Which Supplements Do I Need?

[Dagwood]

This post is going to cover to cover a lot of ground because I think knowing more about my details and situation will help to contextualize my questions. One question of many is which supplements I should take.

OK. Let me explain about myself. I am a 30 year old male. I've been very highly stressed since I was very young due to living in a stressful household. I am now finding out that that many of the foods I was eating exacerbated my stress. I won't go into all the details because I could write a novel. A very boring novel, but a novel nonetheless. Anyway, I've carried a ton of that stress in my body for many years and tried many damaging eating habits such as eating lots of meat, avoiding carbs, eating raw vegetables. I also overexercised quite a lot because I stupidly believed the adage "No pain, no gain". Oh yeah, I also probably drank way too much water and damaged my liver.

When I was 25 I started noticing gray hair on my temples. Temple grays have increased and I now have gray hair on my crown as well. In addition, I have recently noticed balding on my crown and all of my hair is dry like straw. I feel dumb/embarrassed admitting it but the truth is that I'm quite concerned about my hair. My other symptoms include: insomnia, irascibility, violent angry fantasies, depression, lethargy, dark eye circles, gaunt face, cold hands and feet, throat mucus, hoarse voice, brain fog/absent-mindedness/inability to focus, obsessive thought patterns.....

For the last two weeks, I have been trying to follow Ray Peat's recommendations as closely as I can with regards to my understanding, location, and budget. I feel that my general mood has improved and the food feels good going down.

So here is an overview of what I've been consuming lately.

2 raw carrots in the morning
orange juice (a little expensive and commute is rather long)
milk (long commute, okay price)
potatoes (easy to get, not expensive)
white rice (easy to get, not expensive) I don't seem to have any bad reaction to starch.
oysters (they are quite affordable where I live)
about three eggs
a little hot water mixed with honey if I've run out of milk and OJ and feeling thirsty or need some sugar
Chicken feet and gelatin broth
I cook with coconut oil
one vitamin E pill and one aspirin daily.
I intend to buy a coffee maker and start drinking coffee and making eggshell powder.

Ok. So what suggestions do you have to help me recover my health and start feeling good again?

I would very much like to start taking thyroid but have been trying to find out more info and I can't buy it in my local shops. I'm veering toward desiccated thyroid rather than synthetic but I admit I am still confused about it. I was considering a supplement called Natural Sources Raw Thyroid Glandular but it also has pituitary and adrenal hormones and I think I heard that it is best to only take thyroid. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I have also been considering others such as Thyroyd, Thyroid-S, Armour, and haidut's new Tyromax supplement. Can someone give me their :2cents about this?

I also would like to start with other supplements. So far I'm most interested in Estroban. Haidut's also got others but I don't quite understand how they work. Is it better to to take Pregnenalone as a precursor to Progesterone? Is there a bad side effect of too much Progesterone? Which supplements have similar effects and therefore render each other redundant? Which supplements can cause problems when taken together? I'm all confusion. What about Methylene blue? Niacinamide? Could someone please tell me which additional supplements could be most helpful to me in order of importance? :)

 

[Dagwood]

Oh yeah. I also seem to have weak bones and an inability to put on weight or muscle if that helps.

 

[DaveFoster]

All of them.

Just keep downing pills and powders until things start to work right.

Try to shift your diet away from starch in favor of saturated fat and sugar.

EstroBan is a great supplement. I've taken 600 mg progesterone without a problem.

Check out my log:
https://raypeatforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8139

 

[Zachs]

Really you should give the diet a fair trial before taking any supps, especially thyroid. I supplemented with everything under the sun for a few years and now I don't take any because for me, nothing had a net positive effect.

Just make sure you are getting enough calories consistently, 3k+ a day, every day. The coffee might help, so give that a go. Getting plenty of sunshine and buying a cheap red light source like a heat lamp/halogen/incandescent bulb can work wonders. Also don't be afraid to expand the food choices, your diet looks really good but you can always add more foods to feel less restricted and get more nutrients. Things like we'll cooked mushrooms, root veg, squash, leafy greens, broccoli, etc. Also other dairy products like quality cheese and ice cream.

 

[Dagwood]

post 115567 All of them.

Just keep downing pills and powders until things start to work right.

Try to shift your diet away from starch in favor of saturated fat and sugar.

EstroBan is a great supplement. I've taken 600 mg progesterone without a problem.

Check out my log:
https://raypeatforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8139

Thank you for your input. I will try to get more saturated fat and sugar. I want to be selective about supplements because I don't have a ton of money.

 

[Dagwood]

post 115568 Really you should give the diet a fair trial before taking any supps, especially thyroid. I supplemented with everything under the sun for a few years and now I don't take any because for me, nothing had a net positive effect.

