《The Ray Peat Survival Guide》 Introduction&The Genius中英
《The Ray Peat Survival Guide》理论＆实践＆生活（完结篇）中英
Author：Joey Lott
译者：徐泾东八号出口
饮食的背景
对于我们从主流渠道获得的有偏见的信息，雷饮食理论和补充建议是有洞察力和有帮助的解毒剂。不要误解我的意思; 我并不是说雷没有偏见。我只是想说，至少雷的偏见与我们通常听到的很多东西是相反的，他提供了很多，如果不是更多的证据来支持他的主张，就像我们可能听到的任何其他东西一样。事实上，他在避开理性主义方面做得很好，我不能说这是真的，因为我们从其他渠道听到的太多了。
因此，我非常欣赏他的观点，以及他愿意发表自己的观点，但这并不意味着我认为他在所有情况下都是正确的。
我发现把所有的饮食建议放到一个正确的角度是很有帮助的。当我们忘记上下文时，很容易对任何想法产生冲昏头脑和过度热情。
让我们来看看一个具体的健康问题胰岛素抵抗。在主流社会，我们被告知胰岛素抵抗是由含有过多糖和饱和脂肪的饮食引起的，但如果这是真的，那么胰岛素抵抗和糖尿病肯定会摧毁大量依赖大量糖类的传统人群(如亚马逊文化吃甘蔗和热带水果或大量饱和脂肪)。
另一方面，雷将胰岛素抵抗归咎于多种因素，不仅仅是多不饱和脂肪的高饮食摄入量。但是，胰岛素抵抗和糖尿病会不会破坏传统的人，如饮食中含有大量多不饱和脂肪的因纽特人?
在其自身的背景下，几乎任何饮食哲学似乎都是所有健康问题的唯一正确答案。素食、原始饮食、低脂、无谷物、低碳水化合物等等，在孤立的背景下，都提供了令人信服的论据，但当你看一看更大的图景时，这些哲学都不是真理的垄断者。
事实似乎是，人类在很长一段时间里靠各种各样的饮食生存下来并繁荣发展。似乎人类表现得足够好饮食, 包括蛋白、谷物、精制的谷物,细粮, 多不饱和脂肪高虽然这可能是一种罕见的和极端的例外限制在高纬度地区, 高饱和脂肪, 低脂肪, 很多水果, 大量的蔬菜, 生吃, 熟的, 高热量, 低卡路里，高碳水化合物，低碳水化合物，等等。
现在，当你读到这篇文章的时候，要知道人可以在各种各样的饮食中活的很好，有些是均衡的，有些是极端的。然而，我不得不说，根据我的观察，那些更好的人倾向于以一种更温和的方式(即以一种更温和的方式)，吃着非限制性的)饮食，而不是极端的(限制性的)饮食。
所以，虽然雷有一些非常有价值的见解，但我相信，对于绝大多数人来说，试图把纯粹，完美和Peatarianism（雷食主义）联系起来作为能感觉良好的最终答案是一个巨大的错误。因为这不仅不太可能，也不是必要的。甚至对某些人来说可能是有害的。一方面，它可能会使限制性饮食紊乱和食物/健康焦虑的情绪压力和习惯性压力模式持续下去。另一方面，大多数人认为纯粹和完美的雷饮食的限制本质可能是太多的液体和卡路里限制，从而吃不足导致代谢降低。
所以我的建议是: 用你从雷的思想中学到的东西来挑战你自己，让你认为你知道的一切都过去，并和解一些东西。雷的观点往往与你认为你知道的一切截然相反，你要知道这是一个绝佳的机会，让你意识到你永远不可能知道所有的答案，当然其他人也不可能知道。
然后，从他的核心信息中汲取灵感。想为自己。倾听你自己的生物反馈。如果你想吃什么东西，就吃它，不管别人怎么说它对你有害。如果你不想要什么东西，那就不要吃，不管别人怎么说那东西对你很健康。
然后根据需要进行调整。如果你觉得有些事不太对劲。然后愿意去改变一些事情。要乐于不断调整。你昨天想要的和昨天成功的东西今天可能是正确的，也可能不是。同样，昨天不起作用的东西今天也可能不起作用。相信你身体的渴望。
这是否意味着你应该完全无视雷或其他人的观点? 不。当然不是。它们在某些方面可能是有用的，例如，如果雷关于糖的观点允许你探索你对糖的渴望，那很好。或者如果他对咖啡的看法能让你在真的想喝咖啡的时候允许自己喝，那就太好了。
但是，如果你真的不想吃糖，也不要喝咖啡，仅仅因为雷这么说，它们依然不能让你感觉良好，那就不要吃糖，不要喝咖啡。同时，不要因为糖、咖啡或其他东西对你不起作用就认为它一定会一直这样。相信你身体的自然智能，它会治愈，会调整，会向你发出信号，告诉你它的需求会不断变化。
生活方式因素的重要性
不幸的是，雷的观点往往被狭隘地看待，就好像为了你的健康，你能做的唯一或最重要的事情就是喝大量的牛奶、橙汁和咖啡，并可能补充阿司匹林。在我看来，这是一种误解。我认为从更大的角度来看，雷的具体饮食建议可能是有帮助的，这是很重要的。下面这部分是雷的生活方式建议，以及我补充的内容。
事实上，雷健康前景的基础似乎是减少压力。
所有饮食建议都是关于减少压力的。 你要记住，吃碳水化合物、添加盐、提供足够的抗炎蛋白和减少多不饱和脂肪的目的，从根本上说就是减少应激反应。因此，饮食建议的生活方式背景也都是关于减轻压力的，这一点也不奇怪。他在这方面特别谈到了光和二氧化碳的重要性。
他的理论是，黑暗和蓝光对人类来说是固有的压力，而红光是缓解压力的，所以建议充足的阳光和补充红光，这意味着光线更偏向光谱的红端。但有些peatarian把这个建议做得太过了，他们在晚上睡觉的时候用热灯照自己。这可能是不必要的，这可能只会让你的老婆/老公/孩子不高兴。雷的建议是阳光，并在使用补充照明时优先使用红光(白炽灯，而不是蓝光(荧光灯))是明智做法。
雷认为二氧化碳是人体有机体中必不可少的营养物质。他的许多建议，比如比起淀粉，更喜欢糖，都是基于什么东西可以节省二氧化碳或在体内产生二氧化碳。他经常写高海拔的好处，包括空气中更大的二氧化碳到氧气水平。他还建议，在紧急情况下，用纸袋重新呼吸，以增加二氧化碳水平。
虽然我从来没有发现过雷真的支持Buteyko方法（布捷伊科呼吸法，用鼻呼吸而不是口，少呼吸多屏气）但雷似乎认可它。Buteyko方法建立在这样的理论基础上: 减少呼吸量会增加二氧化碳滞留量，并对健康有很多好处。(顺便说一句，我个人已经从Buteyko的方法中发现了好处，特别是用Frolov设备或更便宜的美国山寨设备BreathSlim进行练习。)
