G'day from Oz

[Snowdrop]

Good evening all

First of all I would like to give a big thank you to the person/people that started this forum - I have already learnt so much and am extremely grateful.

Secondly I apologise if this becomes too long.

What's your age?

35 this May.

How did you find the forum?

Internet searches.

How did you find Ray Peat's work?

Via Matt Stone & Danny Roddy.

How long have you been Peating?

Only 3 months.

What is your favorite part about Peating?

That it is somewhat structured.

What is the worst part?

Parting with the idea that possibly food ONLY may not be my saviour.

What are your health issues?

Infertility!!! We have been trying for 2 years. A Fertility Specialist we saw recently told me that I had no eggs and that I was going through peri menopause - such reassuring news. My BBT has been hovering around 36.1 for what seems like forever now. I did Matt Stoners Eat for Heat from June - November last year. This helped get my daytime temps up, unfortunately not my morning temps though. And I put on a whopping 23kg!!!

My cycle started playing up in early 2011 and has progressively gotten worse. Before then my cycle was always 23 days and always regular. I have never had PMS or pain associated with my cycle. I have had on and off elevated prolactin in the past, TSH steadily rose to 2.4, after Stoner it came down to 1.2 & now it is 1.6, FT4 was 14, FT3 was 5.1 (tested in March), sometimes high, sometimes low FSH and LH, 1-1.6 progesterone and estrogen is always much higher than progesterone but not high by any means. Last test it was <70.

I have been using progest-e for the last 18 days. High dosage of 3-5 drops 5 x per day for 10 days. I decreased to 3 drops 5 x per day at the 14 day mark, however a headache formed at the base of my skull, so up went the drops again. I am taking somewhere around 4-5 drops 6 x per day now. I am not getting the same feeling as when I first started. However since taking progest-e my morning temps have come up to 36.3-36.4 most mornings. I no longer get hot flushes

What does your diet consist of? If you post a detailed outline of your diet members can take a look at it and maybe see things that can help optimize it.

Breakfast - 1 or 2 x boiled eggs, grapes/melon/paw paw, orange juice 300 mls, cheese. Coffee/cocoa with 3 x sugar and gelatine (2-3 tablespoons)

Lunch - Beef, prawns, chicken, pork, scallops or liver with fruit, cheese and a coffee with milk, gelatine (2/3 tablespoons) and 3 x sugar.

Dinner - Beef, prawns, chicken, pork, scallops or liver, fruit, potatoes/sweet potato, some cooked veg - usually capsicum, tomato, zucchini, carrot, onion and garlic, milk with gelatine (2/3 tablespoons) cacoa, 3 x sugar.

Snacks - yoghurt with honey and fruit, dates and cheese, Milk with honey and gelatine, milk with cacoa and gelatine, sometimes raw liver (30-60grams per week) or raw oysters (I have 12 x per week)

*I only cook in coconut oil.
*I salt EVERYTHING even my fruit.

What other questions should we ask?.......

I think you guys have covered everything, fantastic job

 

[Mittir]

Welcome to the forum

Sorry to hear about the weight gain with stone diet. That seems to happen a lot.
But he is a brilliant man and has helped a lot people with nutritional advices.
I lost 14 lbs following RP style eating.

I think it would be a good idea to get nutritional advice from Ray Peat.
I believe he still does nutritional counseling.

Your diet looks really healthy. You can use cronometer.com to track
your nutritional intake. It seems like your calcium to phosphorus ratio
is not that good. RP recommends 1200-2000 mg of calcium with
phosphorus amount ideally equal or less than calcium.
RP puts a lot of emphasis on this ratio.
Vitamin E and Niacinamide are also very useful supplements.
I have experienced the most dramatic improvement with
niacinamide 100 mg 2-3 times a day.

Endotoxin is a major source of health issues for most people.
It puts a lot of burden on liver and female liver is already working
with extra estrogen exposure. I think you can experiment with a very low
soluble fiber and low starch diet to see if it make things better.
Avoiding fruits and vegetable with fermentable fiber can make things a lot
better in a short period of time. You only have to experiment for few days to
see the result. OJ can have a lot of pectin, sweet ripe oranges have less pectin.

