Hello, my name is Edward

[Edward]

Hello my name is Edward, I'm an American expat living in Germany for the past 6 or 7 years.

For 6 years I worked in anatomical pathology specializing in histopathology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histopathology, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histology). I was trained at the AFIP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forc ... _Pathology) which at one point was the mecca for studying and diagnosing rare disease. Since its decentralization the primary functions of the AFIP have been relocated primarily to Bethesda and various other areas of the United States.

For 10 years I have been independently studying psychology, primarily the relationship between nutrition and psychology and its implications in sociological patterns.

For 5 years I have been independently studying nutrition.

I came across Dr. Peat's several years ago when thinking about intelligence and culture. I had noticed that in observing different nutrition cult-ures that overall different groups seem to exhibit different patterns of reasoning, logic, and behavior, that were exclusive to that group that couldn't be explained simply by psychology alone, and that, all different nutritional cultures follow the same basic pattern of development from the original idea to its development into a new culture. As I began to understand "nutrition" in the familiar definition of the word, I began to experiment with different diets noting how they affected my psychology. Those observations and experiences form the foundation of my main work which is describing how nutrition impacts sociological behavior.

In my free time I am a father, husband, and I train in the Olympic lifts, the snatch, and clean and jerk, using the Bulgarian and Chinese training systems.

Terms of Service

I have not yet decided about how active I will be in this forum, as I have been reading through old threads, well, there is only a certain level of dogmatism I'm willing to tolerate before it becomes unproductive in discussion. And that is not meant in a negative way. I would hope that others would feel the same with their valuable and limited time. If there is one thing you can count on as a user of this forum is that I will be honest, and I will not beat around the bush. I'm an opinionated person, and, as Kurt Harris said in a moment of clarity, "...opinionated people have opinions about a lot of different things..."

If you ask a question or if I participate in a thread, when appropriate, I will provide you with more than... "have you tried aspirin, have you tried niacin, have you taken thyroid, or any other of the canned answers most are familiar with", which absolutely deters a lot of curious people away from a rational approach to nutrition, rather I will try to be more specific. For example in another forum, there was one women who had a lab result come back abnormal which in some contexts would indicate leukemia, I knew that the women had a history of asthma, so she started asking questions, as I followed the thread there were people recommending that she take aspirin, I asked her if she had been taking aspirin and indeed she had been taking aspirin, in her case aspirin was responsible for the abnormal lab result and I pointed her in the direction of some literature on this topic and the health implications for asthmatics taking aspirin. Aspirin can be lethal for an asthmatic and people were recommending aspirin. In the end it is a person’s choice whether or not to follow the recommendations of another person. However, one must also remember that people who are suffering can sometimes make rash choices that can have a permanent impact on health, so I feel one should be responsible in giving advice so that the person can understand what they are doing before they do it, in other words, we should be just as responsible to ourselves as we are to others in giving advice.

This being a Ray Peat forum and knowing the spirit of his work and the positive impact it has had for many people I hope that it is remembered what Aristotle said: “For Plato says, ‘Socrates, my master, is my friend but a greater friend is truth.’”, or commonly, “I love Plato, but I love the truth more.”

 

[burtlancast]

Aspirin can be lethal for an asthmatic and people were recommending aspirin.

Perhaps.
But one must always counterbalance the hazards with the benefits.

For the vast majority of persons with asthma, taking aspirin has no effect on their asthma, either good or bad. However, for perhaps 3-5% of persons with asthma, aspirin can cause asthma to worsen, often in the form of a severe and sudden attack. Besides causing symptoms of asthma, aspirin can cause nasal congestion and abdominal pains in susceptible individuals. Most often, this sensitivity to aspirin develops in adulthood. It often is found in conjunction with nasal polyps (growths of extra nasal tissue that plug the nasal passageways).

Many persons with asthma have been advised by their physicians to avoid aspirin because of their asthma. This advice is precautionary, given on the possibility that you may have a sensitivity to aspirin. The only way that you can tell with certainty if you are sensitive to aspirin (and related medications) is to have experienced a bad reaction with your asthma after taking one of these medications.

 

[Edward]

Aspirin can be lethal for an asthmatic and people were recommending aspirin.

Perhaps. But one must always counterbalance the hazards with the benefits.

For the vast majority of persons with asthma, taking aspirin has no effect on their asthma, either good or bad. However, for perhaps 3-5% of persons with asthma, aspirin can cause asthma to worsen, often in the form of a severe and sudden attack. Besides causing symptoms of asthma, aspirin can cause nasal congestion and abdominal pains in susceptible individuals. Most often, this sensitivity to aspirin develops in adulthood. It often is found in conjunction with nasal polyps (growths of extra nasal tissue that plug the nasal passageways).

Many persons with asthma have been advised by their physicians to avoid aspirin because of their asthma. This advice is precautionary, given on the possibility that you may have a sensitivity to aspirin. The only way that you can tell with certainty if you are sensitive to aspirin (and related medications) is to have experienced a bad reaction with your asthma after taking one of these medications.

