Advocatus Diaboli: The Anti-peat Framework

[S-VV]

I thought it would be funny and interesting to develop a framework opposed to Ray peats ideas. This is purely an intellectual exercise. Of course, I will try to keep the framework as self consistent as I can (or as Gödel will allow me), and I will not include obviously wrong things, ie "Being hypothyroid is actually GREAT" or "Castrate yourself for a longer lifespan". Another requirement is that everything should be backed up by high quality evidence. So, lets start:

-Omega 3 are good for you. Krill oil is a super food
-Serotonin is the "happiness" hormone and contributes to the feeling of contentment
-Melatonin is necessary for restorative sleep
-Fibre is essential for a diverse microbiome. Eat various forms of fibres to gain maximum diversity
-Beta-oxidation is good. It also leads to fat loss. L-Carnitine supplementation is a must
-Intermittent fasting is a great tool to "detox" and loose weight
-Excess carbs impair metabolic health by interfering with insulin signaling
-Nitric Oxide is necessary for arterial health, and also for downstairs optimal function. L-Arginine supplementation is great
-Hormesis is essential for developing a resilient organism
-Estrogen is neuroprotective
-Sugar is addictive, and will lead to excess caloric consumption
-Glutathione is essential, oxidative stress is universally bad, and having plenty of antioxidants is a must
-Activating the sirtuins, with Resveratrol for example, leads to life extension
-Metformin is great for life extension and anti-cancer therapy
-Having a big methyl pool is critical. High doses of methylfolate, B12 and methyl donors are warranted.
-Cold thermogenesis will increase Brown Adipose Tissue, which is great for having a higher BMR

I hope to eventually, as time allows me, to back everything up with studies, and gain more knowledge in the process. I know there are many refutations of most things stated here in the forum, so no need to debunk them.

Additions to the framework or studies supportive thereof are very welcome :)

 

[MetabolicTrash]

Forgot the evil salt that causes hypertension and heart problems.

 

[sladerunner69]

Don't forget that a higher metabolic rate will ultimately wear you down an deplete the number of ticks available in your internal biological clock!

 

[schultz]

Hormesis is essential for developing a resilient organism

Ray has agreed with this in the past. He said a bit of endotoxin is a good thing and important (paraphrased).

I hope to eventually, as time allows me, to back everything up with studies, and gain more knowledge in the process.

Sounds like a good exercise.

Don't forget that a higher metabolic rate will ultimately wear you down an deplete the number of ticks available in your internal biological clock!

Haha, right the old Hayflick doctrine. Cell senesence and all that. We are all candles or something.

 

[Tarmander]

Love this. You’ll probably open your mind and ours as well in the process

 

[Peater Piper]

-Large amounts of aerobic exercise is necessary for good cardiovascular health.
-Consuming saturated fat leads to heart disease.
-Eating 46 servings of vegetables a day is good for you.
-Being slightly hypothyroid increases lifespan (this is similar to your obviously wrong example, but the studies showing slightly elevated TSH in the long-lived makes it worthy of the topic, imo).
-Beta carotene is a great way to get vitamin A.
-Large amounts of caffeine is detrimental to health.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

-Casein is cancer food.
-Cholesterol should be as low as possible to prevent CVD and increase lifespan.
-Fructose is toxic, should be regulated as a drug.
-PUFAs are essential to good health and their lack makes you retarded.
-High protein intake equals early death and cancer.
-Iron enrichment is beneficial and doesn't cause iron overload or gut damage.
-BPA is completely safe for all stages of life.

 

[yerrag]

Ray has agreed with this in the past. He said a bit of endotoxin is a good thing and important (paraphrased).

Did he say why a little of it can be a good thing? I imagine that it's more that a little bacteria is good because it keeps the immune system on a healthy level of constant alertness. So one could be impervious to allergens. But I don't know about endotoxins except that endotoxins are associated with dead bacteria.

 

[yerrag]

-Nitric Oxide is necessary for arterial health, and also for downstairs optimal function. L-Arginine supplementation is great

This is a subject that used to flummox me. Nitric oxide is needed because it is a vasodilator. How can it be bad? Perhaps if it's used to produce ROS, but then ROS is used for phagocytosis - to kill bacteria. But the idea of nitric oxide being bad, as explained by Ray Peat, has been at a level of abstraction that I cannot relate with. I wonder if anyone has been able to put some more clarity on this.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

This is a subject that used to flummox me. Nitric oxide is needed because it is a vasodilator. How can it be bad? Perhaps if it's used to produce ROS, but then ROS is used for phagocytosis - to kill bacteria. But the idea of nitric oxide being bad, as explained by Ray Peat, has been at a level of abstraction that I cannot relate with. I wonder if anyone has been able to put some more clarity on this.

Nitric oxide lowers the functioning of the cytochrome c oxidase, so it gets in the way of the electron flow and ATP production through oxidative metabolism. In a pinch, nitric oxide can be very useful as a vasodilator, but when the organism isn't under stress, it's CO2 that should be responsible for keeping the arteries relaxed. Nitric oxide will cause degeneration over time.

 

[yerrag]

-Melatonin is necessary for restorative sleep

Ray Peat, in an interview, said that melatonin is made from serotonin, and that making serotonin results also in an increase in estrogen. But this isn't a problem for a person with healthy thyroid, as he is also rich in progesterone, and progesterone is available to counter the estrogen produced. I'll add a qualifier to the statement, seen to be false: Exogenous melatonin is necessary for restorative sleep.

