"Peat Approved" Foods

jaketthomas

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The problem I have with the "Peat Approved" Food list, is that a good percentage of people who adhere to them, don't tolerate a number of the foods well at all. Dairy being one, many people have problems with OJ, many people have problems with coffee, heck, some people even have trouble with beef.

I think that any diet should be flexible. The prototypical Ray Peat diet is an orthorexic diet. People obsessing about "safe" foods, instead of paying attention to their body's reaction to the said food. No joke, I have seen people on this diet continue to drink 1-2 quarts of OJ, even though it gives them heartburn and acid reflux.

My "safe list" is to eat any food that agrees with my digestive system. Honestly, I digest chocolate chip cookies better than I digest most cheese. And believe me, I've eaten every kind of "Peat approved", non-enzyme cheese that I could find. Stuff tastes nasty, first off, and secondly, it digests poorly. In ME, that is. I'm sure some of you digest it fine. Which is the beauty of individuality. There is no one sized fits all diet. Which is why you read testimonials for ANY diet out there. Any intelligently constructed diet is going to work for at least SOME people.

Since I have gotten 20 emails about what I eat, here goes: My best diet is a hybrid-paleo diet, with more emphasis on fruit than a normal paleo diet is. Figs are not a "safe" food, but I find them to be perhaps the most balancing food in existence. Occasional dairy is ok, but my milk has to be whole fat, or else, I'm in trouble. I do GREAT with Ezekiel bread and Ezekiel pasta, as well as baby greens and lettuces (no kale, broccoli, sprouts, anything like that). Bottled juices are out. Have a negative reaction to them, except coconut water, which I react fine to. I also do very well with seaweeds and algaes. Wheat is a bad idea, as is rice or potatoes. I don't do well with any of those. Sweet potatoes are ok, in small amounts. Cooked veggies don't really provide any benefit to me.

So, there it is. Fruit makes up half my diet, then I do shrimp, beef, bison, occasional chicken, some spouted grain products, eggs, some milk, minimal cheese (fresh Mozzarella digests very well), occasional mexican coke, occasional salad with baby greens and lettuces, sometimes fresh squeezed OJ and other fruit juices.
 

Jenn

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"People obsessing about "safe" foods, instead of paying attention to their body's reaction to the said food. No joke, I have seen people on this diet continue to drink 1-2 quarts of OJ, even though it gives them heartburn and acid reflux."
I agree.
I think a person needs to look into WHY they don't tolerate certain foods though and address it if they can.

For example, coffee. Caffeine intolerance is a sign of magnesium deficiency and/or lack of sufficient energy either by not eating enough or not being able to process properly what is being eaten. I USED to be overstimulated (staying up all night, wired) by just one sip of caffeine (that I didn't necessarily know I was drinking.) I would then be way over tired the next day and just want to sleep. I reacted very badly to it and avoided it.
Skip forward to 3 months of changing my diet and I started drinking coffee occasionally, still scared of it,so only a little and only in the morning. By accident, I was out and about at a friend's and she offered me some proper coffee (gelatin, sugar, cream,pinch of salt). I had 2 or 3 cups over the course of the evening...because I was hungry and it tasted SOOOOOOO good. I expected to be up all night. I had the BEST, most solid sleep I had had in a longtime....pre childbirth. I woke up refreshed and feeling good.

Everyone is a little different. I ate mostly potatoes because I NEEDED the protein and wasn't digesting any other forms well. I could not digest even my own farm fresh milk well when I started. We don't all start at zero, where we can just switch what we eat and move on. Some of us are running in the negatives, and have been for a long time and need help even getting to the starting line.
 

4peatssake

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First of all jake, thank you for understanding where to properly place this post.

Secondly,
jaketthomas said:
The prototypical Ray Peat diet is an orthorexic diet.
This is utter bull ***t and an affront to Raymond Peat.
 

eminions

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I don't think it is bull ***t. Every diet out there is in some way, shape or form orthorexic...each diet cuts out foods that are deemed bad, and try to eat foods deemed good. Think about it:

Fruitarian eats only fruit.
Paleo cuts out pretty much all processed foods, grains, sometimes dairy, sometimes fruit etc...
Peatish diet cuts out bad oils, grains, sometimes starches etc...

Now, each diet will have people who follow that diet to a different degree. Some people will be more orthorexic while others will not. I tend to be one that leans towards orthorexia because I go all out when I do something, I don't just half **** it.

