THE ROOT OF GRAY HAIR

[Rinse & rePeat]

I plucked out a gray hair to show my progress from upping my liver and cutting out the grains. This progress is without nettle this past 7 months. I took a break on the liver for the last month, but will get back on it.

 

[peatmoss]

The beta carotene was blocking my thyroid function, but thyroid wasn’t working for me until I cut out all beta carotene containing foods from my diet until all the orange was gone—about 6 months in conjunction with a thyroid supplement. You mentioned grains, have you tried synthetic thyroid? I know some people who didn’t see improvements in their thyroid function until they switched from NDT to synthetic thyroid. Also, do you know what your cholesterol was while on thyroid or even what it is now?

Ugh...I've recently started learning about peats ways and started with the carrot salad and have noticed a big increase in energy levels. Do you know of anything that works like carrot salad to give me the same effect? I tried mushroom soup but I don't feel the same effects.

 

[Jennifer]

@peatmoss, if the carrot salad doesn't give you yellow/orange palms, you likely convert beta carotene well, however, if you’re concerned it might build up, there’s always white carrots or…have you tried cooked bamboo shoots? I’m not sure how appetizing this would be but you could make a bamboo shoot salad by adding coconut oil (or olive oil) and vinegar like you would the carrot salad and see if it has the same effect?

 

[peatmoss]

@peatmoss, if the carrot salad doesn't give you yellow/orange palms, you likely convert beta carotene well, however, if you’re concerned it might build up, there’s always white carrots or…have you tried cooked bamboo shoots? I’m not sure how appetizing this would be but you could make a bamboo shoot salad by adding coconut oil (or olive oil) and vinegar like you would the carrot salad and see if it has the same effect?

thank you for the suggestions :)

 

[Jennifer]

You’re welcome, @peatmoss. :)

 

[-Luke-]

Dr. Peat mentioned once that you can prepare a "cheese sauce" with cheese and milk/cream and salt (if I remember correctly) to make the bamboo shoots more palatable. But in my opinion, they taste not bad even plain, just with a little salt. Also not good. But relatively neutral.

 

[Sapien]

thank you for the suggestions :)

also, you can lower the beta carotene content by rinsing the slices before you eat them.
Simply put in bowl, cover the carrots, dump a few times. You can leave overnight to further lower the BC
You will notice the water will be very orange , indicating you are removing some of the BC

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Dr. Peat mentioned once that you can prepare a "cheese sauce" with cheese and milk/cream and salt (if I remember correctly) to make the bamboo shoots more palatable. But in my opinion, they taste not bad even plain, just with a little salt. Also not good. But relatively neutral.

I like to wash and drain my canned bamboo shoots then soak them for two to three hours in milk, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. They taste like horchata, and really gets rid of the weird flavor too. They are addicting this way!

 

[-Luke-]

I like to wash and drain my canned bamboo shoots then soak them for two to three hours in milk, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. They taste like horchata, and really gets rid of the weird flavor too. They are addicting this way!

Sounds good. Are the bamboo shoots you buy already cooked?

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Sound good. Are the bamboo shoots you buy already cooked?

Yes, those nasty tasting canned ones.

 

[Jennifer]

I’ve tried preparing bamboo shoots a few different ways—both sweet and savory—and I don’t know if it’s because I grew up eating Cantonese cuisine but the only way I like them thus far is in a savory sauce of garlic, soy sauce (or coconut aminos), oyster sauce, salt, sugar and lemon juice. I’ll have to try them Ray’s way, maybe with some olive oil, basil, lemon juice and Parmigiano Reggiano.

 

[Jennifer]

I plucked out a gray hair to show my progress from upping my liver and cutting out the grains. This progress is without nettle this past 7 months. I took a break on the liver for the last month, but will get back on it.

