Hello! Short intro

RayOfHope

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Greetings, all,

I have been lurking for a while, and I've been researching Dr. Peat's work for several months. I am totally intrigued by him and I can't get enough of his articles and podcast interviews. I can't recall exactly how I originally found Dr. Peat, but I have been pretty obsessed with food and diet philosophies for as long as I can remember (starting with "Fit for Life"/Natural Hygiene when I was about 17), so it was only a matter of time before I found Peat.

I consider myself a "recovering perfectionist" so I'm trying not to get too OCD and strict with the Peat way of life. I've already been fighting little twinges of hypervigilance since reading about Peat-ish thoughts on soap and hair care!

I have been incorporating some basic elements of the Peat "protocol" with carrot salads, lowfat milk and orange juice, strained cottage cheese and other high quality cheeses (the cheeses are not a new addition, lol), adding shellfish on occasion (I love seafood, but it is not so easy to find where I live), along with the removal of a lot of the "less-optimal"/damaging food items (PUFA stuff). I'm trying to figure out the gelatine thing and find a better source. I've also cut out almost all vegetables for the time being because I think I am so addicted to them, especially greens and sprouts (seriously, I CRAVE veggies and never thought it was odd or problematic until listening to Dr. Peat). So far, even with my limited modifications, my mood and energy levels have increased significantly (which is a BIG deal for me as I have struggled with low energy levels for many years).

Thanks for having me -- I am really impressed by the degree of respect you guys show to each other in this community and you seem like a great group of people!
 

Jenn

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Welcome!

"recovering perfectionist" Yeah, been there too. ;)

Eat your vegetables, if you crave them...just make sure to cook them well and eat them with lots of saturated fat, like butter or coconut oil and as much salt as tastes good. They are probably how your body is used to getting minerals. Keep in mind that they have estrogen like qualities, so you maybe craving the "on switch" as a substitute for energy. You can also try focusing on root vegetables instead of above ground veggies.

As for body care, I was told if you wouldn't put in in your mouth, don't put it on your skin. I wasted a lot of time checking labels until I just went to BS and ACV. SO much cheaper and easier now.
 
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RayOfHope

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Jenn said:
Eat your vegetables, if you crave them...Keep in mind that they have estrogen like qualities, so you maybe craving the "on switch" as a substitute for energy.

Thanks, Jenn! Would you mind expanding on this? I am really hoping to solve the riddle of my low energy levels. Everytime I complained of constant fatigue to my physicians they would run a bunch of labs, tell me everything was fine and then rx antidepressants. I know there has to be an answer, or at least, I am still hopefully there is an answer. 

I love root vegetables -- pretty much all of them -- and radishes, especially hot/spicy ones, are a favorite snack. I'm wondering if I need to avoid veggies, including root vegetables, due to their fiber/starch until I can figure out if it is somehow contributing to my constant fatigue? I could just about live on potatoes, though, especially the waxy ones.

My body is loving the addition of milk, I know that. I never liked milk (the taste), although there was a brand I would pound down like no tomorrow when I lived in WA state, it tasted absolutely amazing. I found a couple of brands recently that I really like the taste of and now I can't get enough!

I love your avatar. I'll have to find a Peat-friendly recipe for cow tongue salad!
 

Jenn

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If you are willing to eat just potatoes, and CHEW, go for it! Seriously, they have absolutely everything you need if you add a little sat fat....cheese, butter, coconut oil and as much non-iodized salt as taste good to you. They are a complete meal. Add milk as desired. My family lived on just that for MONTHS and did very well as our body recovered and repaired.

Cow tongue, once I got the courage to try it, is one of my favorite cuts!<G>
 

charlie

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Rayofhope, :welcome

Jenn said:
Eat your vegetables, if you crave them...just make sure to cook them well and eat them with lots of saturated fat, like butter or coconut oil and as much salt as tastes good.

There are much better choices then eating toxic above ground vegetables. If someone wants to maximize healing and minimize damage and intake of toxins then telling them to eat their vegetables is going against all things Peat. :2cents

I would definitely read the article below if you are interested on how above ground vegetables can effect you.

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/vegetables.shtml

Potatoes gave me massive fatigue when I tried to introduce them back into my diet. So that is something to watch out for.
 
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j.

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Charlie said:
Potatoes gave me massive fatigue when I tried to introduce them back into my diet. So that is something to watch out for.

How did you cook them? I read that deep frying removes more solanine than any other method.
 

charlie

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I have tried boiled for a long time, and also frying them.
 

Jenn

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When you have been eating a certain way, it takes time for the body to adjust. Being mindful about what you eat and how your own body responds is more important than someone else's food rules. Even if you eat the same and the only thing you change is adding saturated fat and salt to the diet, that is still a change for the better. Saturated fat and salt are VERY protective. Above ground vegetables still have beneficial nutrients in them, or cows would not be able to benefit from them to make their luscious milk.

I think stress is as harmful as any vegetable you could possibly eat, so avoiding the stress of falling short of an ideal is a beneficial choice. My 2 cents... ;)

If potatoes make you feel like crap, don't eat them. If they make you feel better, then you should eat them. Both ways are right.
 

charlie

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Jenn said:
Above ground vegetables still have beneficial nutrients in them, or cows would not be able to benefit from them to make their luscious milk.

We are not cows and are not properly set up to eat nearly as much or process the greens as a cow does. If eating a certain way produces stress that your body was experiencing from toxins and allergens then I think applying a less toxic and more nutritious profile of food to your life is worth the little bit of stress that the change will entail.

Ray Peat said:
Poor people, especially in the spring when other foods were scarce, have sometimes subsisted on foliage such as collard and poke greens, usually made more palatable by cooking them with flavorings, such as a little bacon grease and lots of salt. Eventually, "famine foods" can be accepted as dietary staples. The fact that cows, sheep, goats and deer can thrive on a diet of foliage shows that leaves contain essential nutrients. Their minerals, vitamins, and amino acids are suitable for sustaining most animal life, if a sufficient quantity is eaten.

Source of quote.
 
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RayOfHope

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Oh my gosh, I really appreciate all of your replies and viewpoints! There is so much left to figure out. Do I crave veggies because they are giving me something (minerals), or are they setting up a chain reaction in my body from having their fiber knock around in my intestines and stimulating estrogen/serotonin/etc, and that is keeping me somehow "addicted" to them?

I really appreciate the community you guys have set up here and I am very happy to be a part of it.
 

Jenn

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I am fully aware, we are not cows. I am not promoting vegetables, merely giving an fellow ex perfectionist permission to make change slowly and not use it as something to stress over and beat oneself up over. One's body does not always know what to do with "cold turkey."
 
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RayOfHope

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Thank you, Jenn! I need this kind of reinforcement/support, and I really appreciate it! I'm so OCD that I make myself CRAZY (I have spent hours upon hours going through the archives here just to avoid asking questions that haven't already been answered...not to mention reading Ray's articles, listening to podcasts multiple times, etc, there is so much to try to digest, no pun intended!). I am trying to set myself up for success by not being too obsessive/restrictive, but it is really difficult when you are used to being dominated by a perfectionistic mindset...so you are in a constant flux of trying to incorporate new ideas yet not getting so bound up in them that they become meaningless because the stress you make for yourself is totally counterproductive to any benefit they could offer! I am so encouraged by the results that I am seeing so far that I don't want to fall into my old pattern of trying to make things "perfect." But, it is a real challenge!
 
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