Now if you consider what Ray actually does, then yes, he is pretty orthorexic. But is that bad? No, it just means he believes what he is teaching and doesn't waver.

Orthorexic attitutes are only bad if it changes how you act towards other people/how you act in society. If it means not going out with friends anymore, then yes it is bad. But if you still go out with friends and don't eat, but still hang out and have a good time, then I can't imagine it being something to look down upon.
 

pboy

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I think the people make it orthorexic, Ray himself is probably much more liberal about how he goes about his life, and just gives suggestions. I was late for work the other day and bought an egg salad sandwhich as the best option available...and it digested fine and fueled me and it tasted good (yes, it had 2 slices of white bread). Peat gives awesome recommendations, better than any other diet / health advocate I've come across, but of course he isn't rigidly telling everyone to do everything in an exact way...that's people's own interpretation. He makes many referances to personal allergies, eat what you enjoy, don't worry about every detail...ect. If you aren't dehydrated, and you enjoy what you eat and have enough salt and zinc the truth is you can pretty much eat anything and it will digest...the question is how happy are you?
 

4peatssake

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eminions said:
I don't think it is bull s***.

Orthorexicia is considered a food disorder. So the assertion that a Ray Peat diet is orthorexic claims that he is promoting an eating disorder.

Orthorexia – an unhealthy fixation on eating only healthy or "pure" foods – was originally defined as a disordered eating behavior in the '90s, but experts believe it has been gaining steam in recent years, fed by the profusion of foods marketed as healthy and organic, and by the media's often conflicting dietary advice. Like anorexia nervosa, orthorexia is a disorder rooted in food restriction. Unlike anorexia, for othorexics, the quality instead of the quantity of food is severely restricted.

pboy said:
I think the people make it orthorexic, Ray himself is probably much more liberal about how he goes about his life, and just gives suggestions. I was late for work the other day and bought an egg salad sandwhich as the best option available...and it digested fine and fueled me and it tasted good (yes, it had 2 slices of white bread). Peat gives awesome recommendations, better than any other diet / health advocate I've come across, but of course he isn't rigidly telling everyone to do everything in an exact way...that's people's own interpretation. He makes many referances to personal allergies, eat what you enjoy, don't worry about every detail...ect. If you aren't dehydrated, and you enjoy what you eat and have enough salt and zinc the truth is you can pretty much eat anything and it will digest...the question is how happy are you?
Well said pboy. I completely agree.
 

charlie

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Nothing wrong with good discipline to get yourself healthy.
 

charlie

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Thumbs soon Jenn. I hope! :lol:
 

repeat

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I don't know how to think really, but I consider parts of the "Peat diet" as terapeutic. And actually, I think it's the least "diet" I have seen so far, NO orthorexia needed!

The better your thyroid works for you, and with you, and you with the thyroid function, the less sensitive you will get to "bad" foods (except PUFAs). I think it's possible to learn and get a very good sense for whats working and what's not.
 

gretchen

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jaketthomas said:
The problem I have with the "Peat Approved" Food list, is that a good percentage of people who adhere to them, don't tolerate a number of the foods well at all. Dairy being one, many people have problems with OJ, many people have problems with coffee, heck, some people even have trouble with beef.

I think that any diet should be flexible. The prototypical Ray Peat diet is an orthorexic diet. People obsessing about "safe" foods, instead of paying attention to their body's reaction to the said food. No joke, I have seen people on this diet continue to drink 1-2 quarts of OJ, even though it gives them heartburn and acid reflux.

My "safe list" is to eat any food that agrees with my digestive system. Honestly, I digest chocolate chip cookies better than I digest most cheese. And believe me, I've eaten every kind of "Peat approved", non-enzyme cheese that I could find. Stuff tastes nasty, first off, and secondly, it digests poorly. In ME, that is. I'm sure some of you digest it fine. Which is the beauty of individuality. There is no one sized fits all diet. Which is why you read testimonials for ANY diet out there. Any intelligently constructed diet is going to work for at least SOME people.

