Greetings from France and questions

[Parsifal]

Hi everyone!

I first have to apologize because as a French guy almost exclusively self-taught in your language, my English is quite restricted so you might not understand everything that I will say. If you don't, please ask me to reformulate the part that you did not understand.

I am a 25 years old young man and I live in France.
I have always been a bit strange, in fact I could probably have been diagnosed with an Asperger syndrome as a child if my parents had been a bit more aware and observant.

I've always had a lot of issues since childhood:

I had allergies (gastro oesophageal reflux and hiatal hernia) when drinking my mother's milk so they gave me alternative products to milk for nutrition and as a child they thought that I was allergic to milk so they gave me a lot of Soya milk during many years.
I have had frequent bronchitis, asthma, allergies (Quincke's edema because I reacted badly to a medication they gave me against reflux or when I was eating shrimp and crab).
I've always been allergic to and disgusted by most fish and seafood (they gave me nausea) so almost never ate it in my life until recently, I started to eat some salmon (I thought before finding your work that "EFA" where important) and mussels.
From a structural point of view, I am tall and grew up very fast (I was 6'5 at 16 years old and haven't grown an inch since then) and I had/have deformities all over the body (my teeth where not aligned at all and twisted, so I had orthodontia and braces), I had (maybe still have) hiatal hernia, my scapulas and elbows seems very twisted and a chiropractor told me recently that she thought that I have Marfan's disease. Here you can see a picture of my elbows (cubitus valgus) for example: http://postimg.org/image/dw4bfu0nd/
During my teenage years I had a lot of stretch marks on the hips even if I never had been very fat (just a bit).
From a digestive point of view I've always had a lot of constipation or diarrhea alongside the other issues that I’ve already mentioned.
From a mental perspective I had very few contact with others and a lot of symptoms that makes me think about the autistic spectrum or schizoid personality disorder (I had very few friends and was always ostracized from others because I was probably strange), anxiety and shyness, irritability, obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD, I spent all my free time on TV, video games, comics, books and later computer.
I've been “addicted” to candies and cakes during childhood and teenage years.
I've had two surgical operations during which they removed my tonsils and appendix.

7 years ago (At 18 years old) I left high school before graduating because I could not withstand society anymore, I had a chronic fatigue syndrome and anhedonia, I was not really depressive but was not really motivated to live anymore and almost did not care about anything (apathia).
I took advantage of leaving school and started to work like crazy to improve my skills as a musician, one of the only thing that mattered anymore and to be able to work in that field, that was music, especially playing the drums.
So I started working 8 hours a day during 2 or 3 years almost without resting and started smoking Cannabis as an auto-medication because it helped me with a lot of things, it allowed me to be more flexible to play the drums and to have more stamina and focus (because of my ADHD) and was a cure against anhedonia which allowed me to feel more things which is important as a musician and to boost my creativity. Coffee always made me very anxious so never liked it.
I didn't knew anything about health and ate very badly, never leaving my house and sleeping a lot (12 hours/day) and waking up at irregular and late hours (I was not able to get up at 7 am like anyone else).
At first my chronic fatigue improved a bit but after some time I began feeling a bit weak and had digestive issues but did not stop my “regimen”, I was beginning to play very well and it was a great achievement for me, I even started to play with a known singer and was very happy.
One night (5 years ago) after a session of hard work on the drums, I smoked a lot of Marijuana as I used to do to chill down, but suddenly I've been hit for the first time in my life by a huge tetany seizure (I did not know what it was at the time, I’ve diagnosed it by myself 3 or 4 years later): my whole body became very very cold, my hands covered with urticaria and itching, I started shivering like crazy and hyperventilating without wanting it, my heart started pumping and my blood pressure rose over the top. I went to the ER thinking that I was dying and they found nothing and told me that it was just because of the drug I smoked.
But after that night, my life never was the same.

I was so fatigued that I slept 16 hours/day and was basically having small tetany crisis (with some burst from times to times) h24 7/7 during 2 years, my heart rate was very slow (45bpm maybe in average) and I had a lot of heart issues (tachycardia, bradychardia, palpitations, hypertension, hypotension, atrial fibrillation, arythmia). I was lying down on my bed all day long and the doctors didn't help, they thought I was crazy. My blood tests (for thyroid, parathyroid) where normal, the only thing was that I was loosing a lot of calcium in my urine. I was never going out so never under the sun.