虽然雷并没有明确指出获得足够高质量睡眠的重要性，但当他写到使用明胶和盐来诱导和改善睡眠，以及补充褪黑素的潜在危害时，他似乎含蓄地承认了高质量睡眠的重要性。充足、高质量的睡眠对健康、自然的荷尔蒙平衡很重要。当然，对于处于低代谢状态的人来说，充足、高质量的睡眠通常是一项艰巨的任务。所以提高代谢率很可能会改善睡眠质量，我也认为这是一种先有鸡还是先有蛋的情况改善睡眠可以改善新陈代谢，改善新陈代谢可以改善睡眠。
我很少看到雷提到其他与减压有关的因素。这些对我来说似乎足够重要，所以我将在这里提到它们。
尽管他总是强调吃什么(或不吃)，但他很少说吃多少。在我的研究中，似乎饮食不足和代谢率降低之间确实有很强的联系。雷至少在他的几篇文章中粗略地提到了这一点，他提到限制人类的卡路里会降低新陈代谢率，他也经常明确表示他认为新陈代谢不足是有问题的。
正如我在整本书中多次提到的，我注意到许多人试图遵循“完美的”雷饮食，最终可能以热量不足而告终。这是因为他们的饮食限制在少量的食物，其中许多是流质的，坦白地说，并不总是非常美味。虽然牛奶和橙汁有时都很令人愉快，但从长远来看，单靠这些食物很难保持足够高的热量摄入。如果你没有摄入足够的卡路里，那么你比摄入足够的卡路里更有可能产生压力反应。因此，在牢记他所推崇的一些原则和吃自己喜欢的食物之间需要找到一个平衡。不确定的时候，吃你喜欢的! 我发现那些从限制性饮食中恢复过来的人经常需要放开所有的限制，只根据胃口来吃，即使这意味着可能需要吃炸鸡和用菜籽油煮熟的玉米片。吃得足够多，并根据食欲/欲望而不是意识形态做出选择。这通常会把你引向正确的方向。在这方面，雷的观点可以是一种解放，为糖、淀粉、饱和脂肪、盐、咖啡、巧克力和其他你过去的意识形态可能拒绝你的食物打开了大门。
雷也很少提及减压技术或程序的价值。相反，他倾向于通过改变饮食或补充营养来改善情绪体验，但有大量证据表明，反过来也有效。换句话说，通过改变行为或冥想等方式来减少或释放压力的有效实践，可以引发生理上的变化，从而支持更长期的无压力生活体验。我个人认为这是真的。事实上，对于我们这些经历过限制性饮食模式的人来说，我相信一个好的压力释放计划是非常有帮助的，即使不是必要的。
最后，我想说的是，放手并享受生活是很重要的。值得赞扬的是，雷也说了很多。他认为好奇心和玩耍是健康的基本要素。
实践
雷从根本上是反独裁的和反刻板的，所以有些人接受他的观点并试图把它变成某种宗教是反常的。同样，试图把他的一般观点应用到所有的具体案例中也是错误的。
那么，你如何将所有这些信息以一种健康、有适应性的方式付诸实践呢?
我的建议是：他的观点不完全对。要知道，他并不是真理的垄断者。此外，由于他的工作不是一个整体，知道他可能在一些事情上是正确的，在其他事情上是错误的。或者，更有可能的是，有时某些事情是对的，有时是错的。
倾听你自己的身体。使用任何东西，包括他的观点，来允许自己抛弃教条和教条。要乐于尝试。相信你的生物反馈。如果你饿了，那就吃。如果你累了，就睡觉。如果你想吃冰淇淋，那就吃吧。如果你想吃土豆，那就吃土豆吧。
如果你渴望培根。那可以试试用椰子油煎的培根! 然后注意你的感觉。我不是建议你成为疑病症患者。在美国，你要为经历中的每一个小波动而担忧，但相信你的感觉是路标就行了。如果吃培根让你感觉糟糕，那就不要再吃了。
避免绝对主义。仅仅因为你一次甚至一个月都不喜欢培根，如果你发现你渴望培根，不要在你的余生限制它。要明白事情是会变的。很可能，随着新陈代谢的改善，你的敏感度会降低。
同时也要明白，并不是所有的事情都是一蹴而就的。有些事情需要时间。你花了一段时间才达到现在的水平，所以可能需要几天、几周、几个月甚至几年的时间才能恢复100%的感觉。要有耐心。我知道这很难。因为我也经历过，所以不要放弃。
记住照顾好自己，让自己得到足够的休息。吃喜欢吃的，晒太阳🌞，笑，微笑。轻松轻柔地呼吸，摆脱压力。吃好喝好睡饱才能活好。
请不要把雷的观点变成宗教信仰。记住，很多人的饮食方式都是健康的。没有一条真正的路。只有对你有用的。他有一些很好的见解。在我看来，其中最主要的是，过多的多不饱和脂肪在许多情况下都有潜在的危害。他关于盐、充足的优质蛋白质和平衡的氨基酸的观点似乎也很有道理。他关于碳水化合物的观点可以解放很多人，只要那些人们允许自己再次吃，而不是争论你应该只吃淀粉还是只吃糖。只是吃。吃你喜欢吃的。吃饱。
放下执念，与自己握手言和…
生活才更美好。
完结。
Putting Diet in Context
Peat's dietary and supplemental recommendations are insightful and helpful antidotes to the biased information we receive through mainstream channels. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that Peat isn't biased. Im just suggesting that at least Peat's biases are counter to much of what we normally hear, and he provides as much, if not more evidence to back his claims as anything else we might hear. In fact, he does a pretty good job of steering clear of being guilty of rationalism, which I can not say is true for so much of what we hear coming from other channels.