Just make sure you are getting enough calories consistently, 3k+ a day, every day. The coffee might help, so give that a go. Getting plenty of sunshine and buying a cheap red light source like a heat lamp/halogen/incandescent bulb can work wonders. Also don't be afraid to expand the food choices, your diet looks really good but you can always add more foods to feel less restricted and get more nutrients. Things like we'll cooked mushrooms, root veg, squash, leafy greens, broccoli, etc. Also other dairy products like quality cheese and ice cream.

Ok. I'm trying to do my best with the diet I just the thought the supplements could help. Many people seemed to have good experiences with them. I will try to vary my diet. Those are good suggestions. Does Dr. Peat advise boiling vegetables like kale and just drinking the water for nutrients?

 

[DaveFoster]

Thank you for your input. I will try to get more saturated fat and sugar. I want to be selective about supplements because I don't have a ton of money.

Most Peat-approved supplements are dirt cheap.

Cheap staples that you should take daily include aspirin (as aspirin powder), B3 (as niacinamide capsules), caffeine (via coffee or bulk powder), B1 (thiamine HCL capsules), DHEA (via bulk powder in 2-5 mg doses), pregnenolone (sublingual powder in varying doses or topical cream), progesterone (via topical cream or sublingual powder), and biotin (as capsules).

Slightly more expensive and obscure ones include methylene blue, l-theanine, BCAA's, l-tyrosine, glycine, lysine, and taurine.

 

[Dagwood]

post 115572

Thank you for your input. I will try to get more saturated fat and sugar. I want to be selective about supplements because I don't have a ton of money.

Most Peat-approved supplements are dirt cheap.

Cheap staples that you should take daily include aspirin (as aspirin powder), B3 (as niacinamide capsules), caffeine (via coffee or bulk powder), B1 (thiamine HCL capsules), DHEA (via bulk powder in 2-5 mg doses), pregnenolone (sublingual powder in varying doses or topical cream), progesterone (via topical cream or sublingual powder), and biotin (as capsules).

Slightly more expensive and obscure ones include methylene blue, l-theanine, BCAA's, l-tyrosine, glycine, lysine, and taurine.

Thank you. That's a big help.

 

[answersfound]

Do this:

Vitamin A, D, E, K
American Biologics Thyroid Glandular
Pregnenolone
And maybe Haiudt's Pansterone (not necessary at all)
Aspirin

The less supplements the better in my opinion. This way you can better determine how things are affecting you.
No methylene blue, isolated b vitamins, theanine, etc. and other stuff until you have a foundation. This is a huge problem around here. "Just take a bunch of things and hope it works"
Those are the basics that should be able to get you right along with a pretty good diet. Pregnelone converts into progesterone as well as DHEA, but will favor progesterone so that it why i recommend pansterone because of the potential loss of libido.

 

[milk_lover]

Welcome to the forum and I wish you the best of luck.

Things that I would advice anybody new to the peat world are the following:

-Don't drink too much coffee in the beginning. Avoid drinking coffee in the morning on empty stomach. This might increase stress hormones opposite of what a peat diet should do.

-You might have enough circulating fatty acids that could cause problems. Aspirin and niacinamide could help you restore sugar metabolism and reverse insulin resistance if you have any. B1 has always given me heat from sugar dense food like white bread or pasta. Other B vitamins like biotin and B6 could help with sugar metabolism.

- You don't want to burden the liver with starch inducing endotoxins. Keep the carrots because they keep you regular, thus flushing the endotoxins. Boiled bamboo shoots and mushrooms ( mushrooms should be boiled for 2-3 hours to get rid of bad chemicals) could achieve the same thing. Those things are also very important to get rid of the body estrogens. Mushrooms have special anti-estrogen properties according to Peat and many people on this forum. Cascara sargada could be used sparingly or in emergency situations.

- I would reduce fat in the beginning of the journey to minimize PUFA consumption and helps the body get accustomed to burning sugar. Of course PUFA consumption should be very very minimal because that's the most important thing in a peat diet.

- Listen to your body and look for reliable signs that tell you if you're on the right track. Temperature and pulse are generally good signs. Hair quality is a good sign too. If you use shampoo, don't. They mask the actual state of your hair. Skin condition, including dark circles, is another sign. Your emotional well being and mind function are very important signs. Sleep quality, bloating etc.,. Try to find your customized set of signs that tell where you are on the progress map.

- Get enough alkalizing minerals and try to find a balance between magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium. Magnesium are found in strong coffee, orange juice, meats, magnesium carbonate/magnesium oil/epsom salts and even boiled greens water. Calcium is plenty in dairy. Speaking of dairy, find the best dairy that agrees with you. Milk is awesome if you can make it work for you. Sodium can be added to food as in salt or baking soda. If you depend on liquid drinks, salt can be very important. Potassium is plenty in orange juice and milk.

- Eat enough calories and protein.

- Simple stuff like sunshine/red light, walking, laughing, sleeping, hiking in high mountains/paper bag could go long way.