My parents knew a good doctor that was more nature oriented (acupuncture and homeopathy), he was far from where I lived but accepted to see me even if he has too much patients and that it is hard to get an appointment with him.
I explained to him my problems and he told me the only thing he could think about was Lyme disease. I did a blood test (Western Blot and Elisa) and it came back positive. He prescribed a short antibiotherapy and it did not really helped me. I stayed for several months like that and started to do some research on the internet. I discovered that a lot of people where in my case with strange symptoms and diagnosed with this disease that was very hard if not impossible to treat. The people advised a very strong and long antiobiotherapy so I tried to find a doctor that would do that and found one in Belgium. I took 1 year of antibiotics and it helped me a bit but my digestion and transit that where already bad went very bad, with a lot of constipation.
That was not working very well so I did some research on nutrition because I wanted to try to improve my health like crazy. This is the usual stuff, take vitamins, take fish oil, stop gluten and eat low carbs with low glycemic index.
My condition did not improve to say the least, one day after several days of constipation I went to the toilets and started to defecate some mucus and felt like I would pass out. Since that day, I have very dark purple circles under the eyes with varicose veins that have appeared. My joints started to become very stiff and cracking and my liver could not tolerate anymore fat, with a lot of spasms.

I was desperate and found a guy that promoted a raw food frugivore vegan diet in France emphasized on detoxification and “dr” Morse's protocols. I had nothing to lost so I tried fruitarianism. It helped me for some symptoms during the first months but my digestion became worst and I became addicted to enemas to be able to go to the toilets and was feeling cold, I lost a lot of muscle mass as well. My perceptions became very numb and it became hard to be able to concentrate.
I stopped that protocol and tried to eat some shellfish, fish and meat and become a bit more low carb after discovering Jack Kruse 4 month ago. But it did not really help as well. That's how I heard about Gilbert Ling and learned some things about metabolism. I don't have any heart issues now but still can feel a bit cold from times to times and still have spams, ADHD and feel tired.

So I’ve discovered and am applying Peat's protocol since 1 week and that is why I came to this forum, I have some questions.

What is improved for now with Peat:

- I feel almost no more spasms! Just a bit in the liver (which must still be a bit enlarged). And my flexibility is really improved, I am impressed and that makes me really feel that Peat will work for me, I have a lot of hope this time because in all the "protocols" that I tried, this is the first time that I have such a fast and strong response.
- When I drink a lot of coffee I can poop without enema. Even if it is scorching when I go to the toilets.
- My dark circles seems a bit less dark.
- I feel a lot more relaxed, a lot less of "obsessive" thoughts or anxiety.

My current symptoms are :

- Still have varicose veins, deformities, dark circles
- When I eat a lot of sugar I have crusty dandruff, maybe that is a psoriasis. I can have that crust of my fingers as well.
- Some nails problems: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifes ... 076131?s=3 and http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifes ... 076131?s=4
- Still have some spams in the liver.
- ADHD, anhedonia, bad memory.
- I am trying to eat some salt but it seems that it gives me some hypertension. I had a genetic testing that tells me that I have a gene to have high aldosterone levels...

First when I started the protocol I was feeling good and with a lot of energy, I could tolerate coffee (at first I was not able to sleep and felt a bit jittery) and feeling hot, but now I am feeling cold and tired again, and my sleep is a bit less good that when I was low carb, I am starting to need to sleep more.

What I am basically eating in a day:

- 30grams of gelatin/day
- About 1 quart of orange juice
- About 1 quart of milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 or 2 kg of fruits
- 200 grams of mussels or some lean Turkey/Chicken. Rabbit liver 1 time/week.
- Drinking 500mL of coffee, not too late to be able to sleep
- Some carbonated water
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- Some honey with coffee or Canne sugar
- Sometimes some cheese
- 1 raw carrot or more with lunch and dinner
- Going out, even when there is not a lot of sun at least 1 hours/day
- Breathing in a bag several times/day, breathing slower

Supplements:

- 1 capsule of vitamin E 100 IU (Kirkman)
- Cascara Sagrade 1 capsule 450mg (Now foods)
- 2 magnesium malate (Source naturals)
- Vitamin K2 100 microgram (Fairvital)

My questions:

- Isn't there a lot of arginine in gelatin that makes a lot of NO?