So I have a great appreciation for Peat's views and his willingness to publish his views, but that doesn’t mean that I think that hes right in all cases.
I find that it's helpful to put all of the dietary recommendations into perspective. When we forget the context, it is easy to get carried away and overzealous with any ideas.
Let's look at a specific health concern insulin resistance. In the mainstream, we are told that insulin resistance is caused by a diet consisting of too much sugar and saturated fat, but if that was true, then surely insulin resistance and diabetes would have devastated large numbers of traditional people who relied either on large amounts of sugars (such as Amazonian cultures eating sugar cane and tropical fruits or large amounts of saturated fats.
Peat, on the other handblames insulin resistance on a variety of factors not the least of which is high dietary intake of polyunsaturated fats. But then wouldntinsulin resistance and diabetes have ravaged traditional people, such as the Inuit, whose diets included significant polyunsaturated fat?
In its own context, it is possible for just about any dietary philosophy to seem to be the one true answer to all health problems. Raw veganism, paleo, low fat, grain free, low carbohydrate, and so on, all provide convincing arguments within an isolated context, but when you take a look at the bigger picture, none of these philosophies have a monopoly on truth.
The reality seems to be that humans have survived and thrived on a wide variety of diets over long periods of time. It seems likely that humans have fared well enough on diets that include gluten, grain, unrefined grain, refined grain, high polyunsaturated fat although this may be a rare and extreme exception limited to high latitude regions, high saturated fat,low fat, nightshades, no nightshades, lots of fruit, lots of vegetables, raw, cooked, high calorie, low calorie, high carbohydrates, low carbohydrates, and on and on.
Presently, as you read this, there are people who are thriving on a variety of diets some moderate and some extreme. I have to say, however, that it is my observation that those who thrive tend to do so on a more moderate(i.e. unrestrictive) diet rather than on an extreme (i.e. restrictive) diet.
So while Peat has some really valuable insights, I believe that for the overwhelming majority ofpeople, it is a huge mistake to try to convert to pure and perfect Peatarianism as a desperate attempt to feel well. This is not only unlikely to be necessary (or possible) for most people, it is actually likely to be harmful on several levels. For one thing, it is likely to perpetuate the emotional stress and the habitual stress patterns of restrictive disordered eating and food/health anxiety. For another thing, the restrictive nature of what most people imagine must be the pure and perfect Peat-inspired diet is likely to be too much liquid and not enough calories for the typical hypometabolic person.
So here's what I suggest: use what you learn through Peat's ideas to challenge yourself to let go of everything you think you know. Peat's ideas are often so radically opposed to everything that you thought you knew that it is the perfect opportunity to realize that you never will know all the answers and that no one else knows either.
Then, be inspired by the core of Peat's message. Think for yourself. Listen to your own biofeedback. If you crave something, then eat it no matter how much someone else says that thing is bad for you. If you don't want something, then don’t eat it no matter how much someone else says that thing is supposedly so healthy for you.
And then adapt and adjust as necessary. If something doesn't seem to sit well with you. then be willing to change something. Be willing to keep adjusting. What you wanted yesterday and what worked yesterday may or may not be the right thing today. And similarly, what did not work yesterday may or may not work today. Trust your body's cravings.
Does that mean that you should totally disregard Peat's views or anyone else's views? No. Of course not. They may be helpful in some regard For example, if Peat's views on sugar give you permission to explore your desire for sugar, then great. Or if his views on coffee allow you to give yourself permission to drink coffee if you actually want it, then great.
But don't eat sugar and drink coffee if you don't actually want to or if they don't make you feel good just because Peat said so. At the same time, don't assume that just because sugar or coffee or anything else doesn't work for you that it will necessarily always be that way. Trust in the natural intelligence of your body to heal, to adjust, and to signal you with its needs that change from one moment to the next.
The Importance of Lifestyle Factors
The unfortunate thing about Ray Peat's views is that they are often viewed in a very narrow context as if the only or most important things you could do for your health are to drink lots of milk, orange juice, and coffee, and to possibly supplement with aspirin. This is, in my view, a misunderstanding. I believe it is important to view the larger context in which Peat's specific dietary suggestions may be helpful. What follows in this section is Peat's lifestyle recommendations with my additions to round it out.
Really, the foundation of Peat's health outlook seems to be the reduction of stress. In fact, all of Peat's dietary recommendations are about reducing stress. You’ll remember that the purpose of eating carbohydrates, adding salt, providing adequate anti-inflammatory protein, and reducing polyunsaturated fat is fundamentally about reducing stress responses. So it should come as no surprise that the lifestyle context for the dietary recommendations is also all about reducing stress. Peat specifically talks about the importance of light and carbon dioxide in this regard.
Peat's theory is that darkness and blue light are inherently stressful for humans, while red light is de-stressing, so Peat recommends adequate sunlight and supplemental red light meaning light that is skewed more toward the red end of the spectrum. Of course, some Peatarians take this advice too far and shine heat lamps on themselves at night as they try to sleep. This is likely unnecessary and will probably just upset your spouse, but Peat's general recommendation to get sunlight and to give preference to red light (as in incandescent instead of blue light (as in fluorescent)when using supplemental lightingis sensible.
