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theLaw

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My question is about the Ray Peat type diet. After spending the last 18 months reading as much material as I could find regarding Ray Peat's work, there is one issues that I still see as an enormous hurdle for those looking to improve their health; specifically, the restrictive Diet promoted here. Every day I see a post by another member having issues with acclimating to the diet, which seems counter to the way that Peat himself advises people to approach dietary choices. I know that this forum is not a surrogate for Peat, and that sometimes his work gets misrepresented, but I wonder what causes such a disparity between the advice that Peat gives, and the dietary restrictions discussed on the forum. It seems like there is some vital piece of info that is missing.

So that leads me to my question. After making the dietary changes, and thus improving your health, but also testing many supplements along the way, do you see the future of health improvement as more dietary based, or more supplement based? And would someone making very specific dietary choices be that much better off (quantity and quality of life) than another person using a supplement regiment like the ones that you have tested (high-dose caffeine+ Niacinamide + Aspirin + Thyroid, etc)?

We live in a world where the food we eat is so compromised that some sort of supplementation is probably needed. If possible to obtain diet from more or less unspoiled sources - i.e. farms, own production, etc then diet could be the main method but even those venues are closing off very fast. The diet does not really have to be very restrictive if it is similar both in origin and type to what say your grandparents ate. Eggs, milk, cheese, organ meats, occasional meat, gelatinous soups, slow-raised bread, well-cooked potatoes and rice, etc and the almost complete absence of vegetable oils is probably good enough for most people. The problem is that if you try to eat such a diet you will find it is very hard to implement unless you live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by rural lifestyle. So, most people who live in a modern city have access to food that consists not only of mostly empty calories but has a poison or two inside that is not even listed on the label.
Anyways, as Ray said, if you live in the city then it is down to damage control and very few people have the luxury to eat pristine, unadulterated foods these days. So, we do what we can with aspirin, niacinamide, etc to keep the damage to a minimum.
I personally eat pretty much what I feel like with the restrictions of avoiding PUFA at all cost, and limiting starch, legumes and nuts. Otherwise, the whole process becomes a manic chase of the ideal food which does not exist in the modern world and can drive the seeker crazy in the process of searching for it.
Just my 2c.


Wanted to see if you have any opinions on the nutritional value of the Cooked Potato Juice (RP Pro Potato Soup) vs BCAAs for both digestive issues and protein assimilation.

Currently using the Potato Juice, but it's a chore to make, and tastes like crap, and I've also now had my first "flu" (Temp went up to 102.5 for 24hrs with high pulse as well....while taking 6-8mg/day of Cypro) since finding the forum in Oct 2015. Everything is well strained and cooked, so probably not a reaction to the starch. Temp went back to normal in a few days, so not sure if it triggered something, but was just curious about your experience.

Most people should be able to assimilate amino acids, but taking only BCAA is not enough as you need all essential amino acids minus tryptophan and histidine. But if a person has serious liver issues and an ammonia buildup then the potato protein soup is needed as it reduced the ammonia. But these conditions are rare and for most people the essential amino acid mix should be good enough.


My job requires me to be very physically active, and while trying to clean my liver with caffeine and fix some digestive issues using BCAAs I find that I need in excess of 3500 calories per day to feel normal. I'm currently using honey/sugar to make up for the extra calories as liquids are still a problem, but I feel like I'm forcing it.

Do you have any ideas on the best foods to increase calories without causing more problems?

Needing more calories is not a bad thing, it indicates good metabolism. I personally drink Pepsi or Coke with sugar to get the extra calories, but any other sweet stuff like ripe fruit or even lower fat icecream would do. You can probably also up protein to about 150g daily to get some of the calories from that.


Regarding liquids:

For a hypothryoid person ingesting a lot of liquid can quickly bring hypo symptoms unless it is accompanied by enough salt to make the liquid hypertonic. If the liquid is something like milk or OJ, which have decent amount of electrolytes, then it is probably OK but if it is just water then it can have detrimental effects. I would drink liquid to taste, same as salt. Saying that high liquid intake is needed for high metabolism is misleading as it implies that the liquid will cause the high metabolism, while it is the other way around - high metabolism will increase liquid requirements. So, again, drinking liquid to taste is best and for hypo people eating more calorie dense food and ingesting less liquid is probably best. As metabolism rises, thirst may rise as well, but again I would base liquid intake on thirst and not on some set amount prescribed by "dieticians" that says X litres of water for every Y calories.


