Hi From Germany

Durey

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Hi everyone!
I'm a 33-year-old woman and discovered Ray Peat's work six months ago via a beauty blog, where I was looking for information about retinol and skin aging. There was a blog post about PUFAs and Ray Peat and it blew my mind. When I started reading Peat's articles my mind was blown even more.

I've never felt healthy in all my adult life and I've been suffering from stress, depression, anxiety, lack of energy, insomnia and emotional instability since my teen years. The last couple of years were extremely hard on me and I went through the most stressful, emotionally and physically draining time of my life. The stress was eating me up from the inside, I felt that I was aging prematurely and reached an all-time low. I had no energy and no appetite and spent many of my days in bed, thinking and crying. I drank a lot of alcohol and was severely hungover several times a week. Because I ate so little, I was constipated all the time, which my haemorrhoids apparently didn't like. So I ate loads of fibre, whole grain stuff, vegetables and the likes. My haemorrhoids got worse - surprise! Some months ago I started having heart problems (heart beating too fast and irregularly), then pain in my legs and feet. Also the veins on my hands and feet started to bulge and there were LOTS of them visible, where previously you couldn't see any veins at all. I went to my doctor and a phlebologist and apparently my heart, veins and arteries are fine and I should do some exercise. Thanks for nothing.

So I tried vitamin D (doctor prescribed), went for a walk every day, tried to reduce stress (which is not easy for a freelancer with debilitating mood swings), took some supplements, reduced PUFAs (not really peating yet), quit drinking, quit smoking (discovered e-cigarettes however), ate more. The heart thing got better, but the rest not so much. Plus, I was cold all the time, even when it was hot outside. Six weeks ago - I weighed only 41kg (I'm 5'2") and had begun feeling dizzy and nauseous on a regular basis - I began researching Peat again. I also read Matt Stone's book "Eat for Heat" and knew I needed to change something.

Since then I've eaten a Peat-inspired diet. Only when I'm at my boyfriend's place and he's doing the cooking, I eat whatever he's prepared, mostly something meat-based or homemade pizza or pasta. At home I have milk, cheese, OJ, eggs, beef, seafood, potatoes, lots of sugar and salt, honey, coffee, cocoa, white fish, rice, sometimes a slice of bread, gelatin, coconut oil, butter, raw carrot... I take epsom salt baths, baking soda and aspirin whenever I feel the need. I've ordered vit K and niacinamide and I'm planning on making my own eggshell calcium. I stopped drinking lots and lots of plain water, since in the past 15 years or so drinking loads of water has neither made my skin less dry nor given me more energy or better bowel movements. And I was wondering why I was craving salt all the time...

So far I've gained some weight and after starting peating I had some really good weeks, mood-wise, but the last couple of days I felt like ***t. But eating more and on a regular basis, instead of skipping breakfast and eating hardly anything before dinner, gives me more energy and better sleep. Having some milk with salt and sugar before going to bed keeps the nightly adrenalin rush away. I hardly ever felt really hungry before but now I crave food all the time.
What do I hope to achieve? Better mood and less depression (getting my thyroid tested soon), more energy - mental and physical, better skin (less dry and itching, less crepey around the eyes), normal-looking veins, no pain in my feet (the gelatin has helped a lot already) and not feeling cold and stressed all the time. By the way, my haemorrhoids got a lot better as soon as I cut out all the grains and fiber.

Well, that's a large chunk of my story so far. I'm happy to have found this forum, and Ray Peat of course, and I hope I'll be able to share some positive changes in the future. I'm still overwhelmed with all the information and it's nice to know that there are like-minded people with similar issues who are as fascinated by Ray Peat as I am.
 

Blossom

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Welcome Durey! I enjoyed your introduction and it sounds like you have already made many positive changes. Congratulations and good luck! Please keep us updated. :D
 

burtlancast

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Hi Durey,

Do you have any amalgam fillings in your mouth ?

That would go a long way in explaining your lifelong lack of energy.
 
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Durey

Durey

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Thanks, Blossom! Yeah, for the first time in my life I feel that I'm on a path of healing instead of trying to destroy myself. Also, it feels good to take my health in my own hands instead of relying on doctors and mainstream health "experts". Now I've got at least an idea of what's going on in my body. :)
 
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Durey

Durey

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burt, it's interesting you bring that up. I got ~8-10 amalgam fillings when I was thirteen, a couple more when I was older. Had them removed three years ago, lots of traumatic dentist experiences and x-rays inclusive. It would explain a lot of things... Is there anything I could do, now the fillings are gone (and the mercury probably in my body)?
 

burtlancast

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Durey said:
burt, it's interesting you bring that up. I got ~8-10 amalgam fillings when I was thirteen, a couple more when I was older. Had them removed three years ago, lots of traumatic dentist experiences and x-rays inclusive. It would explain a lot of things... Is there anything I could do, now the fillings are gone (and the mercury probably in my body)?