Peat views carbon dioxide as an essential nutrient in the human organism. Many of his recommendations, such as the preference for sugar over starch, are based on what will either spare carbon dioxide or produce carbon dioxide in the body. He often writes of the benefits of high altitudes, including a greater carbon dioxide to oxygen level in the air. Peat also recommends rebreathing into a paper bag in times of acute need in order to increase carbon dioxide levels.
AlthoughI have never found a reference to Peat actually endorsing the Buteyko method, he does seem to at least have some respect for it. The Buteyko method is founded upon the theory that reduced breathing volume results in an increase in carbon dioxide retention and a whole host of health benefits.(As a side note I personally have found benefit from the Buteyko method, particularly practicing with the Frolov device or the less expensive American knockoff, the BreathSlim device.)
Although Peat doesn't explicitly speak of the importance of getting enough quality sleep, he does seem to implicitly acknowledge the importance of quality sleep when he writes about using gelatin and salt to induce and improve sleep and when he writes about the potential harm of supplemental melatonin. Adequate, quality sleep is important for healthy,natural hormone balance. And, of course, adequate, quality sleep is normally a tall order for people in a hypometabolic state. So while improving the metabolic rate is likely to improve sleep quality, I also think that there’s a sort of chicken and egg scenario happening improving sleep can improve metabolism and improving metabolism can improve sleep.
There are other factors involved in stress reduction that I rarely,if ever, see Peat mention. These seem significant enough to me that I will make mention of them here.
With all the emphasis that Peat tends to place on what to eat (or not eat), he rarely says anything of how much to eat. In my research, it does seem that there is a strong connection between undereating and lowered metabolic rate. Peat does at least address this very cursorily in several of his articles when he mentions that calorie restriction in humans tends to reduce metabolic rate, and he does often make it clear that he views hypometabolism as problematic.
As I have mentioned several times throughout the book, I have noticed that many people trying to follow the“perfect”Peat- inspired diet can end up with a caloric deficit. That is because they restrict their diet to a small number of foods, many of them liquid,and frankly, not always terribly palatable. While milk and orange juice are both quite enjoyable at times, it can be difficult to maintain a high enough caloric intake on those foods alone in the long run. And if you are not eating enough calories, then you are more likely to produce a stress response than if you are eating enough calories. So, there is a balance to be struck between keeping in mind some of the principles that Peat espouses and eating what you enjoy. When in doubt, just eat what you enjoy! I find that those who are recovering from restrictive eating often need to let go of all the restrictions and just eat accordingto appetite even if that means eating fried chicken and corn chips all cooked in canola oil. Eat enough, and make choices based on appetite/desire rather than ideology. This normally will lead you in the right direction. And Peat's views can be liberating in this respect, opening the doors to sugar, starch, saturated fat, salt, coffee, chocolate, and other foods that your ideology may have denied you in the past.
Peat also rarely, if ever makes mention of the value of stress relief techniques or programs. Instead,he tends to focus on making changes in diet or supplementation as a way to improve the felt emotional experience but there is plenty of evidence that suggests that the other way around works as http://well.Inother words, effective practices for reducing or releasing stress by way of changes in behavior or meditation or the like can provoke changes in the physiology that support a more stress– free experience of life in the longer term.Ihave found this to be true, personally. In fact, for those of us who have experienced restrictive eating patterns, with all the anxiety that that entails, I believe a good stress release program is extremely helpful, if not essential.
Finally, I will add that it is important to let go and enjoy life. To his credit, Peat also says as much. he views curiosity and play as essential ingredients for health.
Putting This Into Practice
Ray Peat is fundamentally antiauthoritarian and antestablishment, so it is perverse that some take his views and try to make it into a religion of sorts. Also, it is a mistake to try to take his general ideas and apply them specifically to all cases.
So how can you take all of this information and put in into practice in a healthy, adaptive way?
My recommendation is this: See that Peat's views are contextual. Understand that he does not have a monopoly on truth. Furthermore, since his work is not a monolith, know that he may be right about some things and wrong about other things. Or, more likely, right about some things some of the time and wrong about some things some of the time.
Listen to your own body. Use anything and everything, including Peat's views, to give yourself permission to ditch the dogma and doctrine. Be willing to experiment. And trust your biofeedback. If you are hungry, then eat. If you are tired, then sleep. If you crave ice cream,then eat ice cream. If you crave potatoes, then eat potatoes.
If you crave bacon. then eat bacon fried in coconut oil or not! And then pay attention to how you feel. I'm not suggesting that you become a hypochondriac., worrying about every minor fluctuation in experience, but just trust how you feel as a guidepost. If eating bacon consistently makes you feel terrible, then maybe lay off the bacon.
Steer clear of absolutism. Just because bacon doesn't agree with you once or maybe even for a month, don't restrict bacon for the rest of your life if you find that you crave it. Understand that things change. And likely,as your metabolism improves, you'll have fewer sensitivities.
Also understand that everything doesn't have to be an instant fix. Some things take time. It took you a while to get to the point where you are now, so it might take a few days, weeks, months, or even years to get back to feeling 100%. Have patience. I know that's hard. Really, I do. I know from personal experience the temptation to jump ship and try the next dramatic and extreme fad approach to healing
Eat enough. Rest enough. Eat some more. Keep eating Keep resting. Get some sun. Laugh. Smile. Breathe easily and gently. And ditch the stress. Oh, and eat. Did I mention eat?
Please don’t turn Peat's views into a religion. Remember that plenty of people are healthy eating in a variety of ways. There is no one true way. There is only what works for you. Peat has some good insights. Chief among them,in my opinion, is that excess polyunsaturated fat is potentially harmful in many cases. His views on salt, adequate quality protein, and a balanced amino acid profile also seem to make good sense. And his view regarding carbohydrates can be liberating if you simply allow yourself to eat again instead of debating whether you should be eating only starch or only sugar. Just eat. Eat what you enjoy. Eat enough.
And let go. Life is better when letting go.