- It is obvious now that I have a bad thyroid. Why can't I see it on the blood tests?

- Isn't fructose producing Pyruvate like coconut oil which puts the metabolism in glycolisis or pentose phosphate pathway instead of cellular respiration?

- After reading my health history and current symptoms, would you have any advices please?

- Why do I am feeling cold again after starting the protocol? I was not feelign cold on the low carb thing. I was not waking up during sleep.
I also feel hungrier and need to eat many times/day or have snacks, I feel that my circadian rythms are not good anymore, they used to be better, more regular on the low carb thing.

- I don't understand Peat's view on sleep and obscurity that is stressful (GABA and alpha waves is raising when we close our eyes right, isn't it an effect of meditation?), he seems to say that we would not need to sleep if we had light and maintained a high metabolism all the time?

- When there is not light and that it is cold, isn't it more logical to eat a ketogenic diet? In these conditions in nature we would not have sugar in the environment like the eskimos right?

- Isn't it a bit dangerous to top off nature's program and evolution with boosting the metabolism like we would never see it in nature, by taking non naturel hormones? It seems bad to take most hormones like melatonin so why would it be better to have some hormonal replacements like DHEA, pregnenolone, progesterone and thyroid?

- Who came first, the chicken or the egg: Who started first, metabolism or hormones?
In fact I wonder what is the interaction between hormones and metabolism, for example taking some thyroid or other hormones, boosting the metabolism with eating a lot of sugar or drinking coffee seems to deplete some important vitamins cofactors for metabolism like thiamine or vitamin A? I am a bit lost and can't see the whole picture yet... I wonder if this is why I feel colder now.

- How to loose weight on this diet if we always are blocking lipolysis? How to detox PUFAs from the cells if we are blocking lipolysis?

- Why do some people can eat as much as they can and never gain weight (cachexia)?

- How to overcome seafood allergies for shrimps and crab? Is the allergy because of an antigen in the food like they say or because there is a lot of histamines when the food is not fresh enough, because I have too much endotoxemia or bad hormones that block metabolism and promote inflammations, PUFAs? Isn't there a lot of histamines in cheese as well?

- Isn't casein bad and inflammatory?

I need to read Peat and this forum a bit more, that is not easy with my fatigue and ADHD.
Thank you very much guys .

 

[tara]

Bonjour,
I wish my French was anywhere near as good as your English.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ - It is obvious now that I have a bad thyroid. Why can't I see it on the blood tests?

Have you got the numbers for your thyroid tests? Most drs interpret them differently than Peat, so that many people suffering from hypothyroid function are told they are 'normal'.
If you monitor your body temps and pulse over a week or two, that can give useful information about thyroid function.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ - I don't understand Peat's view on sleep and obscurity that is stressful (GABA and alpha waves is raising when we close our eyes right, isn't it an effect of meditation?), he seems to say that we would not need to sleep if we had light and maintained a high metabolism all the time?

I think Peat has said about sleep: It is important for restoring brains cells to a resting state (in preparation for more activity the next day); it may be somewhat protective against the stress of darkness.
I have not read anything from him about it being unnecessary when metabolism is good.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ I also feel hungrier and need to eat many times/day or have snacks, I feel that my circadian rythms are not good anymore, they used to be better, more regular on the low carb thing.

It does seem to be common for those of us with low glycogen storage capacity to need to eat more frequently. There are people here who say this has improved for them over time. Peat has said he drinks milk/coffee/juice frequently throughout the day.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ - Who came first, the chicken or the egg: Who started first, metabolism or hormones?