Perhaps, I should have bolded "can be". "can be" is not equivalent to "is always".

 

[Edward]

I'm also responsible for the liberation of the CO2 video from the gentlemen who was fraudulently selling it which resulted in full refunds to everyone who had purchased it.

 

[Mittir]

That is a very misleading statement. Aspirin is lethal to people who has aspirin intolerance.
That is true for 100 different kind of allergies and sensitivities There is a medical condition called
Samter's triad, it is consist of asthma, nasal polyps and aspirin intolerance.
So, Aspirin can be lethal to people who has Aspirin induced asthma, not regular asthma.
Aspirin desensitization is used to treat this condition.
Aspirin is a big part of RP recommendations and there is nothing wrong with
sharing that with others in the forum without scaring them . RP suggests vitamin K
with aspirin to minimize ulcers and bleeding.

 

[Dan W]

...as Kurt Harris said in a moment of clarity...

Welcome, Edward. I've appreciated your analysis in the vitamin A/acne thread.

Not sure which old threads you're seeing dogmatism in, but some of it could be the the passion of people who have finally found a good set of tools for solving their health problems. I know I can be prone to that "holding a hammer, everything's a nail" problem.

 

[kiran]

I'm also responsible for the liberation of the CO2 video from the gentlemen who was fraudulently selling it which resulted in full refunds to everyone who had purchased it.

 

[Wilfrid]

That is a very misleading statement. Aspirin is lethal to people who has aspirin intolerance.
That is true for 100 different kind of allergies and sensitivities There is a medical condition called
Samter's triad, it is consist of asthma, nasal polyps and aspirin intolerance.
So, Aspirin can be lethal to people who has Aspirin induced asthma, not regular asthma.
Aspirin desensitization is used to treat this condition.
Aspirin is a big part of RP recommendations and there is nothing wrong with
sharing that with others in the forum without scaring them . RP suggests vitamin K
with aspirin to minimize ulcers and bleeding.

Hi Mittir,

I think that we all need to be careful here.
Even people with "regular" asthma could have aspirin intolerance that could be underdiagnosed or masked by other medication or treatment.

http://www.ersj.org.uk/content/16/3/432.full.pdf

The symptoms of AIA could be very misleading even for people with "regular" asthma.
So, not saying you're wrong or Edward's right, but when there is a doubt, I think that caution should be the rule.

 

[Wilfrid]

Aspirin can be lethal for an asthmatic and people were recommending aspirin.

Perhaps.
But one must always counterbalance the hazards with the benefits.

For the vast majority of persons with asthma, taking aspirin has no effect on their asthma, either good or bad. However, for perhaps 3-5% of persons with asthma, aspirin can cause asthma to worsen, often in the form of a severe and sudden attack. Besides causing symptoms of asthma, aspirin can cause nasal congestion and abdominal pains in susceptible individuals. Most often, this sensitivity to aspirin develops in adulthood. It often is found in conjunction with nasal polyps (growths of extra nasal tissue that plug the nasal passageways).

Many persons with asthma have been advised by their physicians to avoid aspirin because of their asthma. This advice is precautionary, given on the possibility that you may have a sensitivity to aspirin. The only way that you can tell with certainty if you are sensitive to aspirin (and related medications) is to have experienced a bad reaction with your asthma after taking one of these medications.

Hi burtlancast,

Like I said above, the last sentence of your post need to be taken with a huge caution because people with asthma may or may not have a direct reaction to aspirin which could still be underdiagnosed.

 

[charlie]

Edward,

 

[Edward]

...as Kurt Harris said in a moment of clarity...

Welcome, Edward. I've appreciated your analysis in the vitamin A/acne thread.

Not sure which old threads you're seeing dogmatism in, but some of it could be the the passion of people who have finally found a good set of tools for solving their health problems. I know I can be prone to that "holding a hammer, everything's a nail" problem.

Thanks Dan.

Dogmatism, for example:

That is a very misleading statement. Aspirin is lethal to people who has aspirin intolerance.
That is true for 100 different kind of allergies and sensitivities There is a medical condition called
Samter's triad, it is consist of asthma, nasal polyps and aspirin intolerance.
So, Aspirin can be lethal to people who has Aspirin induced asthma, not regular asthma.
Aspirin desensitization is used to treat this condition.
Aspirin is a big part of RP recommendations and there is nothing wrong with
sharing that with others in the forum without scaring them . RP suggests vitamin K
with aspirin to minimize ulcers and bleeding.

That's flippant reading comprehension. Misquoting me and then arguing against the misquote.

Aspirin can be lethal for an asthmatic and people were recommending aspirin.

The rest of Mittir's post basically implies that I think aspirin is a always harmful to all asthmatics, which of course, I obviously didn't write nor do I think that. And then after Mittir argued with themself they come with "Ray Peat says this", "Ray Peat suggests that". That is dogmatism it is the same toxic poison that runs through other nutrition cultures.