I searched through your posts, but couldn't find how much Vitamin E that you take before eating out (non-Peat).

How much would you recommend? (I use Tocovit)

I think 100 IU before going out is probably enough. If it happens on a regular basis, 200 IU twice a week (Mon, Thu) should be enough.


What have you found to be continuing necessary dietary restrictions post Pufa-purge, and after your restoration of general health?

Also, have your carvings for certain foods changed as a result of improving your health? Is pizza still as addictive as it was before?:D

I basically try to stay away from fried food. Other than that, it seems that the ever-present PUFA in all other manufactured foods can be managed with a little tocopherol once weekly. I also do not really crave starchy foods any more and found the cravings to be related to stress and rise in FFA, which makes sense since starchy foods raise insulin the most and the insulin lowers FFA. So, the body craves insulinogenic foods when under stress. But if you manage to lower stress hormones by changing lifestyle and diet and maybe with some supplements then cravings seem to change as well. These days I aonly crave fruit and ice-cream and even that craving is not very pronounced.


Just wanted to get your opinion on Raw Milk after member @CLASH posted this thread Sunday:

Clinical Context To Ray's Theoretical Context

Seems he is advocating for A2 Raw Milk/cheese, and claiming that it is significantly superior to any store bought dairy.

I have not experienced much difference in effects from either type milk, so can't really recommend the A2 type over others. To me, all milk is equally good as long as it is from proper farms and not industrially produced.


I was curious about your experience with the effectiveness your supplements used by individuals who have not made major changes in their diets.

The reason that I ask is that something like the T-raising protocol sounds like it could be useful even for those who are non-Peaters.

Well, that is one of the main reasons for starting the company - i.e. I suspected that for most people following the Peat diet and always being mindful of what they eat would be too taxing, so a lot of them need a second (albeit possibly less optimal) option like supplements. I'd say about half of the people who use the supplements are probably not very Peaty in their diet and they still report good effects. I would not use the products as a substitute for diet but I guess if cannot be Peaty one might as well at least supplement to limit the damage :):


I was looking for some clarification on dosing of Vitamin E.

Tocovit has 400iu per serving, and I noticed that you warned a few people against using Tocovit with Mitolipin as it the Vitamin E doses might be too high and lower estrogen too much (which Ray doesn't seem to think this is a real issue).

At the same time, you posted that you used 2000mg (2985iu or roughly 7.5 doses of Tocovit per day) to become a Bulgarian Sex Machine (T=1500+).

What am I missing here?

I did not use TocoVit when I was doing the experiment, I was using a mixed tocopherol product from a US company. Also, the tocopherol was not the only supplement I was using at the time so it is not the sole reason my T jumped that high. Finally, this was done 3 years ago and things have changed since then. I am not interested in such experiments any more and do not advise people to do them as well. Such high doses of vitamin E deplete vitamin K and can lead to bleeding issues. If you ask Ray I am sure he will say the same and whenever people have asked him about high dose vitamin E supplementing he has repeatedly said it is not something he would advise doing and now recommends taking 400IU - 600 IU weekly as being enough to protect from PUFA. So, even the 400 IU in TocoVit may be too much on a daily basis unless a person has a really high PUFA load in their tissues.


When I boil potato juice for about 45min after letting it sit for an hour, I still have particles floating through it that I'm not able to strain out unless I use a coffee filter at the end. Final liquid is grey.

Do you think the coffee filter is necessary, and do you think that I'm losing any of the amino acids by doing it this way? I remember you posting that BCAAs should dissolve completely in liquid if they're pure.

If you have strained the potato juice well before cooking it then it should be a pale, semi-opaque, yellowish liquid. After straining, I will let it sit for 2-3 hours and any leftover starch will sediment and you can pour that out as well. If you do this procedure there should be almost no starch left. The pure liquid may form some clumps when cooked and I would try to keep that and not throw them out as it is probably the keto acids clumping together. My soup also gets a bit grey when I cook it, so you are probably doing it right. I would not worry about the color, it does not really indicate spoilage of any kind.


