strive to follow. I will also forever be grateful for Peat's work. I think people run into trouble when they take what he says literally. For example, they'll see a quote by him and then follow that quote 100% to a tee. Most of these people have not read enough of his articles to see that he does contradict himself, especially over the course of time. His views have changed over the years, which is a good thing, as should every person's views should change. It signifies intelligence and growth.

My advice to anyone who wants to follow Peat's work is to first read as much of his work as you can. Think very carefully about some of the things he is writing, for if not taking time to sleep on it, you'll wind up taking quotes of his out of context doing ridiculously restrictive things. I would advise people to stick to reading primarily his articles and avoid other websites and bloggers who try to "dumb down" his work. It's noble to try to make things more easily understood for the layman, however in the case of Peat's work this often does more harm than good, because if you read a quote from him without reading the whole article, you can completely lose the message he is getting at.
 

Cirion

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I agree about PUFA's, to an extent. An example: eggs are pretty much an irreplacable source of dietary cholesterol & choline, but have PUFA in them.

That said, even though I believe I am somewhat deficient in choline, I'm probably going to supplement choline rather than eat too many eggs, because I react negatively to PUFA's pretty bad, due to the current state of my health. Eggs usually make me crash hard.
 

Runenight201

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First of all, I am forever grateful to Ray Peat for his questioning of authority that has given birth to this wonderful community.

Ray Peat has made me realize just how much we are brainwashed by media. I was on a path that was making me feel less and less alive by following health advice from the media and government. I was becoming orthorexic, Ray Peat or not.

I am now pretty much doing intuitive eating. I'm trying to understand what my body needs and how I feel after eating certain things. I will fail many times and already havr, but I know it's the way to go. Nobody can tell me what my body needs. I am the only one that has an intimate connection with it.

What I take with me from reading about Peat: endotoxins are the main culprits of chronic health problems, fats are not created equal, too much proteins is bad, carbs and sugars are healthy.

My whole relation to life has changed for the best. Where I was obsessed about following external advice to be healthy, I am now starting an internal journey to feel healthy and be able to start living the life I was meant to have.

You will get healthy following this approach. It's worked extremely well for me and I think the best path to optimal health. I eat eggs, fatty pork, chicken, nuts, vegetables, yogurt, avocados, peanut butter all to my benefit. **** a PUFA, these foods taste good and make me feel good lol

I have to give credit to Peat for exposing my eyes to the wonders of sugar and milk, the rest of the PUFA orthorexia only made my health worse. Although I jibe with no vegetable oil...although I secretely have a little bit with my Pita Chips and guacamole =P
 
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Blossom

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First of all, I am forever grateful to Ray Peat for his questioning of authority that has given birth to this wonderful community.

Ray Peat has made me realize just how much we are brainwashed by media. I was on a path that was making me feel less and less alive by following health advice from the media and government. I was becoming orthorexic, Ray Peat or not.

I am now pretty much doing intuitive eating. I'm trying to understand what my body needs and how I feel after eating certain things. I will fail many times and already havr, but I know it's the way to go. Nobody can tell me what my body needs. I am the only one that has an intimate connection with it.

What I take with me from reading about Peat: endotoxins are the main culprits of chronic health problems, fats are not created equal, too much proteins is bad, carbs and sugars are healthy.

My whole relation to life has changed for the best. Where I was obsessed about following external advice to be healthy, I am now starting an internal journey to feel healthy and be able to start living the life I was meant to have.
It’s a state of mind anyway so if you went by diet alone I wouldn’t be considered “Peating”. I think the main thing is thinking for yourself.
 
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somuch4food

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Would you expound upon this? I'm not trying to start an argument or anything, I am just curious what you think (sincerely).

While researching about nutrition from many angles, I have found that any food can potentially affect us negatively. So, while PUFA can be bad, it is but one variable among a thousand others.

It’s a state of mind anyway so if you went by diet alone I wouldn’t be considered “Peating”. I think the main thing is thinking for yourself.

Yeah, I think that's why I added "per se". I am not implementing anything, I don't care about my metabolism/body temperature or weight. I have pretty much returned to my old diet from years ago when I was not restricting anything, without most of the processed foods though. That's my starting point. How it will unfold remains to be seen.
 

danielbb

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I have pretty much returned to my old diet from years ago when I was not restricting anything, without most of the processed foods though. That's my starting point. How it will unfold remains to be seen.
Restricting processed food is indeed a restriction but it is perhaps the healthiest choice you could make imho. If you look at all processed food labels, including ordinary bread on store shelves that is marketed to appear healthy, it usually contains PUFA and I believe it is used as a preservative to increase shelf-life of packaged/processed food. If people were just to prepare their own food (from ingredients they like) and mitigate/eliminate processed food, I believe a major part of this health-conscientiousness battle is won.

It seems to me the hallmark of Ray's work is the toxic nature of PUFA. Obviously, you'll get some in ordinary meat and sources like avocados and nuts. Based on Ray's meticulous research on the subject including citing sources for forming his opinions, it seems wise to restrict PUFA if at all possible. I am not dogmatic about this issue but it is a deal-killer as far as I am concerned based on what Ray has written about and what he has convinced me of.

The other stuff like OJ, milk, carrots, and so forth I believe Ray has come across these based on personal experience. For instance, he noted people in Russia were eating lots of starch and seemed obese to him but when he traveled to Sweden (or somewhere like that), he noticed the people were lean and eating more milk-based products so I think he formed that opinion anecdotally. I think he found raw carrots helped him with migraine headaches. If you don't like these things and others he talks about, then obviously don't consume them. Only you can determine what works best for you.
 

stevrd

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The other stuff like OJ, milk, carrots, and so forth I believe Ray has come across these based on personal experience. For instance, he noted people in Russia were eating lots of starch and seemed obese to him but when he traveled to Sweden (or somewhere like that), he noticed the people were lean and eating more milk-based products so I think he formed that opinion anecdotally. I think he found raw carrots helped him with migraine headaches. If you don't like these things and others he talks about, then obviously don't consume them. Only you can determine what works best for you.

This observation by Peat is one of the strangest he's made. It's akin to Ancel Keys cherry-picking data to suit his lipid hypothesis. One wouldn't walk into an Asian where the average BMI is much lower than the US and say that their leanness must be from all the rice they eat, and the low amount of dairy in their diets. And if one does make this observation, it's probably because he has some kind of pro-vegan confirmation bias. In both cases, how do we know that the leanness observed is not due to other confounders from diet, lifestyle choices, environment, etc?
 
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