I wouldn't look any further for the cause of your health problems then.
Nobody can live a normal healthy life with 10 amalgam fillings in his mouth.
You did well to remove them.
But it's going to take some years for the mercury in your brain and body to completely be excreted.
You can test your actual mercury levels with a DMPS provocation test; you get injected some DMPS in your arm, then your urine gets collected after 4 hours, and the excreted urinary mercury is measured.
It's not too expensive ( 150 euros ?) and you would know whether your body still contains too much mercury.

If the levels are around normal, then you can start applying Ray's diet measures.
Check first your TSH levels, that's a very good starting point.
 
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Durey

Durey

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burtlancast said:
Durey said:
burt, it's interesting you bring that up. I got ~8-10 amalgam fillings when I was thirteen, a couple more when I was older. Had them removed three years ago, lots of traumatic dentist experiences and x-rays inclusive. It would explain a lot of things... Is there anything I could do, now the fillings are gone (and the mercury probably in my body)?

I wouldn't look any further for the cause of your health problems then.
Nobody can live a normal healthy life with 10 amalgam fillings in his mouth.
You did well to remove them.
But it's going to take some years for the mercury in your brain and body to completely be excreted.
You can test your actual mercury levels with a DMPS provocation test; you get injected some DMPS in your arm, then your urine gets collected after 4 hours, and the excreted urinary mercury is measured.
It's not too expensive ( 150 euros ?) and you would know whether your body still contains too much mercury.

If the levels are around normal, then you can start applying Ray's diet measures.
Check first your TSH levels, that's a very good starting point.

Thanks for the info, I'll look into that. The doctor I'm going to to have my thyroid checked does mercury tests as well. I would never have thought that my fillings could be the reason. Thanks again for pointing that out!
 

burtlancast

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If you know to read french, there's an excellent book by Francoise Cambayrac " Vérités sur les maladies émergentes" which is the best book on amalgam fillings i've come across.
It can be found online.
 
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Durey

Durey

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burtlancast said:
If you know to read french, there's an excellent book by Francoise Cambayrac " Vérités sur les maladies émergentes" which is the best book on amalgam fillings i've come across.
It can be found online.

Unfortunately not. German and English only.
 

Blossom

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Durey said:
Thanks, Blossom! Yeah, for the first time in my life I feel that I'm on a path of healing instead of trying to destroy myself. Also, it feels good to take my health in my own hands instead of relying on doctors and mainstream health "experts". Now I've got at least an idea of what's going on in my body. :)
I feel the same. As metabolism is improved everything gets better in my experience.
 

charlie

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Durey, :welcome
 
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Durey

Durey

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Regarding the amalgam fillings, I just remembered I had the first batch removed when I was 18 and replaced with new amalgam fillings. The first dentist to "treat" my cavities had just drilled out the decayed parts and plastered the amalgam all over my molars and premolars, not even leaving spaces between the teeth. Also, for ~10 years I had a tooth that was basically formed out of amalgam after the molar had crumbled. The filling was touching the gums all the time. Now I've got a bridge there and massive bone loss underneath, where the amalgam tooth used to be.

It's really depressing to think about all this. To think I could have had a normal, happy life instead of constant fatigue and mental health issues. I always thought it's me and that I'm just not made for this world. But there still might be a few good years ahead for me. Or not. But I'm going to find out, even if I don't really feel like living today.
 

Blossom

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Durey said:
Regarding the amalgam fillings, I just remembered I had the first batch removed when I was 18 and replaced with new amalgam fillings. The first dentist to "treat" my cavities had just drilled out the decayed parts and plastered the amalgam all over my molars and premolars, not even leaving spaces between the teeth. Also, for ~10 years I had a tooth that was basically formed out of amalgam after the molar had crumbled. The filling was touching the gums all the time. Now I've got a bridge there and massive bone loss underneath, where the amalgam tooth used to be.

It's really depressing to think about all this. To think I could have had a normal, happy life instead of constant fatigue and mental health issues. I always thought it's me and that I'm just not made for this world. But there still might be a few good years ahead for me. Or not. But I'm going to find out, even if I don't really feel like living today.
I remember feeling the same way for a long time. I bet there is still a few good years for you! I just took it a day at a time at first and then one day I realized Peat was on to something because I was starting to feel better. I really didn't believe it was possible in the beginning but I had tried everything and literally felt I had nothing else to lose. I've just been at this a year but my whole life has been transformed. That's why I'm on the forum. If there is anyway I can help someone the way others have helped me by sharing experiences then all the years of suffering will have been worth it. Everyone deserves health but it's rare in our world these days. Maybe by all of us helping one another that will start to change. I think your on the right track and as your metabolism heals your body will be better able to manage any residual mercury issues you may have. Sorry I don't know a lot about the filling/mercury issue like burtlancast. Hang in there!
 

burtlancast

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Durey said:
Regarding the amalgam fillings, I just remembered I had the first batch removed when I was 18 and replaced with new amalgam fillings. The first dentist to "treat" my cavities had just drilled out the decayed parts and plastered the amalgam all over my molars and premolars, not even leaving spaces between the teeth. Also, for ~10 years I had a tooth that was basically formed out of amalgam after the molar had crumbled. The filling was touching the gums all the time. Now I've got a bridge there and massive bone loss underneath, where the amalgam tooth used to be.