Recently had a member bring up an interesting point about AC, and wanted to get your take.

From member:

Does this ever worry you? (from toxinless.com)...
"Fine powders vs granular charcoal
I think fine powders are more active due to their increased surface area. However, Ray Peat has pointed out that fine powders may have persorption, (absorption into blood/lymph) issues. That makes me suggest using a granular form if you're going to use it long term, with the fine powders reserved for acute issues."

It is certainly a possible issue, but I have not heard of people complaining about it or getting swelling in lymph nodes when using the fine powder found in most capsules. Maybe somebody can ask Peat what to look for in terms of symptoms when persorption is suspected.


Found this quote with regards to AC from Peat:

"I doubt that the fine powder is safe, because of the risk of persorption into the blood stream; a coarse granulated form is probably safe." -Ray Peat

This was posted in the comments section on Toxinless, but I haven't been able to find it's origin.

It only stands out to me because it's a bit more firm than just a normal "safe" response from Peat regarding similar substances.

I know that Peat tends to err on the side of caution, but a warning from Peat definitely gets my attention.

Unfortunately, most capsule products use the fine powder. I guess given the risks it would be better to just use carrots or cascara as a digestive stimulant.


After reading a bunch of threads on iron chelation, it appears that blood donation is the best way by far to get rid of excess iron (250mg/pint). I was just wondering if you had found any other ways comparable to this to get rid of iron without using excess amounts of sups that can have negative side effects.


In my experience, aspirin, vitamin E, any tetracycline antibiotic, milk, and coffee lower iron pretty reliably. They all happen to be iron chelators as well.
 

HDD

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@theLaw This is great! Thanks for posting his replies. After a year or so of Peating, I had one or two quick bouts of high fever along with diarrhea (iirc). I thought that possibly my body was getting rid of something that I wasn’t able to dispose of with a lower metabolism? It was unlike any virus/bug I have ever had and no one else in my family caught it.
 
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I know that this forum is not a surrogate for Peat, and that sometimes his work gets misrepresented, but I wonder what causes such a disparity between the advice that Peat gives, and the dietary restrictions discussed on the forum.

It doesn't get "misrepresented" and there is not "such a disparity." Why do you assume people can't comprehend his diet? Here's a reminder:



Ironically, it's his statements on things like greens, potatoes, vegetables, sucrose, dairy fat that are the things that get misrepresented.

Also, from September 2014:

1. sprinter - I would love to hear everything Ray Peat consumes for one week. Including all food and supplements. 10 days would be even better.

Ray Peat - The details vary slightly according to what's available. Daily, milk, fruit (mainly orange juice), eggs, butter, cheese, and coffee. As available, liver, shrimp, squid, oysters, cod, sole, ox-tail soup, chicharrones (puffed pork rind), sapotas, pawpaws, cherimoyas, guanabanas, guavas, carrots, bamboo shoots, small turnips, corundas.

20 Questions With Ray Peat

Also, almost every person finds Peat through Danny Roddy. Roddy is the only person who actually eats the true Peat diet, outside of the 1 or 2 times I've seen him post a milk that was higher than 1% fat. So in fact, people do try the true Peat diet first most of the time.

.
 
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raypeatclips

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Question for @haidut. You mention a very achievable and sustainable diet in an email above.

"The diet does not really have to be very restrictive if it is similar both in origin and type to what say your grandparents ate. Eggs, milk, cheese, organ meats, occasional meat, gelatinous soups, slow-raised bread, well-cooked potatoes and rice, etc and the almost complete absence of vegetable oils is probably good enough for most people."

I wondered about your thoughts on endotoxin. You post many threads talking about the negative effects of endotoxin and the damage they do, leading to issues later down the line. This diet doesn't sound too different to what many normal people do. What would you recommend to combat endotoxin on a daily basis? If anything? Thanks
 

haidut

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Question for @haidut. You mention a very achievable and sustainable diet in an email above.

"The diet does not really have to be very restrictive if it is similar both in origin and type to what say your grandparents ate. Eggs, milk, cheese, organ meats, occasional meat, gelatinous soups, slow-raised bread, well-cooked potatoes and rice, etc and the almost complete absence of vegetable oils is probably good enough for most people."