D:2021.10.07>
矿物质
雷关于矿物的观点简单总结如下:
钙、钠和镁是有益的。
大量磷、铁和碘是有害的。
除此之外，他并没有以这样或那样的方式表达矿物质，只是说饮食应该包括足够的矿物质供应，包括微量矿物质。
钙和磷是相互对立的，所以雷的观点是：关于这两种矿物质最重要的考虑因素是比例。他通常建议摄入更多的钙比磷更理想。
根据他的说法，钙是有益的，因为它降低了甲状旁腺和脑垂体的活动，他说这两者都反对甲状腺的活动。换句话说，当甲状旁腺和垂体活动高时，甲状腺活动受到抑制。由于雷认为甲状腺活动对身体健康至关重要，他通常不赞成任何反对甲状腺功能的事情，所以钙减少甲状旁腺和垂体活动在他看来是一件好事。
另一方面，过量的、没有作用的磷会导致很多负面症状，从疲劳到癌症到骨质疏松。需要明确的是，他并不提倡极端地减少膳食中的磷。
相反，他强调钙磷比高的食物是有益的。
磷钙比高的食物(不好)包括肌肉、肉、鱼、豆类和全谷物。钙磷比高的食物(好)包括牛奶和奶酪。他还在这一类别中提到了绿叶蔬菜，尽管大多数时候他并不重视地上的植物(不包括水果)。
当然，有人可能会走极端，尝试排除所有高磷低钙的食物，但这是不必要的，也不是雷所提倡的。相反，雷只是倡导人们要意识到饮食中磷和钙的整体比例，他建议，如果你摄入的钙比磷多，你可能会感觉更好。钙的天然饮食来源包括骨汤和蛋壳粉，如果你觉得你需要补充钙。
钠是一种在主流社会中备受诟病的矿物质。它被认为是高血压和其他疾病的罪魁祸首。然而雷认为这些观点中有很多可能是没有根据的。事实上，钠，尤其是氯化钠(食盐、海盐或岩盐)，有许多治疗用途，包括减少炎症、增加二氧化碳水平、诱导生热、改善睡眠等等。他还建议，钠有助于镁保留。因此在膳食中加入足够的盐可以促进健康。
和钙一样，镁的缺乏也会导致甲状旁腺刺激，而甲状旁腺刺激反过来会抑制甲状腺活动。此外人体需要镁来平衡和控制钙的活动。
正因为如此，保持镁的水平是很重要的。但据我所知，他提倡的镁的唯一来源是咖啡，可可/巧克力和镁盐浴。虽然雷非常喜欢咖啡，但我不确定他在这方面是否正确。因为除了意式浓缩咖啡，其他类型的咖啡含有相对少量的镁和大量的植酸，植酸会与消化道中的镁和其他矿物质结合在一起（影响营养吸收）。
雷警告人们不要过量补充碘，因为在某些圈子里，人们普遍听从医生的建议，比如大卫·布朗斯坦，他提倡使用非常大的剂量补充碘。雷认为大量的碘可能会抑制甲状腺而不是治愈它。
最后，我们谈到铁，这是雷理论中的矿物恶魔。他并不看好铁，因为铁是一种容易氧化的重金属。他认为过量的铁会导致癌症和心脏病。帕金森氏症，肌萎缩侧索硬化症，阿尔茨海默症等等。他也认为虽然缺铁可能而且确实存在，但它比我们想象的要罕见得多，而且它很少是贫血的原因。
雷说铁可能会刺激红细胞的形成，但他也认为砷或辐射会刺激红细胞的形成。贫血症是由于砷缺乏引起的，这种说法是否同样合理?
由于铁会累积，所以不要吃太多。他提倡在吃含铁食物的时候喝咖啡，含高铁食物如红肉或肝脏，咖啡会抑制铁的吸收。
维生素
雷主要谈到了三种官方认可的维生素和咖啡，他认为咖啡因应该被视为一种维生素。他也认为维生素A、维生素D和维生素E都有广泛的治疗价值。
根据他的说法，维生素A对抗雌激素，因此很重要。他认为维生素A太少会导致问题，因此，他建议吃鸡蛋，偶尔吃肝脏。
然而，他警告说，因为维生素A是不饱和的。它可能过度抑制甲状腺功能。
当谈到维生素A时，他只是说类维生素A，这是在动物性食品中发现的活性形式。其他化合物，如在植物食物中发现的类胡萝卜素，在人体中并不总是能成功地转化为活性形式，所以活性形式是获得膳食维生素a的唯一确定的方式。此外，雷不喜欢类胡萝卜素。因为他认为它们是潜在危险的多不饱和脂肪酸。
(坦白地说，我对此并不信服。我认为这种说法可能有点夸张，但也有可能他是对的。)
鸡蛋和肝脏是维生素A的良好来源。其实黄油也是维A的优越来源，和奶酪和鸡蛋类似。雷对肝脏的看法是正确的，因为肝脏是维生素A最丰富的食物来源之一。由于肝脏的营养密度高，他建议每一到两周吃一份肝脏，不要再多吃了。
雷有时也会提到维生素D。因为他看好钙，所以他认为充足的维生素D也很重要(维生素D有助于钙的吸收)也就不足为奇了。他还认为维生素D有助于保留钙和镁。他建议一些人在阳光照射不足时补充维生素D(因为皮肤在阳光照射下通常会产生维生素D)。
然而，他也警告说，过量的维生素D可能会使雌激素过量产生。有趣的是，他引用了一项研究，该研究表明(至少在老鼠身上)维生素D缺乏的影响可以通过吃糖来代替淀粉来抵消。
维生素E是他的最爱，有趣的是，他很少提倡补充维生素E。他曾公开表示，目前很多维生素E补充剂的质量都很差。在任何情况下，维生素E是抗炎的，它对抗雌激素。加上维生素E可以改善多不饱和脂肪的负面影响。雷建议一些人在食用大量多不饱和脂肪之前补充维生素E，但我不能证实这一说法。唯一的问题是，雷似乎不认为现在市场上有任何高质量的维生素E补充剂。