It's really depressing to think about all this. To think I could have had a normal, happy life instead of constant fatigue and mental health issues. I always thought it's me and that I'm just not made for this world. But there still might be a few good years ahead for me. Or not. But I'm going to find out, even if I don't really feel like living today.

You can thank your dentist for having made your youth a living nightmare.
Amalgam fillings are just a slow way of killing people ( toegether with the stupid and arrogant dentists using them).

The good news is you can salvage your failing health and get the mercury slowly and safely out of your body.

By joining here, you have stumbled on the best health forum on the internet bar none; if you follow Ray's advices, you will get your health back and will be able to help the ones around you as well.
 
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Durey

Durey

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Thanks guys. Thanks a lot. Feels really good to read that. And it's weird how one can turn to strangers on the internet and find help and comfort there. :)

Burt - I really think this is the best health forum. I've lurked in many forums and I've never come across so many intelligent, curious, helpful and friendly people. And I'm amazed at the amount of medical/biochemical and other knowledge most of you seem to possess! I hope I'll be able to help others as well, someday.

I tried to talk to my sister about Ray Peat, but even though she's been working in the medical field for 20+ years and is totally against mainstream medicine, she doesn't believe that sugar and milk can be healthy and that vegetables and soy products are a bad choice. She has lots of health problems (rosacea, acne, migraines, spider veins, hair loss, menopausal symptoms etc.) but she still thinks PUFAs are healthy. Recently I wrote her an email and listed all arguments against PUFAs in a - what I thought - really logical and convincing way. Still she goes ahead with taking a linolenic acid supplement because her medical textbook says it's good for the brain. And her 6-year-old son (who's got Asperger's, by the way) has been drinking soy milk every day for the last four years or so - because "he doesn't tolerate milk". It's so frustrating. Almost every thing Ray Peat says makes total sense to me and I just want everyone I love to see this truth as well. Everything could be so easy if people would just think for themselves instead of seeing their doctors' opinion as the epitome of truth.

The stories and experiences I'm reading here give me hope (especially Blossom's - at least I believe it's you I'm thinking of) and, who know's, perhaps in a couple of years people will ask me what I've done because I look so healthy and full of energy. :lol:

As you can probably tell I'm feeling a lot better than yesterday. Also, I took two teaspoons of activated charcoal last night, after reading about it on the forum. I usually only use it to brush my teeth with. It might be a coincidence but today was the first day in a week or so when I didn't feel like crying after getting up. And I got up at 7.30 instead of after 10 o' clock.

I'm really, really glad to have found this forum.
 

burtlancast

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Durey said:
I tried to talk to my sister about Ray Peat, but even though she's been working in the medical field for 20+ years and is totally against mainstream medicine, she doesn't believe that sugar and milk can be healthy and that vegetables and soy products are a bad choice. She has lots of health problems (rosacea, acne, migraines, spider veins, hair loss, menopausal symptoms etc.) but she still thinks PUFAs are healthy. Recently I wrote her an email and listed all arguments against PUFAs in a - what I thought - really logical and convincing way. Still she goes ahead with taking a linolenic acid supplement because her medical textbook says it's good for the brain. And her 6-year-old son (who's got Asperger's, by the way) has been drinking soy milk every day for the last four years or so - because "he doesn't tolerate milk".

I think i have just what the doctor ordered for her: send her these 2 statements:

When you started answering emails, did you foresee that this would involve so many questions from people and be your primary method of interacting with the public rather than formal consultations? Was it something that evolved for you or was it an intentional revolution of redefining how scientists interact with society by being so accessible and not being motivated by money?

