Philosophy time
IMO, there are 2 core tenets to this thing we call the "Peat Diet":
(1) Avoid stressful foods -- with PUFA being the most commonly consumed and generic stressor.
(2) Increase metabolic fuel -- in general, this will revolve around glucose, galactose, and fructose intake
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Number (1) is usually more important than (2), and definitely more important if one is coming from an energetically compromised state.
"Stressful foods" refer to anything at all that you do not tolerate at all, be it gluten, lectins (eg: from potatoes), casein (dairy, and especially A1 casein), etc ....
PUFA is unique in that they are a class of compounds that provide a universal "slow down mechanism" at all levels of the body -- everything from low level mitochondrial dynamics, where chronic PUFA incorporation into mitochondrial membranes reduce ECT flow, and all the way up to higher-level .
PUFA are necessary for function, but dietary PUFA almost always exceeds requirements. Avoiding dietary PUFA as best as possible then becomes key.
Again, removal of stressful food items takes precedence over increases in metabolic fuel.
In the real world, my friend PaleoOsteo finds it much more effective to tell generally-nutritionally-clueless clients to do a "ketogenic diet", which basically means cutting out all the common items that lead to stress. It tends to be much easier (psychologically speaking) for people to cut PUFA-rich processed foods when asked to "go ketogenic". A lot of the PUFA-rich foods that most people eat tend to be viewed as "carb sources" -- chips, donuts, pastries, etc ...
Some care needs to be given to "fat sources" that are high PUFA -- example: peanut butter, and sometimes people use margarine. But in general, starting with a low carb approach, and then adding carbohydrate sources in, seems to be the easiest way for the nutritionally-illiterate to get started with this approach.
This usually leads to weight loss and general feelings of wellness. Again, the main factor here is that they are so inflammed to begin with, and are usually overweight and therefore releasing a lot of FFA to begin with. Reduction in further dietary stress is the biggest factor in this state.
We do this until some excess fat is lost, and the person is feeling a little better (this is best judged by a good health practitioner). This can take anywhere from a few weeks, to 6 months.
Then we start adding carbs. It can be as easily and moderate as saying, "OK, now you can have your cup of Fruit Juice in the morning and another piece of fruit during the day". Usually this also comes with, "we'll get you back on your steak and potatoes in a couple of weeks when things get better again"
Keeping things easy becomes important in this scenario. For example, a list of "allowed fat sources" needs to be kept as short as possible, and ideally as specific as possible. Something like:
- Butter
- Coconut oil
- Beef
- Lamb
- only lean fish
and nothing else, is much easier than saying, "avoid PUFA". Olive oil may be a not-ideal but affordable concession at this point.
This is the approach of "High fat first, then add carbs".
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In the opposite case, like myself, who already had knowledge of all the biochemistry at hand, and who was 24 years old, a more aggressive template may be taken. In my case, it was a calorie-controlled (to whatever I knew was my maintenance caloric intake), and pretty high carb diet (< 10% fat).
IMO, this opposite approach is best done with fat intake at 10% or lower, and without excess calories to begin with. The low fat intake is to bias the Randle effect to carbohydrate metabolism. The controlled calories is to ease the metabolic adaptation to the new diet (processing a lot of carbohydrate still requires some switch over in enzyme and hormone levels, which can take anywhere from a few days, to weeks).
After a comfort level has been reached, then we decide if we want to add more carbs and/or fat.
This is the approach of "High carb first, then add fat"
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As for "Metabolic Supplements", these are aimed towards point (2). I've made my prior opinion that "Good' supplements are "training wheels for the metabolism" -- Is There Any Reason For Me To Take Aspirin?
IMO, if the person is willing to try some of these, then they can and should be used as soon as possible. Test and identify which supplements work the best, and then stick to those.
You do not want to throw multiple supplements with possible interfering side effects at a person who is just starting out trying to regain their health. A good practitioner can guess which supplements work best for a client (based on lab tests, symptom analysis, or otherwise), though some supplements like Pregnenolone and/or Progesterone are almost always helpful, and never harmful. The same goes for low does Aspirin (higher doses, above say 300-400mg a day, require experimentation)
Sidenote: other supplements like K2 MK4, Vit E, can potentially lead to side effects depending on the person's condition. These require specific experimentation. Even Niacinamide may not be needed or properly handled in the beginning (perhaps due to mucked up enzyme kinematics regarding the machinery needed to transport niacinamide into mitochondria where it becomes useful)
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What are the possible side effects of K2 MK4 and vitamins E?
