Ray Peat Email Advice Depository

[blob69]

Q: What are your thoughts about inclined bed therapy?

A: It seems biologically reasonable. I think migraines involve excess cholinergic activity, related to the “learned helplessnes” physiology, and that slight tilt would tend to keep the balance of the autonomic nervous system from shifting too far in that “demobilized” direction.

 

[blob69]

Q: Why do you think the Swank diet works so well for MS sufferers?

A: I think the cod liver oil and low iron (red meat) intake were helpful.

 

[blob69]

Answer to a longer question about shielding a house from radiation:

The radiation from telephones and such can be blocked by wire mesh, that’s well grounded. Some people use screen to cover the walls and ceiling of their bedroom, grounding it by attaching it to the plumbing, or to the electrical ground wire. A metal roof that has a wire or metal drain-pipe connecting it to the ground reduces the radiation from radio and television. Much of the natural earth e.m. resonance will be excluded.

 

[blob69]

Answers to questions about headaches accompanied by shakiness:

An inefficient liver that, among other things, doesn't store enough glycogen to last the whole night, is a common cause of both headaches and shakiness. Lots of light exposure to the whole body helps to increase metabolic efficiency. Liver and oysters about once a week, while keeping stress low, have nutrients that help with liver efficiency. Cyproheptadine, a small amount at bedtime, reduces night stress, might help the headaches and shakiness.

Low blood sugar increases the absorption of toxin from the intestine as well as activating nerve reflexes and inflammation, so keeping the intestine active and clean with mild fiber, and blocking inflammation with aspirin and antihistamine, is usually helpful.

The herbs can irritate the intestine, and I know someone whose liver function was worse while she was taking milk thistle--it's good to be cautious with them.

 

[blob69]

A: Could taking aspirin and cyproheptadine sometimes worsen liver problems?

Q: The excipients often used with them are probably as likely to affect the liver as the chemicals themselves.

 

[blob69]

A: Could rifaximin be helpful for the liver?

Q: Rifaximin is probably safe for short term use.

Toxicol Sci. Oct 2012; 129(2): 456–468.
Chronic Exposure to Rifaximin Causes Hepatic Steatosis in Pregnane X Receptor-Humanized Mice
Jie Cheng, Kristopher W. Krausz, Naoki Tanaka, and Frank, J. Gonzalez 1
Rifaximin, a nonsystemic antibiotic that exhibits low gastrointestinal absorption, is a potent agonist of human pregnane X receptor (PXR), which contributes to its therapeutic efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease. To investigate the effects of long-term administration of rifaximin on the liver, PXR-humanized mice were administered rifaximin for 6 months; wild-type and Pxr-null mice were treated in parallel as controls. Histological analysis revealed time-dependent intense hepatocellular fatty degeneration and increased hepatic triglycerides in PXR-humanized mice and not in wild-type and Pxr-null mice. After long-term treatment, PXR target genes were induced in small intestine and liver, with significant up-regulation in the expression of hepatic genes related to triglyceride synthesis and lipid accumulation. However, no significant hepatic accumulation of rifaximin was found, even after 6 months of treatment, in PXR-humanized mice. Genes in the small intestine that are involved in the uptake of fatty acids and triglycerides were induced along with increased triglyceride accumulation in intestinal epithelial cells of PXR-humanized mice; this was not observed in wild-type and Pxr-null mice. These findings suggest that long-term administration of rifaximin could lead to PXR-dependent hepatocellular fatty degeneration as a result of activation of genes involved in lipid uptake, thus indicating a potential adverse effect of rifaximin on liver function after long-term exposure.

 

[blob69]

Answer to a question asking about a bad reaction to methylfolate and methyl B12:

I think it's risky to supplement methyl donors in substantial quantity, such as choline, betaine, methionine, and S-adenosylmethionine.

The amount of methyl in that form of B12 is so tiny that I think it's more likely an allergic reaction; folic acid is allergenic too, and the slightly different manufacturing processes could account for different reactions to different products.

 

[milk_lover]

My question: "Is it ok to eat potatoes fried in palm oil?"

Ray Peat: "If it’s unrefined, with a pink color, I would be concerned about the oxidation products of the carotene."

Follow-up question: "What if it says it’s refined with yellowish color? Would PUFA be any concerns? Sorta like palm kernel oil."

Ray Peat: "I prefer hydrogenated coconut oil because of the PUFA."

 

[allblues]

About suppression of endogenous testosterone production after steroid use;

Q: What do you think would help a male who has used exogenous steroids (not pregnenolone/DHEA, but for example testosterone/DHT in high amounts, or any of the "designer" anabolic steroids) for a while, to the point where the testes have shrunk, and endogenous testosterone production has obviously been lowered? How do you see this problem?

A: Testosterone and DHT aren’t toxic, so the testes probably haven’t been damaged, and would resume functioning with good nutritional support. 100 mg of pregnenolone and 5 mg of DHEA would probably help their recovery, but I think it would be good to have your LH and estrogen checked. If the LH is very high, using a little DHT for a while might be protective until it’s more normal. Coffee, aspirin, vitamin D, milk and cheese would also protect against hight LH.

