Ray Peat Email Advice Depository Discussion/Comment Thread

[Parsifal]

View attachment 4744

 

[Such_Saturation]

Did he really compare those two?

 

[Parsifal]

Did he really compare those two?

Don't really remember why I posted that at that time, was really deep into brain fog. I think I asked the second question as compared to mainstream physics, not Orch Or, but since Orch Or is based on Quantum Physics...

 

[John Frusciante]

In your recent Kmud talk you mentioned what you thought a good body fat percentage for women were and older people. I was wondering what you considered a good body fat percentage for younger men was?

When you talk about body fat being a continuous source of things such as estrogen, do you consider that only when the fat is unsaturated?

Thank you

Wow, still seems a lot.

 

[Mjhl85]

In response to a question about using refined sugar when fruit quality is low:

Im curious to know why its important to avoid starches when using refined sugar. Seemed like an emphasis.

 

[marikay]

In response to a question about using refined sugar when fruit quality is low:

This is a little confusing since oranges are in season in winter in the U.S. I have trouble finding good and inexpensive oranges in the summertime. Also, do you suppose Ray mixes the concentrate with water that is non-fluoridated? I thought he gave up concentrated orange juice when he found he couldn't get non-fluoridated water to mix it with.

 

[Birdie]

This is a little confusing since oranges are in season in winter in the U.S. I have trouble finding good and inexpensive oranges in the summertime. Also, do you suppose Ray mixes the concentrate with water that is non-fluoridated? I thought he gave up concentrated orange juice when he found he couldn't get non-fluoridated water to mix it with.

And this is so odd because think I've seen where Ray said he used to use frozen oj, but the quality changed, so he stopped it.

 

[Birdie]

Oh shoot. I just replied to a reply in the Advice Depository.

 

[Fetch]

Not sure about orange juice concentrate but if I am not mistaken Ray lives in Eugene, Oregon and they don't fluorinate there water.

 

[Regina]

I haven't been active here for a long time, but I decided to share some older and newer original answers from Ray within the community. For an easy transferring into the wiki page, I have already seperated them by the right topic. I hope this will be helpful for some people and bring on some meaningful discussions.


--- 2011 ---

Myopia / Nearsightedness
"My myopia improved about 3 diopters when I spent a few months at high altitude, and took some pregnenolone. I think it's the CO2 balance in the tissues with reduced oxygen pressure, Bohr effect. If you are adapted, the higher altitudes have more effect. The time I noticed the biggest change I was only at 6600 feet altitude, but shorter stays at 8700 feet caused quick improvement. I used that method for several years and stopped the progression while I did it, but when I started to read all day year after year, I neglected it. I got it from Aldous Huxley's Art of Seeing, describing the Bates method. I worked with an optometrist who had studied at Ohio State, when their optometry school was progressive."

Light Sensitivity / Night Blindness
Having liver and shellfish once a week to help with the vitamins and trace minerals, and two quarts of milk per day, and plenty of fruit, should help with the sensitivity and night blindness.

Major Benefits of Milk/Cheese
"The calcium, accompanied by some saturated fat, is a major benefit of milk and cheese".

Colostrum and increased Glutathione
"Colostrum is probably o.k., but increasing glutathione isn't necessarily evidence that something is beneficial; it's a common reaction to injury."


--- 2012 ---

Liver
"Too much liver can inhibit thyroid function, so the amount depends on the individual. I think there are other reasons, but the high A content is the main one. A high ratio of phosphate to calcium contributes."

Gelatin
"Some people feel better with a tablespoon or two of gelatin with their regular foods."

CO2 Bag
"I had a two dollar bag of corn meal that got moist and metabolized for several months, but the movement of air in a house is usually too much for a bag to make a noticeable difference."

Salt
"Salt appetite is usually a good indicator of need."

Eye Floaters
"Avoiding stress, with occasional liver in the diet, regular eggs, to keep the vitamin intake high."

Bloodshot Eyes
"Enlarged vessels in the eye, especially if there's yellow around them, are suggestive of a B vitamin deficiency, especially B2, but there are no really safe supplements of B2, so having liver once a week would be reasonable."

Aspirin
"I think a little aspirin, regularly if not daily, is good prevention, if you are sure to get enough vitamin K, to prevent excess bleeding. The amount depends on how you react to it, and can change as your metabolism adjusts. Taking some at bedtime can be very helpful for sleeping; sometimes I take about 500 mg at night, but other times just a little. I think the crystals are more stable, but I keep the big container (a multi-year supply) in the freezer, and keep out enough for a couple of months. The powdered forms developed an acetic acid smell with time, the crystals don't."

Nutrient Requirement of a Pure Fruit / No-Fat Diet:
"Intestinal bacteria are an important source of B12, and many plant materials contain some. Carotene can be converted to vitamin A when B12 is available. I don't think the real causes of a B12 deficiency are known. A generous dietary source of both A and B12 is desirable, but usually not essential. I think the main reason for having a significant amount of fat in the diet is for its effect on digestion."