最后，他认为咖啡因“类似维生素”。咖啡因有很多好处，包括保护肝脏、平衡荷尔蒙、预防癌症、提高能量、保护神经等等。雷最喜欢的咖啡因来源是咖啡，我们将在下一节更深入地讨论它。
咖啡
咖啡是雷的最爱。尽管对喝咖啡的主流观点是，它是一种恶习，应该尽可能地减少或消除，但其实咖啡是一种几乎完美的超级食物。
首先，咖啡是雷最喜欢的咖啡因来源，而且，正如我在前一节提到的，咖啡因是一种类似维生素的物质。他列举了咖啡因的许多潜在好处，包括我在前面部分列出的那些。
雷说，通常被认为是咖啡因和咖啡的负面影响实际上是糖代谢改善的结果，结果可能是低血糖，这会产生应激反应。解决方案呢?糖。雷认为简单地添加糖(或淀粉，如在吃饭时喝咖啡或吃蛋糕或类似的东西)将完全解决潜在的问题。意思是只要在咖啡中加入足够的糖，就可以完全消除任何紧张的感觉。
除了咖啡因的好处，雷喜欢咖啡还有其他原因。也许他引用最多的原因是据说咖啡会抑制铁的吸收，这就是为什么他建议喝咖啡和任何富含铁的食物。
他还说咖啡可以阻挡磷。你可能还记得，如果不加以控制，磷会产生负面影响。
所以咖啡阻挡磷的能力是另一个好处。
他还认为咖啡可以保护甲状腺免受癌症，去除重金属，是镁和维生素B1的良好来源。
(不过，说实话，我认为从咖啡中获取大量的镁，即使在理论上，你也需要喝浓缩咖啡。)
他一定喝了很多咖啡。我从未见过关于他到底喝了多少酒的报告，但他似乎并没有对过量饮酒提出警告! 当然，每个人都是不同的。有些人喜欢喝咖啡。一些不喜欢。有些人喜欢喝咖啡。一些不喜欢。所以你必须用你自己良好的判断来决定什么最适合你。
补剂
在某些情况下，雷提倡使用几种补品。也就是说，他认为阿司匹林、甲状腺激素、孕烯酮和孕酮可能在某些时候对某些人有帮助。
雷喜欢阿司匹林，因为它对抗雌激素和多不饱和脂肪酸。他说，在理想情况下，我们都不会暴露在过量的多不饱和脂肪(他说，多不饱和脂肪取代了体内的天然脂肪酸)或过量的雌激素中。在这种情况下，阿司匹林是灵丹妙药。
他反驳了阿司匹林导致胃溃疡的说法，他说，研究表明，在旨在形成溃疡的条件下，一次服用相当于10到100片阿司匹林的药片，就会形成胃溃疡。他说，相反，如果使用得当，阿司匹林可以防止溃疡。
当然，每个人的情况可能会有所不同。有些人似乎对阿司匹林耐受性很好，而有些人则不然。对某些人来说，补充阿司匹林可能是不明智的。
我必须说，我个人并不想补充阿司匹林。然而雷的观点让我认识到了自己的偏见。我认为阿司匹林是一种唯一止痛的药物。我把阿司匹林和我认为是营养补充品的东西，比如维生素或矿物质，分开分类。但奇怪的是，我的分类相当随意。有趣的是，我注意到，我并不特别犹豫是否要推荐补充维生素D，但我犹豫是否要推荐补充阿司匹林或激素(有趣的是，当然，维生素D实际上也是一种激素!)，比如孕烯酮或孕酮。所以，我再次鼓励你们以开放的心态去探索你们在这些问题上可能存在的偏见。
雷不止一次对补充甲状腺激素赞不绝口。他经常提到一种名为Cytomel(或Cynomel)（磺塞罗宁钠/三磺甲状腺氨酸钠）的产品，它只含有T3激素，这是一种“活跃的”甲状腺激素。我没有看到他过多地提到甲状腺干燥，尽管他在写作中偶尔提到的几处听起来不错。从他的文章中可以清楚地看到，他不相信合成T4补充剂是一个好主意。
虽然补充甲状腺似乎确实帮助了很多人，但我怀疑这是否是一个好的首选方法。可通常情况下，在考虑是否摄入了足够的卡路里等因素之前，很多人会将补充甲状腺作为首选方法。
雷也喜欢补充孕烯酮。雷认为它是完全无毒的，但他说孕烯醇酮水平足够的人使用孕烯醇酮补充剂是没有效果的。
然而，对于那些孕烯酮水平低的人，雷认为声即使补充大量的(有传言说，有段时间他每天服用3克没有不愉快的副作用。
一些来自自我宣称是Peatarians的人的不寻常报告表明，补充孕烯醇酮，即使是中等剂量，也可能产生轻度副作用，包括烦躁和失眠。另一方面，部分人只注意到积极或中性的影响。
最后，雷是孕酮补充剂的爱好者。他警告说，这种激素不是男性荷尔蒙(这意味着男性天生就会分泌非常少量的激素)，因此，男性通常不适合补充这种激素。(他确实注意到可能会有例外。一些男性确实发现，在某些情况下补充孕激素是有帮助的。)雷喜欢黄体酮，因为它对抗雌激素的作用。对于女性来说，在排卵和月经期间补充黄体酮可以缓解PMS症状。他还建议对围绝经期和绝经后的妇女补充孕酮。
总之，我将加上我自己的评论。尽管雷对在某些情况下补充阿司匹林、孕烯醇酮和孕酮提出了很好的观点，但我认为把这些物质作为补充药物的第一步是错误的。我看到许多自诩为Peatarians的人在给予足够的注意吃足够的食物或其他生活方式考虑之前就补充这些物质(如本书后面讨论的)。
别把补剂看的大于饮食！
未完待续…
Minerals
The oversimplified summary of Ray Peat's views on minerals is as follows:
Calcium, sodium, and magnesium are good.