The issue of aspirin: this is the same basic thing as drinking coffee in a glycogen depleted state, too much vitamin A with a low metabolic rate or low zinc intake, too much calcium and not enough sodium, etc. Coffee, vitamin A, and calcium are all things Ray Peat recommends, but in the wrong context they can cause problems. So "Ray Peat recommends"... not only is it dogmatic but it can be harmful.

When I wrote the explanation of how caffeine can be a goitrogen I was kind of chuckling to myself, not that it isn't an interesting question to ask and the narrow context interesting, but because the question wasn't being asked because the mechanism wanted to be known the question was being asked out of paranoia. Anything thing can be a goitrogen! I mentioned it to Ray and he quipped "Exactly, just like falling off the roof is goitrogenic."

I would suggest for most to be precise in reading, take a moment and if a comment ruffles your feathers express it, but express it accurately and make sure you're quoting the person correctly, and finally respect the opinions of others as much as you respect your own opinions.

Anyway that's basically what I mean Dan. And Mittir it's no big deal, really, I'm not going to make you my foe.

Once again Aristotle says: "I love Plato, but I love the truth more."

 

[narouz]

Welcome, Edward!

I think we might benefit from distinguishing between the ideas of dogma and generalization.

You said in your initial post here...

I have not yet decided about how active I will be in this forum, as I have been reading through old threads, well, there is only a certain level of dogmatism I'm willing to tolerate...."

...and...

"... when thinking about intelligence and culture. I had noticed that in observing different nutrition cult-ures that overall different groups seem to exhibit different patterns of reasoning, logic, and behavior, that were exclusive to that group that couldn't be explained simply by psychology alone, and that, all different nutritional cultures follow the same basic pattern of development...."

...I would assume, in your thinking about culture, nutrition, and patterns
(very interesting by the way!),
that you are engaging in "generalization,"
not "dogma."

Definition of GENERALIZATION

1: the act or process of generalizing
2: a general statement, law, principle, or proposition
3: the act or process whereby a learned response is made to a stimulus similar to but not identical with the conditioned stimulus
See generalization defined for English-language learners »
See generalization defined for kids »
Examples of GENERALIZATION
He made several sweeping generalizations about women.
She was prone to generalization.

Definition of DOGMA:
A principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true: "the Christian dogma of the Trinity"
Examples of DOGMA
These new findings challenge the current dogma in the field.
<the Catholic dogma of the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary>
The Saudi regime has tried to deflect questions about its management of the country… by supporting and spreading an uncompromising religious dogma. —Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2001

As I say,
I think that by noting the patterns in different dietary cultures
you are generalizing.
And I think this can be scientific and valid and useful--even essential.

I would not judge, based on what little I know about your project,
that you being dogmatic.

On your points about aspirin,
I find them very interesting and pertinent.
But I wouldn't necessarily say that
by posters noting that on the forum--
that Peat generally recommends aspirin--
I wouldn't necessarily say that that is an example of dogma,
although it could be in some instances
or it could become so if espoused rigidly and as Always True.

Let's consider the example of Peat himself, in his writings and interviews.
He does often recommend aspirin.
And he seldom (if ever) qualifies that recommendation
(he does urge the simultaneous use of Vitamin Ks)
by noting the specific possible dangers you note.

Is Peat therefore being "dogmatic" or even reckless?
I don't think so.
I would think that he is simply"generalizing,"
and doing so usefully and responsibly.

I think it would be very hard for science to proceed,
and for it to have proceeded up until now,
if it were stripped of its ability to generalize.
I would think the same would be true of most fields of human endeavor and understanding.
Tables of Contents would have to be forbidden in books.
Summaries would be deleted from experiments.
Hypothesizing about reasoning and behavior patterns--
like you believe you see in different eating cultures--
would have to be prohibited.

To make a generalization is not necessarily to promote a dogma.

 

[j.]

When I wrote the explanation of how caffeine can be a goitrogen I was kind of chuckling to myself, not that it isn't an interesting question to ask and the narrow context interesting, but because the question wasn't being asked because the mechanism wanted to be known the question was being asked out of paranoia.

Source?

 

[BingDing]

What is the CO2 video?

 

[Dan W]

What is the CO2 video?

Probably this one, it's pretty interesting:
Ray Peat and Bud Weiss - The Biology of Carbon Dioxide

 

[gretchen]

Hi Edward, welcome to the forum.

 

[Thomas]

Hi Edward!

Welcome!!!

Its great to have you here and I am happy to learn from you.
yours
Thomas

 

[Rayser]

Anything thing can be a goitrogen! I mentioned it to Ray and he quipped "Exactly, just like falling off the roof is goitrogenic."

I can't seem to stop laughing. Thank you for this, Sokrates!

 

[Rayser]

I'm also responsible for the liberation of the CO2 video from the gentlemen who was fraudulently selling it which resulted in full refunds to everyone who had purchased it.

That was YOU? Thank you so much. Many of us (not on the forum) had been wondering.
Amazing.

 

[Edward]

Yes.