By progress, do you mean color is returning or your hair strands are growing in thicker? I don’t see a difference in color, but I’m not sure if it’s because your hair is blonde and the strand is on a dark background. I’ve always had a few blonde strands from the time I was young and the only way I could tell they were blonde was in daylight otherwise, they were so light they looked white.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

By progress, do you mean color is returning or your hair strands are growing in thicker? I don’t see a difference in color, but I’m not sure if it’s because your hair is blonde and the strand is on a dark background. I’ve always had a few blonde strands from the time I was young and the only way I could tell they were blonde was in daylight otherwise, they were so light they looked white.

The thinner part of the hair, I posted the pic of, is the new softer growth. It is a light brown color. The hair I plucked was from the darker underside of my hair. I will have to put it on a black t-shirt next time so you can see the gold tone to it. I will look for another to pluck for you.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“Almost any kind of stress increases the formation of melatonin.

In some animals, melatonin has been shown to be responsible for whitening of the hair during the winter.” -Ray Peat​

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“In snowy climates, it’s “ecologically” rational for animals to turn white in the winter, for camouflage. But tadpoles also turn white in the dark, or under the influence of melatonin, and the biological meaning of that isn’t so clear. It’s possible that being white would reduce their loss of heat through radiation, but I think it is more likely that it relates to an increased ability of weak radiation to penetrate their tissues, rather than being stopped near the surface by the melanin in the skin. The absence of melanin makes them more sensitive to light. Bright light suppresses their melatonin, and makes them turn dark brown or black, and this protects them from bright sunlight.” -Ray Peat

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

“In the retina, melatonin increases the sensitivity of the cells to dim light. It, along with prolactin, another nocturnal hormone, helps to produce dark adaptation of the eyes.

Melatonin increases the concentration of free fatty acids during the night (John, et al., 1983; John and George, 1976)), so it’s interesting that one of the long-chain highly unsaturated fatty acids, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), also increases the light sensitivity of the retina.

Melatonin lowers body temperature, causes vasoconstriction in the brain, heart, and other organs, and slows reactions. An antagonist to melatonin acts as an antidepressant, reducing “behavioral despair” resulting from stress. (Dubocovich, et al., 1990.) So, in the behavioral sense, melatonin reduces sensitivity, yet it increases the eyes’ sensitivity to light, causing them to be injured by light that would otherwise be harmless.” -Ray Peat​

 

[Jennifer]

The thinner part of the hair, I posted the pic of, is the new softer growth. It is a light brown color. The hair I plucked was from the darker underside of my hair. I will have to put it on a black t-shirt next time so you can see the gold tone to it. I will look for another to pluck for you.

Oh, no. Please don’t pluck another hair on my account. lol I trust you. I just wasn’t sure if your progress was related to color or texture or both.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Oh, no. Please don’t pluck another hair on my account. lol I trust you. I just wasn’t sure if your progress was related to color or texture or both.

Oh I have so much hair that I don’t care. It is the color and texture that changed. If I had dark hair the color would be much more apparent. Just the wiry coarseness of my gray hairs were awful.

 

[Jennifer]

Oh I have so much hair that I don’t care. It is the color and texture that changed. If I had dark hair the color would be much more apparent. Just the wiry coarseness of my gray hairs were awful.

Yeah, I figured I likely couldn’t make out a change in color because your hair is lighter. I can definitely see a chain in coarseness. Have you ever noticed a difference in your hair with shellfish or even mushrooms?

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Yeah, I figured I likely couldn’t make out a change in color because your hair is lighter. I can definitely see a chain in coarseness. Have you ever noticed a difference in your hair with shellfish or even mushrooms?

I haven’t eaten mushrooms much to know about that one Jennifer, and I really haven’t experimented with shellfish where gray hair in concerned, though the past year with the high stress of my husband’s situation I didn’t eat any shellfish for almost a year, and coincidentally I was getting a lot of gray. Admittedly I was heavy on the grains before summer came, out of convenience, so the gray could have been from that and having nothing to do with lack of shellfish at all, or liver for that matter. I got mindful of upping my liver in the summer, but didn’t add shellfish back in until the last couple of months.