I wondered about your thoughts on endotoxin. You post many threads talking about the negative effects of endotoxin and the damage they do, leading to issues later down the line. This diet doesn't sound too different to what many normal people do. What would you recommend to combat endotoxin on a daily basis? If anything? Thanks

I my experience, the typical Western diet is not at all similar to the one above. Most people these days would consume mostly meat and starchy carbs from industrially produced buns (i.e. sandwiches, burgers, wraps, etc), and all of it soaked in PUFA. The "healthier" diets recommended lately are not any better as they replace those starchy carbs with the resistant carbs that are even better food for gut bacteria. That's why I said slow-raised bread, and well-cooked potatoes and rice as that is what people about 100 years ago would eat as carbs most of the time. I don't know a single person around me in the US who eats organ meats. Most stay away from eggs like poison due to cholesterol fears. So, I think our modern diet has some very little similarity to what our grandparents consumed.
Now, even that diet has its drawback so please do not quote me as saying it is Peat-y. I am saying that for me eating this type of diet is a good trade-off between health and orthorexia, subject to time constraints as well. Sicker people probably need to be more mindful of what they are eating and this diet may not suit them. Then again, a sicker person spending a ton of time seeking for optimal food is probably not going to help much either. So, everybody will have to make some suboptimal choices due to time/energy constraints. Being mindful of what you are doing and choosing wisely from available options is probably more important than chasing a perfect meal every time.
 
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raypeatclips

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I my experience, the typical Western diet is not at all similar to the one above. Most people these days would consume mostly meat and starchy carbs from industrially produced buns (i.e. sandwiches, burgers, wraps, etc), and all of it soaked in PUFA. The "healthier" diets recommended lately are not any better as they replace those starchy carbs with the resistant carbs that are even better food for gut bacteria. That's why I said slow-raised bread, and well-cooked potatoes and rice as that is what people about 100 years ago would eat as carbs most of the time. I don't know a single person around me in the US who eats organ meats. Most stay away from eggs like poison due to cholesterol fears. So, I think our modern diet has some very little similarity to what our grandparents consumed.

Thanks for the reply. When you talk about organ meats that are beneficial and that you eat, do you mean anything other than liver?
 
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That's why I said slow-raised bread, and well-cooked potatoes and rice as that is what people about 100 years ago would eat as carbs most of the time.

But you've said that they cause fat gain, endotoxin, persorbtion etc. and that you don't eat any starch. Are you conceding that you were wrong?
 

haidut

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Thanks for the reply. When you talk about organ meats that are beneficial and that you eat, do you mean anything other than liver?

I eat kidneys, hearts, gizzard, brain, tongue, bone marrow and some other lesser known organs when I go to Europe as these are widely consumed foods (at least in the Balkans).
 

haidut

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But you've said that they cause fat gain, endotoxin, persorbtion etc. and that you don't eat any starch. Are you conceding that you were wrong?

I am just saying that if this is the only food available in the cafeteria where I eat, and I don't have time to search for better option then I will eat those starches. It does not mean I actively seek them or won't try to mitigate the risks by adding saturated fat or drinking OJ (as per the thread on OJ abolishing the rise of endotoxin in humans after a meal).
 
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theLaw

theLaw

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I my experience, the typical Western diet is not at all similar to the one above. Most people these days would consume mostly meat and starchy carbs from industrially produced buns (i.e. sandwiches, burgers, wraps, etc), and all of it soaked in PUFA. The "healthier" diets recommended lately are not any better as they replace those starchy carbs with the resistant carbs that are even better food for gut bacteria. That's why I said slow-raised bread, and well-cooked potatoes and rice as that is what people about 100 years ago would eat as carbs most of the time. I don't know a single person around me in the US who eats organ meats. Most stay away from eggs like poison due to cholesterol fears. So, I think our modern diet has some very little similarity to what our grandparents consumed.
Now, even that diet has its drawback so please do not quote me as saying it is Peat-y. I am saying that for me eating this type of diet is a good trade-off between health and orthorexia, subject to time constraints as well. Sicker people probably need to be more mindful of what they are eating and this diet may not suit them. Then again, a sicker person spending a ton of time seeking for optimal food is probably not going to help much either. So, everybody will have to make some suboptimal choices due to time/energy constraints. Being mindful of what you are doing and choosing wisely from available options is probably more important than chasing a perfect meal every time.