Phosphorus, iron, and iodine in excess are bad.
Otherwise, he doesn't typically express much one way or the other about minerals apart from stating that a diet should include an adequate supply of minerals, including trace minerals.
Calcium and phosphorus oppose one another, and so Peat's view is that the most important consideration in regard to these two minerals is the ratio. He normally suggests that it is ideal to consume more calcium than phosphorus.
According to Peat, calcium is beneficial because it reduces the activity of both the parathyroid and the pituitary, both of which he says oppose the activity of the thyroid. In other words, when parathyroid and pituitary activity are high, thyroid activity is suppressed. Since Peat views thyroid activity as being essential to good health, he generally doesn't hold a positive opinion of anything that opposes thyroid function, so calcium's action of reducing parathyroid and pituitary activityis a good thing in his view.
On the other hand, according to Peat, excessive, unopposed phosphorus leads to a whole lot of unpleasant symptoms ranging from fatigue to cancer to osteoporosis. To be clear, he does not advocate for tryingto achieve an extreme reduction in dietary phosphorus. Rather, he suggests that emphasizing foods that have a high calcium to phosphorus ratio may be beneficial.
According to Peat, foods that have a high phosphorus to calcium ratio (not good)include muscle meat, fish, beans, and whole grains. Foods with a high calcium to phosphorus ratio(good)include milk and cheese. He also mentions leafy greens in this category, though most of the time he holds aboveground plants(not including fruits)in low regard.
Of course, it is possible to take this to an extreme and try to exclude all foods that are high in phosphorus and low in calcium, but this is unnecessary and also not what Peat is advocating. Rather, Peat simply advocates for having awareness of the overall dietary phosphorus to calcium ratio, and he suggests that you are likely to feel better if you eat more calcium than phosphorus overall. Natural dietary sources of calcium include bone broth and eggshell flour, if you feel that you need supplemental calcium.
Sodium is a mineral that is much maligned in the mainstream. It is blamed for high blood pressure and other maladies. However, Peat suggests that much of these opinions may be unfounded. In fact, Peat believes that sodium, particularly sodium chloride(table salt, sea salt, or rock salt), has many therapeutic uses, including reducing inflammation, increasing carbon dioxide levels, inducing thermogenesis, improving sleep, and more. He also suggests that sodium helps with magnesium retention. So overall, Peat suggests that the inclusion of adequate dietary salt can be health-promoting.
Peat claims that like calcium, a deficiency in magnesium can also cause parathyroid stimulation, which, in turn, opposes thyroid activity. Furthermore, he points out that magnesium is needed to balance and keep in check the activity of calcium in the body.
Because of this, Peat advises that maintaining magnesium levels is important. As far as I can tell, the only sources of magnesium that he promotes are coffee, cacao/chocolate, and Epsom salt baths. While Peat is very big on coffee, I'm not sure that he's right on this one.
Other than espresso, other types of coffee contain relatively small amounts of magnesium with large amounts of phytic acid that binds to the magnesium and other minerals in the digestive tract.
Peat warns against excessive iodine supplementation as is popular in certain circles of people following the advice of doctors, such as David Brownstein, who promote supplementation with extremely large doses. Peat has expressed the view that large amounts of iodine are likely to suppress the thyroid rather than heal it.
Finally, we get to iron, which is the mineral devil in Peat's writings. He does not have a favorable opinion of iron, which is a heavy metal that oxidizes easily Peat claims that excess iron plays a role in cancer, heart disease. Parkinson’s disease, ALS, Alzheimer's, and more. Peat even claims that while iron deficiency can and does exist, it is much rarer than we imagine, and that it is rarely the cause of anemia.
(He says that iron may stimulate red blood cell formation, but he also argues that arsenic or radiation will stimulate red blood cell formation. Might it be just as sensible to argue that cases of anemia are due to arsenic deficiency?)
Since iron accumulates, Peat advises against eating too much He advocates for drinking coffee with meals that include iron-containing foods, such as red meat or eggs, because he says that coffee inhibits iron absorption.
Vitamins
Peat speaks primarily of three officially recognized vitamins and caffeine, which he claims should be considered a vitamin. He seems to feel that Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E all have a broad range of therapeutic value.
Vitamin A, according to Peat, opposes estrogen and is therefore important. He suggests that too little Vitamin A can cause problems, and as such, he recommends eating eggs and occasional liver.
However, he cautions that because Vitamin A is unsaturated. It may suppress thyroid function in excess.
When Peat speaks of Vitamin A, he is only speaking of retinoids, which are the active form found in animal foods. Other compounds, such as carotenoids that are found in plant foods, are not always successfully converted to the active form in humans, so the active form is the only sure way to get dietary Vitamin A. In addition, Peat is not a fan of carotenoids. because he views them as potentially dangerous polyunsaturated fatty acids.
(Frankly, I am not convinced of this. I think this claim may be a bit over the top, but it's also possible that he's right.)
As I mentioned, Peat cites eggs and liver as good sources of Vitamin A. However, butter is actually a superior source to eggs, and cheese is similar to eggs. Peat is right about liver, though, which is one of the richest food sources of Vitamin A. Because of the nutritional density of liver, Peat advises eating a serving of liver once every week or two and no more often.
Peat also mentions Vitamin D on occasion. Since he thinks favorably of calcium, it is not surprising that he suggests that sufficient Vitamin D is also important(Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption). He also suggests that Vitamin D helps to retain both calcium and magnesium. He has advised some people to supplement with Vitamin D when they do not get enough sunlight(since Vitamin D is normally produced on the skin when exposed to sunlight).
However, he also cautions that excessive Vitamin D can be estrogenic. Interestingly, he cites a study that indicates that (at least in rats) the effects of a Vitamin D deficiency may be offset by eating sugar in place of starch.