Lactic acid in yogurt can cause problem in some people. Strained yogurt is a good
substitute. Hydrolysate gelatin is easier on gut and some people have problem
digesting regular gelatine,which results in excess endotoxin.
It takes some experimenting to figure out foods that are less irritating to gut.
You can check out the thread on dietary guidelines and safe fruit list .
RP also recommends light therapy and bag breathing.
I think these two are the quickest way to improve health.
You can try bag breathing 1-2 minutes few times a day and
250-500 watt incandescent light ( or heat lamp) .
Excess bag breathing can cause problem in some people.
Light therapy can increase vitamin A requirement.
Light stimulates hormone production, which uses vitamin A.

 

[charlie]

Snowdrop,

It seems we got a lot of people from Oz here, very cool! Its good to see you, you are definitely on the right path.

See you around.

 

[Blossom]

Welcome snowdrop! I'm happy you found the forum.

 

[aguilaroja]

Briefly:

Find an inventory list of low thyroid symptoms that's fairly thorough and run through the checklist. It's likely that there several or many have gone on for a while, possibly taken "for granted". Do you have, for instance, cold limbs, cold/heat intolerance, muscle cramps or stiffness/soreness unrelated to activity, less than clear thinking at time, fatigue?

Temperature nor lab tests can be helpful evidence but are far from complete. Symptoms and finding are especially helpful. In low thyroid function, a person's "core" temperature may be influenced by surroundings. Axillary readings are too variable in my experience. If you are using armpit temperature readings, find another method.

I have known woman in their 40's (previously told infertility was likely) conceiving and having thriving offspring with Peat-ing. Though situations are mentioned, I have no direct observation of women in 50's & 60's Peat-ing for fertility. (I have not met anyone in that age range aiming to conceive, except using pharmaceuticals.)

I obviously don't know most of the factors here. My guess (corroborated years ago in conversation with Dr. Peat) is that a few cycles or more with bio-identical progesterone before implantation will be protective for the child's health. In any case, a near term goal is to feel really well, prior to conceiving.

 

[Snowdrop]

Thank you all for the warm welcome

I have recorded my food intake over the past few days via cronometer.com, as suggested by Mittir, thank you!!! You are spot on in regards to my calcium/phosphate ratio. I have added egg shell calcium - 1/4 teaspoon x 4 times per day - doe's that sound right?

The other vitamins and mineral requirements I was not meeting were E, K, folate, iron, manganese, potassium & on one of those days, B3. My PUFA ranged from 6.0 - 7.9 - should I consider trying to lower my PUFA number? There is no way I could get it under 4! Any suggestions are most welcome.

Don't get me wrong, I worked with Matt Stoner and he helped me considerably. I have adopted and am still using a lot of what he taught me. Fresh information is just that and I will take from here what works for me as well. Wrap it it all up in a nice bow and hope that I will go on to have healthy offspring.

How exactly do I strain yoghurt?

I am eating 200 grams of raw carrot/day with coconut oil, vinegar and salt. I am using the Great Lakes Hydrolysate. I have been bag breathing once per day so I will up that. I'm not sure if I am doing it right though, so I will look into it. I put the paper bag over my nose and mouth? It's also summer in Oz right now, do I still need to do light therapy?

@aguilaroja, I was always the coldest person in the room. When I walked through the cold section of the supermarket I would shiver. Those days are gone for the most part. I can't help thinking it has something to do with the 23kg increase though. I am using oral temperature readings. I am still having restless nights, foggy brain, low energy and a few other symptoms off and on.

Extra info: I was a professional athlete for 17 years and a vegetarian, with one of those years being vegan. From there I went WAPF, GAPS, low carb, super duper low carb. I only started introducing meat, raw dairy, cheese and bone broth over the last 5 years.

Quick question to anyone who can suggest something - I am feeling like my skin is going to split open, I feel very tender. Is this from the progesterone, am I not using enough or am I using too much? I felt really great using it for the first 16 days but over the past 6 days I have been feeling really low energy.

I sent a letter to Ray Peat some 6 weeks ago now and have not received a reply. Is there a better way in which to contact him?

Thank you all so much for your wisdom.

