simple (or not-so-much) intro

true blue

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Hello - just found Ray Peat and his articles yesterday while looking around online. I forget what I was googling for exactly, but somehow came across a possible connection between trytophan, seretonin, and migranes (which a family member sometimes suffers from). So I googled the three together and one of the results was Ray's article "Tryptophan, serotonin, and aging." Viola - my intro to Ray Peat.

The article piqued my interest, so I checked his article page and read quite a few of them yesterday. I came across many things my past research had already led me to (the importance of coconut oil, saturated fats, progesterone, no grains), and new things (sugar isn't bad). Frankly, if I hadn't already known about some of these important things, I would probably just shrug off some of the new things I read.

I do have questions though. Although I did find this forum after searching Ray Peat on google, I haven't read a whole, whole lot here yet (I read more from his articles page). It's possible some of my questions have already been answered and if so, directing me to the appropriate thread is fine. Otherwise ...

Why exactly does he advocate little-to-no vegetables? I realize that some veggies have phytonutrients that aren't that great for us, but doesn't their good out-weigh their bad? You're really not going to get PUFAs from fresh veggies, right? It's the seeds of plants that are used for oil extraction. And Peat seems to be fine with fruits, but it seems like only 'sweet' fruits ... what about veggies that are really fruits? (Like tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.)

The other big question I have is about the higher sugar consumption in this diet than in others that don't conform to conventional 'medical' wisdom. The articles were very enlightening about how sugar works in the body, contrary to what we usually hear ... but what about things like tooth decay? If our bodies need all this sugar, then, according to Peat, it shouldn't be the cause of tooth decay, right? Has he ever addressed this issue?

Anyway ... that should be a good start. :D
 
J

j.

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true blue said:
Why exactly does he advocate little-to-no vegetables? I realize that some veggies have phytonutrients that aren't that great for us, but doesn't their good out-weigh their bad? You're really not going to get PUFAs from fresh veggies, right? It's the seeds of plants that are used for oil extraction. And Peat seems to be fine with fruits, but it seems like only 'sweet' fruits ... what about veggies that are really fruits? (Like tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.)

We don't have enzymes to digest them, it's good food for bacteria. It has good aspects but also bad aspects, and it's better to have foods that have the good aspects with fewer bad aspects (milk, fruit, etc.). But if you cook them it's ok to eat them.

The other big question I have is about the higher sugar consumption in this diet than in others that don't conform to conventional 'medical' wisdom. The articles were very enlightening about how sugar works in the body, contrary to what we usually hear ... but what about things like tooth decay? If our bodies need all this sugar, then, according to Peat, it shouldn't be the cause of tooth decay, right? Has he ever addressed this issue?

He claims the quality of the saliva protects from tooth decay, and the main factor to achieve that is good thyroid function.
 
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true blue

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j. said:
We don't have enzymes to digest them, it's good food for bacteria. It has good aspects but also bad aspects, and it's better to have foods that have the good aspects with fewer bad aspects (milk, fruit, etc.). But if you cook them it's ok to eat them.
OK. I've heard of 'veggies are better cooked' before, but for a different reason. What about gut flora?

He claims the quality of the saliva protects from tooth decay, and the main factor to achieve that is good thyroid function.
Interesting. So children with bad dental health would already be experiencing thyroid issues?
 

HDD

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Ray Peat recommends a daily carrot salad for gut health.

"Endotoxin formed in the bowel can block respiration and cause hormone imbalances contributing to instability of the nerves, so it is helpful to optimize bowel flora, for example with a carrot salad; a dressing of vinegar, coconut oil and olive oil, carried into the intestine by the carrot fiber, suppresses bacterial growth while stimulating healing of the wall of the intestine. The carrot salad improves the ratio of progesterone to estrogen and cortisol, and so is as appropriate for epilepsy as for premenstrual syndrome, insomnia, or arthritis."
raypeat.com/articles/articles/epilepsy-progesterone.shtml


Dental health-
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/os ... ging.shtml

"Animal studies show that estrogen stunts growth, including bone growth. The high estrogen levels in girls' teen years and early twenties accounts for the fact that women's bones are lighter than men's. In rat studies, treatment with estrogen was found to enlarge the space between the jawbone and the teeth, which is a factor in periodontal disease (Elzay, 1964). Teeth are very similar to bones, so it's interesting that treating male or female rats with estrogen increases their incidence of tooth decay, and removing their gonads was found to decrease the incidence (Muhler and Shafer, 1952). Supplementing them with thyroid hormone decreased the incidence of cavities in both males and females (Bixler, et al., 1957)."