Since I have gotten 20 emails about what I eat, here goes: My best diet is a hybrid-paleo diet, with more emphasis on fruit than a normal paleo diet is. Figs are not a "safe" food, but I find them to be perhaps the most balancing food in existence. Occasional dairy is ok, but my milk has to be whole fat, or else, I'm in trouble. I do GREAT with Ezekiel bread and Ezekiel pasta, as well as baby greens and lettuces (no kale, broccoli, sprouts, anything like that). Bottled juices are out. Have a negative reaction to them, except coconut water, which I react fine to. I also do very well with seaweeds and algaes. Wheat is a bad idea, as is rice or potatoes. I don't do well with any of those. Sweet potatoes are ok, in small amounts. Cooked veggies don't really provide any benefit to me.

So, there it is. Fruit makes up half my diet, then I do shrimp, beef, bison, occasional chicken, some spouted grain products, eggs, some milk, minimal cheese (fresh Mozzarella digests very well), occasional mexican coke, occasional salad with baby greens and lettuces, sometimes fresh squeezed OJ and other fruit juices.

I agree jt, with this diet, you have to take the guidelines and ideas and make them work for you. Dairy isn't one of my best foods and never will be, no matter what I do to heal my gut, bring up my metabolism, balance my hormones, etc.

I eat a lot of fruit also but have eliminated the green vegetables- just too irritating and time consuming. Rice and potatoes don't seem to do much; meat, not cheese, has always been my best food. Figs have been one of my favorite foods since the 90s; I think the seeds work for me. And also blueberries.... I haven't bought either much in the last year but might. I ate a lot of Ezekial bread in the 2000s but threw my toaster out so am not inclined to start again.

I'm wondering if you have ever genotyped yourself? Dr. D'Adamo's approach maximizes a person's genetics without addressing metabolic issues. His group has constant problems which they seem to thrive on.
 
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jaketthomas

jaketthomas

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I'm a huge fan of Dr. D'Adamo's work on blood types and genotypes. A lot of his recommendations are spot on for me. I'm Type O and do horribly with Orange Juice and Coffee -- right in line with his research. I do incredibly with blueberries, figs, pineapple, prickly pears, cherries, and mangoes. In fact, even before I read about his work, they were always my top favorite fruits. Then I read his book, and they're listed as "beneficial" foods for Type O. I was sold when I realized that my love for beef, sea vegetables, and those said fruits were right in line with his research. I don't agree with his research on kale, broccoli, and things like spinach being good for Type O. I've always had an aversion to them, and they digest terribly.
 

juanitacarlos

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I have to agree with jake that anyone with an "orthorexic" tendency could have a field day with only eating Peat approved foods. It concerns me when people are "Peating" and having issues and the advice is to bunker down and eat more sugar, fruit, gelatin etc. Maybe the lesson is to back off? Ever so slowly make changes that you can live with, and are specific to your current situation. Allow your body and mind to adapt. And what are you truly willing to change, long-term? It's definitely a question I mull over often.
 

jaa

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jaketthomas said:
I'm a huge fan of Dr. D'Adamo's work on blood types and genotypes. A lot of his recommendations are spot on for me. I'm Type O and do horribly with Orange Juice and Coffee -- right in line with his research. I do incredibly with blueberries, figs, pineapple, prickly pears, cherries, and mangoes. In fact, even before I read about his work, they were always my top favorite fruits. Then I read his book, and they're listed as "beneficial" foods for Type O. I was sold when I realized that my love for beef, sea vegetables, and those said fruits were right in line with his research. I don't agree with his research on kale, broccoli, and things like spinach being good for Type O. I've always had an aversion to them, and they digest terribly.

I'm O+ and love those fruits aside from pears. But I also do well with OJ and Coffee and like kale, brocolli and spinach (in butter and salt). I don't think you can really take away much from blood types and food.
 

wildtruffle14

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Hello! could we not have a more rational voice in the nutrition wilderness??:

“My recommendation is to eat to increase the metabolic rate, rather than any particular foods.”
— Ray Peat, PhD

"One of the brightest of the genetically oriented nutritionists, Roger Williams, used the idea of genetic individuality to explain that the popular idea of a species-wide standard diet couldn't be applied to exceptional individuals, and that disease was often the result of the mismatch between special nutritional requirements and a “standard” diet."
- Ray Peat, PhD

Peat's research has expanded my knowledge and abilities to judge what's going on within me and develop my own protective and invigorating diet. But I won't lie that most of those foods at the moment are stereotypical Peat. Except that I feel I need a higher amount of animal protein a day than he would imply could be problematic.
 

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