 

[yerrag]

Nitric oxide lowers the functioning of the cytochrome c oxidase, so it gets in the way of the electron flow and ATP production through oxidative metabolism. In a pinch, nitric oxide can be very useful as a vasodilator, but when the organism isn't under stress, it's CO2 that should be responsible for keeping the arteries relaxed. Nitric oxide will cause degeneration over time.

Thanks! I've heard about the role of CO2, even with its role with erection that doesn't involve nitric oxide.

I've read about eNOS, an enzyme involved in converting -arginine into nitric oxide for blood vessels to vasodilate. And if what you say is true, making nitric oxide isn't needed when there's enough CO2 enabling vasodilation in the blood vessels. This would also mean that relying on nitric oxide for vasodilation (and lower blood pressure) is an indication of poor CO2 availability, and that addressing low CO2 availability is the answer to poor vasodilation and high blood pressure. Is that a good interpretation?

 

[yerrag]

-Fibre is essential for a diverse microbiome. Eat various forms of fibres to gain maximum diversity

Insoluble fiber is needed to absorb endotoxins, for eventual excretion, so that endotoxins don't get recycled in blood through bile. Fiber, though, is not necessary for a diverse microbiome.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

Thanks! I've heard about the role of CO2, even with its role with erection that doesn't involve nitric oxide.

I've read about eNOS, an enzyme involved in converting -arginine into nitric oxide for blood vessels to vasodilate. And if what you say is true, making nitric oxide isn't needed when there's enough CO2 enabling vasodilation in the blood vessels. This would also mean that relying on nitric oxide for vasodilation (and lower blood pressure) is an indication of poor CO2 availability, and that addressing low CO2 availability is the answer to poor vasodilation and high blood pressure. Is that a good interpretation?

I think that's how it goes, yes.

Interestingly, there is also another fate for arginine other than being acted upon by NOS: it can be turned into urea and ornithine by the arginase enzyme in the urea cycle. Ornithine is essential for the correct functioning of this cycle, so arginine in this context is beneficial( as long as you have enough manganese, or else arginase doesn't work), since it will help get rid of ammonia, which is also something that gets in the way of correct metabolism and CO2 production.

There are types of NOS, and from what I can remember, eNOS is the "bad" one. Can't really say anything more about them though. My knowledge about them is pretty poor.

 

[yerrag]

Forgot the evil salt that causes hypertension and heart problems.

Salt will lower high blood pressure if it increases blood volume. It increases blood volume when salt is retained in the blood, and it is retained only if there is albumin available to form a complex with the salt. If serum albumin is already complexed with salt and no free albumin (for complexing with salt) is available, increased salt intake will not lower blood pressure.

 

[yerrag]

I think that's how it goes, yes.

Interestingly, there is also another fate for arginine other than being acted upon by NOS: it can be turned into urea and ornithine by the arginase enzyme in the urea cycle. Ornithine is essential for the correct functioning of this cycle, so arginine in this context is beneficial( as long as you have enough manganese, or else arginase doesn't work), since it will help get rid of ammonia, which is also something that gets in the way of correct metabolism and CO2 production.

There are types of NOS, and from what I can remember, eNOS is the "bad" one. Can't really say anything more about them though. My knowledge about them is pretty poor.

Thanks. The eNOS is actually the good one, and the iNOS is the bad one (not necessarily, it's used to make ROS in phagocytosis), but if the substrate is used up by iNOS, not much is left for eNOS to do its work, such as vasodilation. There's also nNOS, which is involved in, among other things, erection.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

Thanks. The eNOS is actually the good one, and the iNOS is the bad one (not necessarily, it's used to make ROS in phagocytosis), but if the substrate is used up by iNOS, not much is left for eNOS to do its work, such as vasodilation. There's also nNOS, which is involved in, among other things, erection.

Ah I see. Thanks for the correction!

 

[tankasnowgod]

I will not include obviously wrong things, ie "Being hypothyroid is actually GREAT" or "Castrate yourself for a longer lifespan". Another requirement is that everything should be backed up by high quality evidence. So, lets start:

Obviously wrong things?

Environmental effects on longevity in the male rat: Exercise, mating, castration and restricted feeding - ScienceDirect
Castration & Life Expectancy: Eunuchs Live Longer Than Other Men, Study Shows | HuffPost
Effects of Castration on the Life Expectancy of Contemporary Men - LessWrong 2.0
Can castration really prolong a man's life?
Eunuchs May Hold Key to Longevity
The lifespan of Korean eunuchs - ScienceDirect
PROLONGATION OF THE LIFE SPAN OF KOKANEE SALMON (ONCORHYNCHUS NERKA KENNERLYI) BY CASTRATION BEFORE BEGINNING OF GONAD DEVELOPMENT

 

[joshquintanilla]

The anti peat diet is Nun Amen Ra’s Age Inhibition Regime..the guy portrays himself as/ believes he’s a god and claims this is the only diet that will lead to a very lengthened lifespan. He seems like he knows what he is taking about but his approach instead of being absolutely right is absolutely wrong lol. The goal is to lower your metabolism as much as possible. He even says how it is not unreasonable for your temp to drop to 96 and that it is normal. Everything recommended is the opposite of peat. Caloric restriction, one meal a day with beans, soy milk, and a soy protein shake with supplements specifically targeted to lower metabolism (resverstrol, licorice, psyllium fiber, hibiscus tea, spirulina) as staples, and two exercise sessions a day ....... needless to say, worst diet I’ve ever tried, literally destroyed my health, ability to form coherent thoughts, could not conversatate with others without lips quivering ... I’m glad I found peat lol..

 

[GreekDemiGod]

I have yet be fully bought into the Peat way. Likely because I haven't felt amazing since.