FAQ
Carrot Salad: Why, What When?
Age pigment: What is it?
Age pigment is the brown material that forms spots on aging skin, and that accumulates in the lens of the eye forming cataracts, and in blood vessels causing hardening of the arteries, and in the heart and brain and other organs, causing their functions to deteriorate with age. It is made up of oxidized unsaturated oils with iron.[1]
Cloudy urine: What does it indicate?
CO2: What role does it play in overall metabolic and cellular health ?
It has many effects, for example by mass action it modifies carboxylations and decarboxylations, and it affects the formation of urea, and stabilizes the Krebs cycle by anaplerosis, lowers free radicals, stimulates new bone formation, lowers peripheral vascular resistance, and is generally antiinflammatory. The most important long-term effect might be protection against harmful glycation, by forming carbamino groups in regulatory sites. As a Lewis acid, its association with proteins has inductive effects. As it's formed and converted to carbonic acid, leaving the mitochondria it removes water, and participates in ion regulation. It limits the formation of lactic acid, and has a stabilizing effect on nerves. As an acidic adsorbent, it tends to stabilize cell function and metabolism.[2]
CO2: What helps to boost CO2 retention?
Ray Peat - Absorbing it through the skin [CO2 therapy] is safe, also bag-breathing can gradually allow the nerves to adapt to a higher concentration. In a high concentration, it burns the membranes by its acidity. Lowering serotonin is one way to shift the cells' balance in the right direction, but keeping the right balance of thyroid (producing CO2) and estrogen (which increases lactate formation and stimulates hyperventilation) is the basic way to optimize CO2. Activity increases CO2 production when the health is good. [2]
Cholesterol: Why is it increased in hypothyroidism?
Cholesterol is precursor of steroid hormones and bile acids. When metabolism is slow less cholesterol is converted.
Glycolysis
Panic attacks: What could be the cause?
When things are working properly, tissues are activated according to their use in adapting to the environment, and produce CO2 in proportion to their response; CO2 adjusts the blood supply while promoting mitochondrial energy production and regulating energy use. It stimulates normal breathing, while stabilizing (restraining activity of) nerves and other tissues.
In the absence of oxygen (or presence of injury that prevents its use), lactate is produced instead of CO2, and displaces CO2 from the system, activating emergency alarm systems, potentially creating vicious circles of hormone changes and inflammation. Intestinal irritation (e.g., undigested food and bacterial toxin) releases large amounts of serotonin. Serotonin (named for its ability to constrict blood vessels) impairs oxygen use and increases lactate production. Hypothyroidism reduces tissues' ability to use oxygen and produce CO2, and slows digestion, increasing a tendency to produce serotonin, which activates stress hormones, etc.
Bag breathing can increase the carbon dioxide in the tissues, helping to reduce lactate production, but stabilizing the metabolic system is the real solution. With high glycogen stores, minor stresses don't tip the system into glycolytic metabolism easily.[2]
Fats, PUFAs, Saturates, oh my
"EFA": Why are they depleted in degenerative diseases?
The most unsaturated fats are the first one to be degraded by stress. [2]
Fish oil: Why is it bad for me?
PUFA: What makes them antithyroid?
PUFAs block thyroid in many different ways, oxidation is one part of it. Oleic is the least harmful of all the unsaturated fats. Omega 6 is a precursor to inflammatory products and inflammation initiates a whole cascade of bad things. Even without oxidation PUFA is able to block thyroid. Here is a quote from RP. Cooking makes olive oil more toxic, mainly by destroying anti oxidants and oxidizing 10 % PUFA. But this PUFA gets oxidized inside our body even when it was cold pressed and unheated. PUFA and estrogen increases each others activity. Estrogen blocks hormone secretion from thyroid.
PUFA: Why do they accumulate in fat cells?
Polyunsaturated fatty acids are preferentially stored, and fat cells preferentially oxidize saturated fats, so PUFA and their random oxidation products accumulate, and are preferentially released by stress, and synergize with estrogen in various ways.[2]
Vegetable oils: What are the dangers?
Most plants' goal is to have as many of their seeds spread as far as possible. Thus, plants often encapsulate seeds in appetizing wrapper to entice organisms to ingest the seeds. At the same time the seeds contain substances that would inhibit the ability of this organism to digest (destroy) those seeds. One of the most commonly used substances by the plants are the oils found in the seeds. Seed oils happen to be a powerful suppressor of both digestive and metabolic activity (the two are closely related). Most vegetable oils sold on the market are extracted from seeds (sunflower, cottonseed, canola, rapeseed, soybean, peanut, etc), and as such are likely to suppress both metabolism and digestion. In addition, many of the seeds contain toxic substances based on the well-known poison cyanide to further discourage organisms from attacking/eating the seeds. (Pro)anthocyanidins and some of the most common cyanide-derived poisons found in virtually all seeds.[3]
As a general rule, the seeds of a plant contain the most powerful toxins and should be avoided as food unless there is nothing else available. In contrast, olive oil and coconut oil are extracted from the actual fruit and not from seeds. I guess another distinction is that both olive and coconut oil are actually fruit oils and not vegetable oils. The fruit is typically meant to be eaten as a means of spreading the seeds and usually contains beneficial substances like sugars and pro-metabolic oils.
The vegetable plant, as opposed to the seeds, is usually less toxic when eaten but it is still very difficult to digest (most plants are mostly cellulose and water) and it is usually not very calorie-dense. Given our large brains and daily caloric demands, it just does not seem likely that vegetables (and derivative oils) are the food we are supposed to eat the most.
Supplementation
Q: Which form of _ supplement should I take?
Vitamin A
Vitamin B
Magnesium
Q: What is a good source/brand/product for _ supplement?
- Toxinless: Food and supplements without questionable additives