I don't know that they are separate? The endocrine system is a complex that continuously adjusts itself to the conditions and resources available.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ In fact I wonder what is the interaction between hormones and metabolism, for example taking some thyroid or other hormones, boosting the metabolism with eating a lot of sugar or drinking coffee seems to deplete some important vitamins cofactors for metabolism like thiamine or vitamin A? I am a bit lost and can't see the whole picture yet... I wonder if this is why I feel colder now.

Yes, you can become deficient in some nutrients more quickly with a higher metabolism. It is important to get all the essential vitamins and minerals and enough protein. And a faster metabolism will burn through the fuel faster, too - coffee can make you run out of sugar faster.

If metabolism is low, sometimes too much water:food can be difficult. You could experiment with eating more solids, and see if that keeps you warmer. I haven't tried to add up your calories, but I wonder if it is enough? I would guess that a tall young man like you is likely to need 3000 - 3500 cals to maintain a healthy metabolism (and may need more if it has some catching up to do). Some people here use cronometer or similar to assess what they are getting in their food. Liver is a good source of several vitamins and minerals, esp. vit-A. Are you salting your food to taste? That can sometimes make a difference too.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ - Isn't it a bit dangerous to top off nature's program and evolution with boosting the metabolism like we would never see it in nature, by taking non naturel hormones? It seems bad to take most hormones like melatonin so why would it be better to have some hormonal replacements like DHEA, pregnenolone, progesterone and thyroid?

Personally, I think it is usually wise to see what you can do with good nutrition and supportive lifestyle first. There can be risks with trying to override one's body's control systems. But once good nutrition etc is in place, if that is not enough to resolve things, sometimes cautious supplementation can be helpful. Peat seems to favour sometimes supplementing some of the protective hormones over the stress hormones. Actually, natural human diets up until recently probably have often included eating almost all of an animal, including thyroid and other endocrine glands. So one could say our modern diets are deficient in this way.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ - How to loose weight on this diet if we always are blocking lipolysis? How to detox PUFAs from the cells if we are blocking lipolysis?

There are threads discussing this. I may get round to hunting them out tomorrow, or you can go looking. There are many aspects, but one is that Peat has suggested fairly low doses of niacinamide, etc, consistent with some fat burning.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ - How to overcome seafood allergies for shrimps and crab? Is the allergy because of an antigen in the food like they say or because there is a lot of histamines when the food is not fresh enough, because I have too much endotoxemia or bad hormones that block metabolism and promote inflammations, PUFAs? Isn't there a lot of histamines in cheese as well?

Depends what is going on. But probably generally good to avoid foods that give you allergic reactions. Yes, shellfish has a reputation for developing histamine unless it is very fresh. So eating it very fresh may help. Having adequate blood sugar levels can help reduce allergic/histamine reactions.
Endotoxemia could be occurring because of some combination of excessive fermentation in the gut, slow peristalsis/constipation, and weakened gut barrier. Activated charcoal can be an occasional tactic for this. Some people find that avoiding foods that irritate their guts is the key strategy that makes the most difference to them. Your carrot salad and cascara sagrada may help with this. This is one of the reasons some people here (but not all) choose to eat less starch and/or fermentable fibre - it feeds the endotoxin producing bacteria.

I'd recommend reading and rereading Peat's articles and interviews, even if they are challenging.

My key thought for you now is to check that you are eating enough.

 

[tara]

Maybe the gelatine will help with your fingernails - some people have reported improvements in nails.

 

[CoolTweetPete]

What type of thyroid tests did you get? TSH itself isn't a great number. I think a more detailed thyroid panel followed by appropriate T4/T3 supplementation is warranted.

 

[Parsifal]

Thank you tara! I will try to find my blood test that I did at the time to see my thyroid numbers.

I am a bit affraid of eating too much sugar because it seems to stimulate the Crabtree effect?

 

[tara]

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/98170/ I am a bit affraid of eating too much sugar because it seems to stimulate the Crabtree effect?

I don't know any more about the Crabtree effect than I just read on Wikipedia, which is very brief.
I think you are concerned about high blood sugar from eating more carbohydrates? And resultant increased glycolysis and inhibition of oxidation? Is this based on theory, or have you had tests indicating glycemia? I'm wondering whether some of your troubles may have their roots in chronically low blood sugar levels, or in chronically high stress hormones that come into play to keep the blood sugar up when not enough fuel is being supplied. But those are guesses, I don't know it for sure. That's partly why I'm wondering whether you are eating enough for good energy balance.