Shea Butter
"Shea butter has about 3 times as much linoleic acid as coconut oil."

Hair Washing
"I use either coconut soap or baking soda for washing my hair. I rarely use soap on my skin."


--- 2013 ---

Magnesium Requirement
"Getting enough sodium in the diet helps to retain magnesium, but both of them are lost easily when thyroid function is low; when the thyroid status is good, the requirement for magnesium is easily met by ordinary foods. The things I most often recommend for magnesium are the water from boiling greens such as beet, chard, turnip and kale, and coffee. Magnesium carbonate is a very good supplement, except that it can cause intestinal irritation. People tell me that they don't have bowel irritation from magnesium glycinate. Either Mg chloride or Mg sulfate with baking soda can be absorbed through the skin"


--- 2014 ---

A Children's Protein Requirement
"Growing children need quite a bit of protein containing tryptophan."

Coffee and Niacin
"Dark roast coffee provides the most niacin."


--- 2017 ---

Magnesium Supplements
"Magnesium supplements often cause bowel inflammation, and intestinal irritation can cause insomnia."

Thyroid / Cynoplus
"I always take my cynoplus at night, to go to sleep faster; it has an antiinflammatory effect."

Mineral Balance
"Keeping the TSH a little lower is the best way to assure balance of the minerals, since it helps with the retention of sodium and magnesium. Drinking milk and salting food to taste will provide a good balance when the stress hormones are low."


Cheers!

Thanks!

 

[schultz]

Thanks!

Yes thanks @Close to Nature . Some good info. there.

"I think the main reason for having a significant amount of fat in the diet is for its effect on digestion."

Some fat does seem to help my digestion. It also makes me feel replete. Not too much, but some.

 

[lollipop]

@Close to Nature feeling grateful for your effort to put these notes onto the forum. Interesting thoughts. I also noticed the fat quote @schultz posted above. Good stuff. I wonder if Ray has changed his thoughts on this?

 

[Close to Nature]

I haven't seen that paper, but Peat has talked about a study that has shown that a combination of all three macronutrients (Carbs, Protein, Fat) increases the digestion of each other, so you need some fat in your diet to provide optimal digestion. Some years ago, when I was "hardcore" peating, I took care of that in every meal. This could be one reason why I got rid of every digestion issue by that time.

 

[Dessert_All_Day]

Me: ...I'd be interested to find out what you think about monogamy in human relationships. Do you think, for example, that to commit to a theoretically life-long contract of sexual exclusivity is to stifle our true nature in a potentially harmful way? Monogamous, long-lasting relationships are generally held up as the model in this domain, with anything else usually considered as a failure or a perversity. Is it right that the sacrifices inherent in the commitment of monogamy should be held in such esteem?

Ray: I think it’s based on the property mentality.

Lol! Never any sacred cows with Ray Peat. Good stuff.

 

[schultz]

@Close to Nature feeling grateful for your effort to put these notes onto the forum. Interesting thoughts. I also noticed the fat quote @schultz posted above. Good stuff. I wonder if Ray has changed his thoughts on this?

I think he has always recommended having a certain amount of fat with each meal. The reason he talks about "no fat" diets all the time is to make a point about PUFA (at least that's how I think of it).

@Close to Nature He talks about that study in the East/West podcast. I haven't seen the study either.

Josh Rubin: So the question is, if the body can make all the saturated fat it needs, what's the importance, if any, of consuming saturated fats?

Ray Peat: One thing is that it makes the food a lot pleasanter to eat. It makes it digest more efficiently and steadily. Experiments with a loop of intestine…they would put just proteins, or just carbohydrates, or just fats in at a time; and they found that the digestion was very poor until you had all three types of food present at the same time. It was as if the intestine needed a complex stimulus before it would really effectively start absorbing and digesting the food. So it's partly a stimulus to your intestines to handle the protein and the carbohydrate effectively and it’s a signal of satisfaction, that helps to lower stress, to have fat and sugar in your food.

Enjoyment of food is very under-rated in the world of nutrition, IMO.

Here is another quote where he talks about fat...

"And the fat does several things. The saturated fat works with fructose and insulin to handle your oxidation of the glucose and the fat also slows the absorption so that you don't get a surge of glucose in your blood when you, say, have coffee with sugar. And the coffee, like the glucose, stimulates your metabolic rate and both of those, by increasing your metabolic rate, are going to increase your general nutritional requirements- minerals and all of the vitamins have to be adequate and if you don’t substitute the sugar for things like fruit, milk, cheese, shellfish, eggs and so on, then you will very likely become deficient in biotin and Vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid, selenium and copper are things that are among the first to become deficient if you try to run on too much coffee and sugar and not enough food."