"Cartilage synthesis and turnover are highest at night. It is inhibited by metabolic acidosis (increased lactic acid), but not by respiratory acidosis (CO2) (Bushinsky, 1995). Since most calcium is lost from bone during the night (Eastell, et al., 1992; even in children: DeSanto, et al., 1988) in association with the nocturnal rise of the catabolic substances, such as free fatty acids, cortisol, prolactin, PTH, and adrenalin, things which minimize the nocturnal stress can decrease the bone turnover. These include calcium (Blumsohn, et al., 1994) and sugar. Catabolic substances and processes increase with aging, especially at night. Babies grow most during the night when bone turnover is high, and even a daytime nap accelerates collagen turnover (Lutchman, et al., 1998)."
 
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true blue

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Haagendazendiane said:
Ray Peat recommends a daily carrot salad for gut health.

"Endotoxin formed in the bowel can block respiration and cause hormone imbalances contributing to instability of the nerves, so it is helpful to optimize bowel flora, for example with a carrot salad; a dressing of vinegar, coconut oil and olive oil, carried into the intestine by the carrot fiber, suppresses bacterial growth while stimulating healing of the wall of the intestine. The carrot salad improves the ratio of progesterone to estrogen and cortisol, and so is as appropriate for epilepsy as for premenstrual syndrome, insomnia, or arthritis."
raypeat.com/articles/articles/epilepsy-progesterone.shtml

So 'optimizing bowl flora' = 'suppressing bacterial growth'? What exactly are 'endotoxins'? I've not come across this before.
 
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true blue

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OK - so I just did a little looking around the net to see what 'endotoxins' might be. In a nutshell, endotoxins seem to originate in the cell walls and are then shed by gram-negative bacteria in the gut:

http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchi ... 3p46.shtml
"In a study by Cani and colleagues, mice that were fed a high-fat diet had an increase in gram-negative bacteria in their gut flora, leading to an increase in bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the plasma. Bacterial LPS originate in the cell walls of gram-negative bacteria and have been found to trigger inflammation by promoting synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines. Mice that were infused directly with LPS developed insulin resistance and weight gain. Interestingly, mice resistant to LPS did not develop insulin resistance or weight gain. The authors speculated that LPS originating from gram-negative gut bacteria trigger inflammation and subsequent metabolic disease. If this is the case, diets that reduce gram-negative bacteria in the gut flora may prevent LPS-stimulated inflammation."
(Cani PD, Amar J, Iglesias MA, et al. Metabolic endotoxemia initiates obesity and insulin resistance. Diabetes. 2007;56(7):1761-1772.)

It would be nice to know what kind of fats were used in the 'high-fat diet' ... PUFA types or saturated? It's interesting, though, that these 'endotoxins' seem to be released by gram-negative bacteria. (I couldn't find any reference to gram-positive bacteria being a source.) The other interesting thing is that gram-negative bacteria as part of the gut flora does not seem to be beneficial like other 'good' gut bacteria.

So the question seems to be ... is the carrot salad recommended to 'suppress bacterial growth' of all kinds ('good' and 'bad') or is it supposed to 'optimize bowl flora' by reducing gram-negative types while supporting the 'good' types?
 

HDD

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"Chronic constipation, and anxiety which decreases blood circulation in the intestine, can increase the liver's exposure to endotoxin. Endotoxin (like intense physical activity) causes the estrogen concentration of the blood to rise. Diets that speed intestinal peristalsis might be expected to postpone menopause. Penicillin treatment, probably by lowering endotoxin production, is known to decrease estrogen and cortisone, while increasing progesterone. The same effect can be achieved by eating raw carrots (especially with coconut oil/olive oil dressing) every day, to reduce the amount of bacterial toxins absorbed, and to help in the excretion of estrogen. "
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/menopause.shtml

Gram-negative is more resistant to antibiotic treatment than gram-positive. Contrary to popular diets of promoting good gut bacteria, Ray Peat prefers a sterile gut environment. In addition to the carrot salad, he also recommends Cascara, charcoal, Flowers of sulphur, and antibiotics. The daily carrot salad being a general recommendation and the others are based on an individual's need.

This site shows gram negative vs. gram positive.
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Gram-n ... e_Bacteria
 

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