Hey Haidut,

Did you have to go through a phase of a very restricted diet at any point to get your digestion or other issues under control? (something closer to how Danny eats)

If so, can you explain what that entailed?

Thanks! :D
 

haidut

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Hey Haidut,

Did you have to go through a phase of a very restricted diet at any point to get your digestion or other issues under control? (something closer to how Danny eats)

If so, can you explain what that entailed?

Thanks! :D

Yes, there was a point in time when I was getting most of my protein and fat from cheese sticks and was drinking mostly Pepsi/Coke for sugar and maybe some fruit jam. I mentioned it a few times on the forum and I think it is mentioned again in that thread "To Haidut: what you eat in a day". This was years ago, circa 2013, so I don't remember all the details. But there definitely was a period where I was sensitive to pretty much all food, except cheese and had to use cyproheptadine at the time as well.
 
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theLaw

theLaw

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Yes, there was a point in time when I was getting most of my protein and fat from cheese sticks and was drinking mostly Pepsi/Coke for sugar and maybe some fruit jam. I mentioned it a few times on the forum and I think it is mentioned again in that thread "To Haidut: what you eat in a day". This was years ago, circa 2013, so I don't remember all the details. But there definitely was a period where I was sensitive to pretty much all food, except cheese and had to use cyproheptadine at the time as well.

I assume your liver was in good shape by this point, hence the lack of fructose as a carb source throughout the day.
 

haidut

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I assume your liver was in good shape by this point, hence the lack of fructose as a carb source throughout the day.

Pepsi/Coke has fructose as part of the sucrose. And I did have slightly elevated liver enzymes, which I normalized with vitamin K and caffeine. This is also described in threads around the forum. Somebody even started a thread on "vitamin K and caffeine protocol for liver health" as a result of my experience and so far it seems to have helped all people who tried it.
 
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theLaw

theLaw

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Pepsi/Coke has fructose as part of the sucrose. And I did have slightly elevated liver enzymes, which I normalized with vitamin K and caffeine. This is also described in threads around the forum. Somebody even started a thread on "vitamin K and caffeine protocol for liver health" as a result of my experience and so far it seems to have helped all people who tried it.

Wow! I'm surprised that was enough fructose. Guess that Caffeine + K really helps even with relatively minimal fructose in the diet.

Cheers! :D

K2/Caffeine For Liver Health
 

raypeatclips

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I eat kidneys, hearts, gizzard, brain, tongue, bone marrow and some other lesser known organs when I go to Europe as these are widely consumed foods (at least in the Balkans).

I can't recall anyone talking about eating things like heart or tongue before in the Peat sphere. What benefit do you think eating more of these have?
 
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jb116

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I can't recall anyone talking about eating things like heart or tongue before in the Peat sphere. What benefit do you think eating more of these have?
Good COQ10 source from the heart and tongue is pretty tasty when stewed. Although ultimately it is a muscle meat, so balance with gelatin.
 

haidut

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I can't recall anyone talking about eating things like heart or tongue before in the Peat sphere. What benefit do you think eating more of these have?

Heart has testosterone and other protective steroids. The heart is the muscle that is absolutely crucial to protect from succumbing to wasting under stress, so the protective anti-cortisol steroids gather there and stay in higher amounts even if the rest of the skeletal muscle wastes away when under stress or sick. I think tongue is also a good source of steroids, but I am blanking on exactly which ones.
Also, as the post above says, the heart has a lot of quinones and especially CoQ10, as well as vitamin E and possibly K.
 

tara

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I eat kidneys, hearts, gizzard, brain, tongue, bone marrow and some other lesser known organs when I go to Europe as these are widely consumed foods (at least in the Balkans).
I can enjoy kidneys and tongue from time to time, and I've eaten brain, but I've not got a method I'm familiar with for cooking heart - got any nice easy tasty recipes or tips you want to point to?
 

DaveFoster

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Heart's also one of the least offensive organ meats. The flavor's much like steak, similar to tongue, or so I hear. I used to eat a few servings of raw beef heart daily in high school, and I preferred it much to raw kidney.

I can't recall anyone talking about eating things like heart or tongue before in the Peat sphere. What benefit do you think eating more of these have?
 

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