Anyone reading the above will notice that Ray is warning about eating too much white sugar because of its lack of micro nutrients. This brings up the point I am always trying to make: How many problems that people have are due to not getting enough micros? Maybe some of these micros can't cure problems, but it's possible they can prevent them in the first place.

 

[lollipop]

I think he has always recommended having a certain amount of fat with each meal. The reason he talks about "no fat" diets all the time is to make a point about PUFA (at least that's how I think of it).

@Close to Nature He talks about that study in the East/West podcast. I haven't seen the study either.

Josh Rubin: So the question is, if the body can make all the saturated fat it needs, what's the importance, if any, of consuming saturated fats?

Ray Peat: One thing is that it makes the food a lot pleasanter to eat. It makes it digest more efficiently and steadily. Experiments with a loop of intestine…they would put just proteins, or just carbohydrates, or just fats in at a time; and they found that the digestion was very poor until you had all three types of food present at the same time. It was as if the intestine needed a complex stimulus before it would really effectively start absorbing and digesting the food. So it's partly a stimulus to your intestines to handle the protein and the carbohydrate effectively and it’s a signal of satisfaction, that helps to lower stress, to have fat and sugar in your food.

Enjoyment of food is very under-rated in the world of nutrition, IMO.

Here is another quote where he talks about fat...

"And the fat does several things. The saturated fat works with fructose and insulin to handle your oxidation of the glucose and the fat also slows the absorption so that you don't get a surge of glucose in your blood when you, say, have coffee with sugar. And the coffee, like the glucose, stimulates your metabolic rate and both of those, by increasing your metabolic rate, are going to increase your general nutritional requirements- minerals and all of the vitamins have to be adequate and if you don’t substitute the sugar for things like fruit, milk, cheese, shellfish, eggs and so on, then you will very likely become deficient in biotin and Vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid, selenium and copper are things that are among the first to become deficient if you try to run on too much coffee and sugar and not enough food."

Anyone reading the above will notice that Ray is warning about eating too much white sugar because of its lack of micro nutrients. This brings up the point I am always trying to make: How many problems that people have are due to not getting enough micros? Maybe some of these micros can't cure problems, but it's possible they can prevent them in the first place.

Thank you @schultz. The idea of balance in micros and macros on all fronts, apart from low PUFA, seems the most healthy middle path to a steady stream of vital energy and overall biochemical wellness. I have most often gone wrong when I moved to the extremes. Extremes seem helpful when needing to overcome a large deficit or health problem.

 

[Birdie]

@Close to Nature : Thank you. Good info. I sent the magnesium supplement info to somebody (husband) who takes it every night. I do too. Hadn't heard that it might interfere with sleep.

And he says Mg often causes bowel inflammation.....

He also says people report good tolerance to Mg glycinate, which is the one we use. So, think I'll rule out the magnesium as a colon irritant, but consider taking it earlier in the day.

I'm almost becoming convinced that I can count on getting magnesium requirements from coffee. But we don't often drink the water from cooked greens. Hence, the supplement. I dunno.

 

[yerrag]

Q. I was wondering, is there any ailment, other than broken bones or something, that you would consider going into hospital for?



Q. Interesting, would you do in the case of a broken bone? What symptoms do you think it would be reasonable for somebody to visit the hospital?

I once badly injured my ankle when I jumped very high to catch a soccer ball with my legs. I caught the ball and was amazed I jumped that high. The amazement made me lose focus on landing, and my foot came crashing on its heel. It was so painful and swollen. I just wrapped my foot in bandage, and kept it from getting wet. I was worried my ankle would lose its strength and pliability, but I just thought if I could slowly get myself into using my foot and giving the muscle needed practice, it would slowly heal and recover its strength. This was about 18 years ago. Now, I still have two strong ankles that have no memory of that incident. I don't recall why I didn't go to a doctor then, but it's probably because I had the impression that doctors would tell operate on it, and for me surgery is more dangerous than letting the body heal by itself. I recall people telling me that my ankle would never regain its strength because of the injury, and I felt they were led into thinking that by their experience with doctors. I recall when I was small I jumped off a swing and landed on my elbow. I was brought to a Chinese "bone adjustment" expert and he straightened out my elbow with a quick pull and jerk motion, and that was the end of it. Perhaps I may have needed a second visit, but that was it. Perhaps from this experience I knew there are times I won't have to rely on an orthopedic doctor to fix me up.

So, yes, it's nice to hear Ray Peat say this much about it. Still, I'd be scared if it were a broken bone.

 

[Brothers keeper]

Re: Ray Peat Email Advice Depository

How does one get in touch with Peat?

I, too would like to know

 

[Koveras]

Me: "If I react badly to glycine and gelatin, but I can tolerate taurine just fine, can the taurine be taken with muscle meat to reduce the muscle meat anti-thyroid effects instead of glycine/gelatin?"

Dr. Peat: "I don’t think it will have a similar effect, but it might provide its own unique benefit."

What sort of things do you experience with glycine and gelatin?