Hi all,
I've had lifelong issues with hypothyroid symptoms/issues and digestion. Frustration with not being able to put things together (intellectually, emotionally, physically) and access the potential I've always innately felt I had, has lead me to a 20 year adulthood that has been plagued by depression and other mood issues. In the last few years, hormonal issues have become more physically apparent (even lower sex drive, gynocomastia).
I discovered Ray Peat while I was traveling long term in SE Asia. I was doing some searching on thyroid issues and ended up finding the long thread on the low carber forum, leading me to spend a few weeks holed up in a Cambodian guesthouse reading Dr. Peat's articles and listening to his radio interviews as best as I could. I was feeling pretty miserable at the time. My poor digestion and sensitive gut was giving me constant troubles with the food there (as it had in a previous lengthy stay in South America).
I jumped on the milk and oj bandwagon even though I'd had long term issues with both, but the break from eating was appealing. All I could find was UHT milk from New Zealand and an oj from Singapore. I did well on it for 3 weeks or so, (other than insanely frequent urination-despite eating lots of local sea salt)- but one morning I hit the wall on the milk with intense stomach cramps and mucous discharge in my stool, which continued for a few weeks even after stopping with the milk.
Anyway, being in Cambodia, Peating wasn't really doable without the milk- so I dropped it and continued on with my traveling for another 4 or 5 months until depression and a major episode of diarrhea resulted in a Cipro intervention that led me to throw in the towel on the travels and return home to U.S. just before Christmas. Now here I am, climbing back on the Peat bandwagon, reacquainting myself with his writings and reading this forum and the Peatarian website. It's amazing how much more discussion is going on around Dr. Peat's ideas just in the 6-8 months that passed from my initial introduction.
I've always believed that diet was at the core of my issues and have been obsessed with that belief my whole adult life. I've tried about every diet or WOE from gluten, soy, and sugar free veganism to "zero" carb and everything in between. For the first time, I really have some reason to believe I'm on the right track. To finally get a glimpse of the big picture of how all the seemingly disjointed problems I've had are actually related, actually gives me a little hope. Yes, it's aggravating to think about all the SSRI's, the self-experimentation with Tryptophan and 5 HTP supplementation, the Omega 3 obsession that had me eating alot of salmon, grinding and sprinkling flax seeds, dressing salads with walnut oil. Then, of course, there is the copious quantities of nuts Ive eaten over the years and the long term alcohol abuse...not to mention the periods I've leaned heavily on pot and tobacco to cope.
Oh well...
Right now I'm working on my dairy issues, have got beef gelatin on order and am getting ready to take the plunge on a juicer for potatoes so I can get my protein in order. Also hitting the sugar hard and trying to get my salt intake up. Learning alot here and looking forward to learning more and getting to know others blazing this new frontier.
I've had lifelong issues with hypothyroid symptoms/issues and digestion. Frustration with not being able to put things together (intellectually, emotionally, physically) and access the potential I've always innately felt I had, has lead me to a 20 year adulthood that has been plagued by depression and other mood issues. In the last few years, hormonal issues have become more physically apparent (even lower sex drive, gynocomastia).
I discovered Ray Peat while I was traveling long term in SE Asia. I was doing some searching on thyroid issues and ended up finding the long thread on the low carber forum, leading me to spend a few weeks holed up in a Cambodian guesthouse reading Dr. Peat's articles and listening to his radio interviews as best as I could. I was feeling pretty miserable at the time. My poor digestion and sensitive gut was giving me constant troubles with the food there (as it had in a previous lengthy stay in South America).
I jumped on the milk and oj bandwagon even though I'd had long term issues with both, but the break from eating was appealing. All I could find was UHT milk from New Zealand and an oj from Singapore. I did well on it for 3 weeks or so, (other than insanely frequent urination-despite eating lots of local sea salt)- but one morning I hit the wall on the milk with intense stomach cramps and mucous discharge in my stool, which continued for a few weeks even after stopping with the milk.
Anyway, being in Cambodia, Peating wasn't really doable without the milk- so I dropped it and continued on with my traveling for another 4 or 5 months until depression and a major episode of diarrhea resulted in a Cipro intervention that led me to throw in the towel on the travels and return home to U.S. just before Christmas. Now here I am, climbing back on the Peat bandwagon, reacquainting myself with his writings and reading this forum and the Peatarian website. It's amazing how much more discussion is going on around Dr. Peat's ideas just in the 6-8 months that passed from my initial introduction.
I've always believed that diet was at the core of my issues and have been obsessed with that belief my whole adult life. I've tried about every diet or WOE from gluten, soy, and sugar free veganism to "zero" carb and everything in between. For the first time, I really have some reason to believe I'm on the right track. To finally get a glimpse of the big picture of how all the seemingly disjointed problems I've had are actually related, actually gives me a little hope. Yes, it's aggravating to think about all the SSRI's, the self-experimentation with Tryptophan and 5 HTP supplementation, the Omega 3 obsession that had me eating alot of salmon, grinding and sprinkling flax seeds, dressing salads with walnut oil. Then, of course, there is the copious quantities of nuts Ive eaten over the years and the long term alcohol abuse...not to mention the periods I've leaned heavily on pot and tobacco to cope.
Oh well...
Right now I'm working on my dairy issues, have got beef gelatin on order and am getting ready to take the plunge on a juicer for potatoes so I can get my protein in order. Also hitting the sugar hard and trying to get my salt intake up. Learning alot here and looking forward to learning more and getting to know others blazing this new frontier.