High blood sugar can sometimes be an issue too, mainly if one's system is not oxidising sugar efficiently. It seems as though quite a few people who have been eating lowish carbs and/or calories can take a while to adapt to using more, and some don't manage this. Long-term, restricting carbs seems as though it can risk making this issue worse, rather than better. Even people who eat virtually no carbs can develop higher than normal fasting blood sugar. Some of the tactics Peat recommends are to improve the cells' capacity to oxidise sugars. It's good to get one's sugar/carbs from/with foods that also contain minerals and vitamins that help with using it well - fruit and milk that agreees with you has this advantage over refined sucrose or rice, for instance.
Peat seems to treat transient glycemia as a reason to consider what stress or deficiency or damage is messing with sugar oxidation, not as a reason to avoid sugar. Take a look at his article on Sugar and diabetes. I found it eye-opening, after many years of severely restricting my sugar intake.

There are some threads discussing higher sugar/carb consumption. Here's one. viewtopic.php?t=5525

 

[Parsifal]

I'm just concerned about fatty liver and putting some weight and not using sugar for making energy and yes going into the glycolisis pathway...

I have a glucometer and never saw low blood sugar when I was feeling cold but I may try to use it again to see how it goes.

Thank you very much tara for answering to all my message, you are really kind :).

 

[Parsifal]

I've had some cortisol testing done 2 years ago and it was really high so yes, I have some stress hormones even if since I'm following Peat I am feeling really less stressed.

I am just a bit concerned about hypertension and salt as I have high aldosterone and with my 23andme genetic testing they say that I have a gene to have high aldosterone...

 

[Ledo]

Parsifal, considering your height (big guy) and the coldness and fatigue you mention...I suspect you are not getting enough calories. I would add fatty meats , not the lean stuff you are eating as well as full mixed meals, protein, fat, and carbs. This will help with blood sugar regulation.

Peat has said one can go adjust the macro nutrient ratio to suit needs so work the fruit sugars up and experiment with potatoes or white rice ( with fats) to raise thyroid output and general metabolic rate. Only then consider any other hormones. Good luck.

 

[LucH]

Hi,
I woudl add some cocnut oil and butter (ghee) in your diet. Not enough fuel.

*) lab test for thyroid
I would test free T3 and ask the following labs:
TSH (a pituitary hormone used to ascertain if there is a pituitary problem, not to diagnose or dose by)
• Free T4
• Free T3
• Two thyroid antibodies tests: TPOab (Thyroid Peroxidase) and TgAb (Antithyroglobulin)
NB1: The free in front of the T4 and T3 represents what is available and unbound in your blood serum by proteins, i.e. what is usable.
NB2: TPO and Tg antibodies must be both measured to ascertain if you have an autoimmune version of thyroid disease called Hashimoto’s. both are valuable, since one can be normal and the other above range.

*) Additionnal lab tests useful
Because hypothyroidism can wreak havoc in our bodies, patients have discovered a whole range of additional lab work which is critical. These include but are not limited to:
• 24-hour adrenal cortisol saliva test (requires no prescription)
• Ferritin (iron storage protein)
• Full iron panel, which should include serum iron, % saturation, and TIBC at the least
• B-12
• Vitamin D
• Magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, and chloride (or a Complete Metabolic Panel)
• DHEA
• Estrogen
• Progesterone
• Testosterone
• SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin)
• Iodine Loading Test (a urine test and can be ordered by the patient from the web)
• Reverse T3 (at the same time you do a Free T3).

NB1 : It’s rare to see any hypothyroid patient without problems in some or many of the above. For example, it is estimated that more than 50% of thyroid patients have a cortisol problem, first. Ferritin/iron issues come next in frequency.
NB2: Hypothyroid decreases SHBG—a protein which carries testosterone and some estrogen through the body.
NB3: Years of hypothyroidism lead to poor absorption (trace minerals, vit A, etc.)