 

[Mittir]

40 percent of calcium carbonate/egg shell powder is calcium.
If 1 tsp of egg shell weighs 5 grams, then there should be 2000 mg of calcium.
1/4th tsp 4 times a day is good dosing regimen.
But, some people do not react well to egg shell powder.
If it causes gut irritation or allergic reaction you can
try other source of calcium. Also removing the white membrane
from the shell can lower allergic response. RP also recommends
boiling the shell in water to remove additives and chemical on the shell.
Mr Stone showed his brilliance in creating a "Eat for Fat" diet.
He is mainly responsible for the idea that you will get fat if you
follow a RP style eating. But, fat gained from pure carbohydrate
is safe. I am guessing you avoided PUFA during your weight gain.
RP also suggested that a little excess intake of carbohydrate
can improve the ratio of saturated fat to PUFA. RP also recommends
high calcium intake for weight loss. Calcium and dairy product increasing
weight loss is no longer a minority view.
RP recommends only few supplements for regular use.
He recommends 200-400 IU of mixed tocopherol vitamin E
until body's stored PUFA is released, which takes about 3-4 years.
He also recommends a low iron diet. He thinks RDA for iron is too high.
If you are not iron deficient, then it is good to avoid extra iron.
you will need to know iron saturation index and serum Ferritin to figure
out total iron storage. Niacinamide supplement can provide
needed B3. Beef liver is rich in vitamin K and possibly manganese.
Pineapple is very high in manganese and kale is rich in vitamin K.

 

[j.]

Some places sell greek yogurt.

To make strained yogurt buy plain yogurt, without flavor, and put it on a colander with a coffee filter, and the liquid will drip. I leave it 24 hours. Then you can add honey or something like that.

 

[Snowdrop]

@Mittir - I first started egg shell calcium alongside a Ray Peat style eating regime 3 months ago. My stomach could not handle the egg shell back then. Since your recommendation, which is now 3 months into the regime, I have had no ill effect from the egg shell. Progress!!! . I prepared the egg shell as you advised both times.

I avoided PUFA while doing Eat for Heat. With the exception of a few treats here and there. It was good for me to relax about food. However I am finding it hard to keep under 4 which I have seen recommended and that is with no deviations. Do you have any suggestions?

Will I need to take extra vitamin E while using the Progest-e?

My iron tests from 18/11/13 - before starting regime.

Iron 16
TIBC 54
Trans Sat 30
Ferritin 90

Are these results good? I will get more done soon to see the difference.

I eat 60 grams of liver 1 or 2 times per week, is that enough? Which Niacinamide supplement is the most pure? And where is the best place for Aussies to order that from?

@j. - So, is greek yoghurt fine without straining? And why is strained yoghurt better? Thanks!

Wow! I just asked quite a few questions, sorry! If there are other pages with the information I have asked about above, please redirect me

Thank you to all for your comments, much appreciated.

 

[j.]

Strained yogurt is another name for greek yogurt. When you buy unstrained yogurt and strain it, you get strained/greek yogurt.

 

[Mittir]

If your getting all your fats from coconut oil, dairy and ruminant ( cow, lamb, goat)
then the ratio of saturated to PUFA is quite good, this ratio is more important than
absolute intake of PUFA. But it is still beneficial to reduce PUFA as much as you can.
Pork fat is PUFA rich, often it is more than listed in USDA data.
PUFA content of pork fat can be as high as 30% as they reflect their
dietary intake. I believe USDA shows 10% PUFA for lard, that is probably old data.
Chicken Fat is also high in PUFA. But trimmed chicken breast without skin
has very small amount of fat and PUFA. Cheese can be high in fat and dairy fat has
2 percent PUFA. Egg also has considerable amount of PUFA but very rich in
vitamin and mineral. I think with little bit of adjustment you can cut down
PUFA below 4 grams.

RP recommends 200-400 IU of vitamin E and it depends on one's PUFA storage
and daily intake. A person with low PUFA storage needs very little vitamin E.

Your iron numbers are probably in different unit than i am used to.
Iron saturation index of 30 is pretty good and below 25 percent is
cancer protective according to RP. Ferritin level can be high in
inflammatory disease and it is a safe storage form of iron.

RP recommends 3-6 oz of liver every week. Your 60 grams intake
once or twice a week is quite good.

I have only used GNC niacinamide with good result. I have no idea
about other brands. You can check toxinless.com for information
on safe supplements. You can also check old tread on niacinamide discussion.