Vitamin E is one of Ray Peat's darlings though interestingly, he rarely advocates for supplementing with it. He's on the record as saying that much of the present day Vitamin E supplements are of inferior quality. In any case, Peat has written that Vitamin E is anti- inflammatory, and it opposes estrogen. Plus Vitamin E can ameliorate the negative effects of polyunsaturated fats. Rumor has it that Peat has advised some people to supplement with Vitamin E before eating a large amount of polyunsaturated fat, though I can not substantiate this claim. The only problem is,as I have already stated, Peat doesn't seem to think there are any quality Vitamin E supplements on the market today.
Finally, Peat argues that caffeine is“vitamin-like.” He attributes a long list of benefits to caffeine, including liver protection, hormonal balance, cancer protection, energy efficiency, nerve protection, and more. Peat's favourite caffeine source is coffee, which we'll cover in more depth in the next section.
Coffee
Coffee is Ray Peat’s favourite. Although the mainstream view of coffee is that it is a vice to be reduced or eliminated whenever possible, Peat defends coffee as a superfood par excellence.
Coffee is Peat's favourite source of caffeine, to begin with, and, as I mentioned in the previous section, Peat views caffeine as a vitamin-like substance. He lists many potential benefits to caffeine, including those that Ilisted in the preceding section.
Peat says that the negative effects that are normally attributed to caffeine and coffee are actually the result of improved sugar metabolism the result being possible hypoglycemia, which produces a stress response. So Peat's solution? Sugar. Peat claims that simply adding sugar (or starch as in drinking coffee with a meal or with cake or something like that) will completely resolve the potential problems. In other words, Peat is saying that simply adding sufficient sugar to your coffee should completely eliminate any jittery feelings.
Apart from the benefits of caffeine, Peat likes coffee for other reasons. Perhaps the reason that he cites most often is that coffee reportedly can inhibit the absorption of iron, which is why he recommends drinking coffee with any iron-rich food.
Peat also says that coffee can block phosphorus. You may recall that according to Peat, phosphorus has negative effects if unchecked.
So coffee's ability to block phosphorus is yet another benefit.
Peat claims that coffee protects the thyroid from cancer, removes heavy metals, and is a good source of magnesium and Vitamin B1.
(Though, to be honest,I believe that to get significant quantities of magnesium from coffee, even in theory, you need to drink espresso.)
Peat must drink a lot of coffee. I have never seen reports of just how much, but he certainly doesn't seem to caution against drinking too much! Of course, everyone is different. Some people enjoy coffee. Some don't. Some do well with coffee. Some don’t. So you have to use your own good judgment to determine what is right for you.
Supplements
Peat is on record as advocating for the use of several supplements under some conditions. Namely, he suggests that aspirin, thyroid hormone, pregnenolone, and progesterone may be helpful for some people some of the time.
Peat likes aspirin, because it opposes estrogen and polyunsaturated fatty acids. He says that in an ideal world, none of us would have been exposed to excess polyunsaturated fat(which he says replaces natural fatty acids in the body) or excess estrogen. However, given the situation, Peat believes that aspirin is as near a panacea as possible.
He refutes the claim that aspirin causes stomach ulcers, saying that the studies that showed stomach ulcer formation were giving the equivalent of 10 to 100 aspirin tablets at once under conditions that were designed to form ulcers. He says that to the contrary, aspirin can protect against ulcers when used appropriately.
Of course, your mileage may vary. Some people seem to tolerate aspirin quite well while others do not. Supplementing with aspirin may be ill-advised for some people.
I must say that I don't have any personal desire to supplement with aspirin. However, Peat's views opened my eyes to my biases. I saw aspirin as a drug with the sole purpose of relieving pain. I put aspirin into a category separate from things that I considered to be nutritional supplements things like vitamins or minerals. But it was curious to notice that the classification on my part was quite arbitrary. It's interesting for me to notice that I am not particularly hesitant to recommend supplementing with Vitamin D, for example, but I have hesitation recommending supplemental aspirin or hormones, (interestingly, of course, Vitamin D actually is a hormone!), such as pregnenolone or progesterone. So again, I encourage you to have an open mind and explore the biases that you may have surrounding these issues.
Peat speaks highly of supplemental thyroid hormone on more than one occasion. He often refers to a product called Cytomel (or Cynomel) that contains only T3 hormone, which is the “active” thyroid hormone. I haven't seen him make much mention of desiccated thyroid glandular, though the few offhand references he has included in his writing sound favourable. What is clear from his writing is that he does not believe that synthetic T4 supplements are a good idea.
Although supplemental thyroid does seem to help a lot of people, I wonder if it is a good first approach. Often times, Peatarians resort to supplemental thyroid as a first approach before considering factors like whether or not they are eating enough calories.
Peat also likes supplemental pregnenolone. He claims that it is totally nontoxic, and he says that in those with adequate pregnenolone levels, utilizing supplemental pregnenolone wil have no effect.
However, for those with low pregnenolone levels, Peat claimsthat supplementing even with large amounts (he is rumored to have used 3 grams a day for a time has no unpleasant side effects.
Some anecdotal reports from self–proclaimed Peatarians suggest that supplemental pregnenolone, even in moderate doses, may cause unpleasant side effects including aggression and insomnia. On the other hand, most note only positive or neutral effects.
Finally, Peat is a fan of supplemental progesterone. This hormone, he cautions, is not a male hormone (meaning that men naturally produce very small amounts of the hormone), and therefore, it is generally not appropriate for men to supplement with it.(He does note that there may be exceptions. Some men do find that supplementing with progesterone can be helpful in some cases.) Peat likes progesterone because it opposes the effects of estrogen. For women, he claims that supplemental progesterone between ovulation and menstruation can alleviate the symptoms of PMS. He also makes recommendations for supplementation with progesterone for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
In summary, I will add my own commentary. Although Peat makes good arguments for supplemental aspirin, pregnenolone, and progesterone under certain circumstances, I believe that it is a mistake to resort to supplementing with these substances as a first line of approach. I see many self- professed Peatarians supplementing with these substances before giving adequate attention to eatingenough food or other lifestyle considerations(as are discussed later in this book).