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ Who came first, the chicken or the egg: Who started first, metabolism or hormones?

at the beginning of the reaction, you have enzymes and cofactors.
see on this link (In French)
Food enzymes
Les compléments sont nécessaires pour que la cascade enzymatique (métabolisme) puisse se passer dans de bonnes conditions …
Je t’invite à aller lire :
http://www.lappart-des-spasmos.fr/forum ... ml#p230705

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/
- Isn't casein bad and inflammatory?

There is often a cross-reaction between gluten and casein intolerance. The sequence peptides is very similar and lures the immune system.
LucH

 

[tara]

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/98197/ I'm just concerned about fatty liver and putting some weight and not using sugar for making energy and yes going into the glycolisis pathway...

Do you weigh a lot now, or could you use a bit more substance? Everything including joints require energy to repair them and keep them in good shape. That energy has to come from somewhere.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/98197/ I have a glucometer and never saw low blood sugar when I was feeling cold but I may try to use it again to see how it goes.

I think the stress hormones often come up fairly quickly to raise blood sugar levels if it drops too low, so you may miss measuring the low point. But if you are running on cortisol, that means turning protein into the sugars you need to run your brain etc. If you are not eating enough, this protein comes out of your organs. Adrenaline tends to make for cold feet.
If you don't eat enough, your body is likely to do various things to help you survive. It may lower metabolism (dropping body temperature), catabolise your lean tissue, and get really efficient at storing fat if ever there is anything to spare.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/97987/ - Why do some people can eat as much as they can and never gain weight (cachexia)?

Some people have trouble eating enough calories to meet their energy needs for various reasons - e.g. damaged digestive system, available food is not sufficiently calorie dense and palatable, restrictive approaches that exclude too many foods, etc. After long-term undereating, the digestive system may be weakened and not adapted to eating sufficient quantities. One way the system can adapt is to slow down the digestive system to get as much as possible out of the food, and this can contribute to constipation and other trouble. Apparently it can usually adapt if it is required to handle more, but it can sometimes be uncomfortable during the transition.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/98197/ Thank you very much tara for answering to all my message, you are really kind :).

You're welcome. Thank you. :)

 

[HDD]

This is from an interview with Ray Peat that I thought you might be interested in:

"The mucousy materials that are overproduced can also cause blood vessel inefficiency and rigidity, and contributes to things like varicose veins. When this material gets in the joints, it causes cartilage deformities. The old textbooks used to show teenagers with deformed joints that caused the same deviation of the bones -- at the elbow joint especially, and the knee joint especially, with knock knees for example -- but in old people you see the fingers deviating to one side, because the cartilage is getting deformed.


The right balance of thyroid and the youth associated hormones -- progesterone and pregnenolone, and to some extent, DHEA -- will rebalance the production of these mucous-like molecules -- the glycoproteins and mucopolysaccharides, they're called
-- and in just a week or two, you can often correct the deformity in a permanent way, so that the joint functions without pain or distortion."
viewtopic.php?f=73&t=5413

 

[tara]

Another nice find, HDD. :)

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/98199/ I am just a bit concerned about hypertension and salt as I have high aldosterone and with my 23andme genetic testing they say that I have a gene to have high aldosterone...

Parsifal, I'm not sure about this, but I think aldosterone tends to rise in most people to conserve salt when there is not much being eaten. That can sometimes have some undesirable effects.
Are you concerned about hypertension because you have ever had signs of it yourself, or is this a theoeretical worry?

 

[Parsifal]

post 98157 blood

Ok so I found my hormones test from 2012 when I was quite sick:

Oestradiol: 12 pg/mL (44 pmol/L)
Progesterone: 1,10 ng/mL (3,49 nmol/L)
DHEA: 326 ug/dL

Serum testosterone: 37,8 nmol/L
Free testosterone: 12 pg/mL 41,6 pmol/L

DHT: 0,73 ng/mL 2,51 nmol/L
Pregnenolone sulfate: 51 ng/mL
IGF-1 265 ng/mL
Free cortisol: 84 ug/24h 232 nmol/24h

T4L free thyroxine: 16,5 micromol/L
Free T3L triiodothyronine: 5,5 pmol/L