 

[CKA]

From Jun 4, 2011

"Hi Ray, I'm wondering about fruit and its avenues of metabolism. Regarding this study, The effect of two energy-restricted diets, a low-fructose diet versus a moderate natural fructose diet, on weight loss and metabolic syndrome param... - PubMed - NCBI
A commenter said,"
That study does''t eliminate fructose as one of Kurt Harris‚ neolithic agents of disease. Nor does it even mean much in the real world.
Note that both groups were on a calorie restricted diet. The negative effects of fructose consumption are due to the limited avenues available for its metabolic disposal via the liver (glycogen or triglycerides), the limited capacity of those avenues, and its availability in drinkable form (sodas, fruit juices, smoothies).
Putting people on a calorie restricted diet ˆ and one that also doesn‚t include liquids (their most common delivery form, by far) ˆ purposely eliminates the real-world consumption and metabolic scenario. The danger of fructose is that its sweet taste tempts us to consume giant boluses of it, which overwhelm in the short term the ability of our liver to process it (= glycation = heart disease). In the longer term they overwhelm the ability of our liver to store it (= NAFLD, T2D, etc.) None of this happens on a calorie-restricted diet or under conditions of daily intense exercise that continually depletes glycogen reserves. Thus Grok and the fruitarians.
I don't enjoy being the wet blanket here, but this study still tells us nothing about the effects of fruit-sourced fructose eaten as part of a non-restricted diet ˆ in other words, the real-world case.
Seriously: I know it's fun to question authority, maaaaaan, but please: let's all think a bit about the metabolic pathways involved before gleefully setting fire to everything that got us where we are."

I'm very curious what you think about it."

RP:
"I keep thinking about doing a newsletter about fructose, but I think the ideology behind the hatred of fructose is the real issue. The typical internet libertarian ideology thinks the killer ape doctrine of Konrad Lorenz, Robert Ardrey, and Desmond Morris is the essence of anthropology. For most of these people, hunter-gatherers were just hunters who found some seeds occasionally."

 

[Blossom]

My question to Ray was regarding rapid onset of mastitis in a middle-aged, non-lactating woman with a history of prolactinoma. The substances used for relief were aspirin, bromocriptine and topical lidocaine gel.

Ray's response:

Aspirin, lidocaine, and bromocriptine are all likely to help, but low thyroid is usually behind an excess of prolactin; in middle age, estrogen tends to rise as progesterone falls. A good T3 supplement is usually the quickest way to correct breast inflammation and pain. Have you checked your temperature and pulse rate? A sluggish intestine interferes with the excretion of estrogen, so raw carrots or a laxative can often, in just a day or two, increase the ratio of progesterone to estrogen. Extra salt in your food, and a little vitamin B6 could help to lower the prolactin. Low thyroid increases water retention but causes sodium loss, and that combination increases swelling and inflammation; the diuretic effect of tea or coffee might help with the swelling.

 

[Mittir]

Ideal Serum Ratio of Total T4 to total T3:

Ray Peat : The serum T3/T4 ratio decreases with age and sickness. I think dose of a supplement
should be based entirely on the signs of metabolic response.

Ritanserin:

Ray Peat: I haven’t had any experience with ritanserin, don’t recommend it, and don’t recall discussing it.

 

[milk_lover]

My question to Dr. Ray Peat:
"I am interested in using topical aspirin solution, dissolved in water, on my hair to make it healthier. Do you think it’s good for hair health/growth? And does topical aspirin cause water retention if applied on the body?"

Ray Peat's answer:
"It doesn’t cause water retention, and since prostaglandins are involved in atrophy of hair follicles, inhibiting prostaglandins locally could help."

 

[milk_lover]

My question to Dr. Peat:
"Let’s say I want to eat starch (rice, potatoes and even wheat), what can I do at the same time or right after to reduce the effect of endotoxin? I think vitamin D and vitamin B2 help along with coconut oil, what do you think?"

Dr. Peat's answer (his usual answer for endotoxin protection):
"Keeping a fairly quick transit time usually goes with an abundance of digestive secretions, keeping the small intestine free of bacteria. Fiber, good thyroid function, and antiseptic foods such as cooked mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and raw carrots help."

...........

[ moderator edit: related thread RP Email Advice Discussion: Safe Fiber ]

 

[milk_lover]

My question to Dr. Peat:
"In my supermarket, the only milk that has no added vitamins (A and D) is a french organic UHT milk that has a shelve life of about a year. All the fresh milk brands have vitamin D and A added and they give me allergy symptoms like dark circles and stuffed nose. Would you recommend UHT milk in this case to get my daily calcium needs?"

Dr. Peat's answer:
"Yes, I know several people who do very well with ultrapasteurized milk."

 

[milk_lover]

[ moderator edit: related thread RP Email Advice Comment: Effect Of Masturbation On Prolactin]

I asked Dr. Peat about the effect of masturbation on prolactin (I am not quoting my question because it was a personal question)

Dr. Peat's answer: "I don't think masturbation affects the hormones more than regular sex does."

 

[milk_lover]

I asked Dr. Peat about the type of gelatin he takes as I am not having the best results from pure glycine supplements.

Dr. Peat's answer: "Mostly I get gelatin from things like ox-tail soup, but I use a little gelatin from Great Lakes Gelatin."

 

[raypeatclips]

Question was regarding experiences with thyroid storm, and what he would do about it.

My impression is that some of the articles describing thyroid storm were written by hysterical people who didn’t understand thyroid metabolism. After I had been exposed to a pesticide, I experienced a few weeks of hyperthyroidism, probably a normalizing process after the antithyroid toxin was gone. Besides washing my hair two or three times a day and eating a lot, I didn’t do anything. A few people I’ve known wanted to stop the symptoms without a drug; some of them drank a glass or two of cabbage juice for a couple of days, others ate liver once or twice a day.

 

[paymanz]

asked his opinion on these two studies showing high salt intake increases free fatty acid,and if salt intake need to have a upper limit.
Salt loads raise plasma fatty acids and lower insulin. - PubMed - NCBI
Effect of sodium intake on insulin sensitivity. - PubMed - NCBI

Too much salt can injure the stomach. Appetite is usually a good guide to the amount needed.

 

[Makrosky]

asked about how much beef liver is safe to consume per week :

I think six ounces a week is enough, and safe. Drinking coffee with it reduces iron absorption.

@Diokine
@John Frusciante