Knowledge isn’t a commodity, especially not a fungible commodity, as the medical business sees it. Consciousness and culture are part of the life process. It is exactly the commoditization of medical knowledge that makes it dangerous, and generally stupid. Doctors buy their knowledge, and then resell it over and over; it’s valuable as a commodity, so its value has to be protected by the equivalent of a copyright, the system of laws establishing the profession. Without its special status, its worthlessness would be quickly demonstrated. When A.C. Guyton wrote his textbook of medical physiology (the most widely used text in the world) in the 1950s, it was trash; as it was studied and applied by generations of physicians, it was still trash. The most compliant patients who bought their treatment from the most authoritative, Guytonesque, doctors were buying their own disability and death.
Each time you learn something, your consciousness becomes something different, and the questions you ask will be different; you don’t know what the next appropriate question will be when you haven’t assimilated the earlier answers. Until you see something as the answer to an urgent question, you can’t see that it has any value. The unexpected can’t be a commodity. When people buy professional knowledge they get what they pay for, a commodity in a system that sustains ignorance.



4. Why do you help so many people through emails? Are there any spiritual or humanitarian motivations? Or is it more about collecting scientific data?

More than 50 years ago, I realized that the US culture had become effectively totalitarian, with decorations, and even the decorations were being fixed by the specialists (the Congress for Cultural Freedom, for example). I went through a series of graduate studies and projects looking for places where reality could influence the culture, rather than being obliterated by it. The academic culture, though, was rapidly changing for the worse. Over a period of a few years I happened to see a few people recover immediately from what doctors had considered incurable problems, using simple and inexpensive methods, and then I realized that some people were willing to discard their old ideas when those conflicted with useful facts, especially when the useful facts could save their life. I started doing evening and weekend classes in nutrition and endocrinology, seeing health as a way to get reality into the culture. My newsletter grew out of the classes, and that led to answering mail, which is cheaper and easier on the internet.
http://www.visionandacceptance.com/rayp ... revisited/

Then show her video footage of the man itself in action:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZkGxrntmTE
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdLHWFJI2y0

That should do the trick.
 
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Durey

Durey

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Hi Burt, thanks for the links. I'm sitting here grinning like an idiot because Peat's words just give me the warm and fuzzies.

Don't know about my sister, though. She's not really open to intellectual reasoning, neither is she interested in acquiring knowledge or reads anything more challenging than a detective novel. And I don't mean to describe her in a disparaging way - she's just more the person who thinks that accepting everything in life is the solution and that the universe will provide for her. She's intelligent, but not really interested in/capable of expanding her horizon - because of brain fog, I think. And she says of herself that she's "lacking in brain cells" for questioning things and that she can't concentrate on or read "difficult stuff", but admits that she also doesn't care. It makes me sad that people can be so disregarding of what's going on in the world and inside their own bodies. But I suppose I'll just have to let her live her life, even if it hurts me to know that she could feel so much better and solve so many problems.

Sunday night I also had a discussion with my boyfriend, which made me really upset. He knows about my health issues of course and that I plan on getting some labs done. I didn't want to tell him about the things I found out, but he kept asking, so I finally gave in and told him about the thyroid/my low body temperature and the amalgam fillings, and that I believe I've found explanations for all of my problems and how I found out and that I think one has to take health matters in their own hands. And then he talked to me as if I were a stupid child - which he's never done before. He said that it's dangerous to rely on information from the internet and that a doctor could tell me better what to eat and what to do. And that reading all that stuff just makes me worry more and probably about nothing. (He doesn't seem to believe me that I don't worry because of all I read - quite the contrary - but that I just feel like crap almost all the time.) He didn't even care that I read books and articles by actual scientists and not just looked up symptoms on WebMD or something. My heart was beating so fast I could hardly talk. Sure, a run-of-the-mill GP knows more about the thyroid than, say, Broda Barnes, and can explain cell metabolism better to me than Gilbert Ling. :roll: I know I don't know everything. In fact, I know next to nothing. But it makes me really angry when people rather trust the opinion of one single stranger instead of using their own brains. Oh boy. As long as I get worked up about other peoples' opinions I'm never going to be able to lower my stress levels.

I hope it's okay if I use this thread as a place to vent now and then. Other than that I keep on Peating as good as I can. I noticed that I'm beginning to feel really warm in the evenings, even my feet are sometimes warm. Makes my veins stick out even more, but screw them. Also, I'm getting my niacin tablets today, though I can't remember at the moment why I ordered them. The next couple of weeks will be rather stressful work-wise and I dread the adrenaline and the long hours of having to concentrate. Still, my mood is relatively stable and I've got lots of good food to get me through the days.
 

Blossom

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Updates and venting are wonderful. I can relate to needing to vent from time to time. I just vented again about the state of medicine in another thread. Sometimes it's hard for people who are well and following conventional wisdom to understand those of us who have decided to take control of our own health. I had one family member recently tell me that they liked things better when I was sick! I'm sure it was great for that person when I was curled up in a passive ball of learned helplessness. That's not really a life though so if having that relationship means not being a full, functional and healthy person then I suppose it's not a relationship worth having. Hopefully your boyfriend will respect your choices and be supportive. We all have the right to manage our health and lives the way we see fit. Thanks for the update!
 
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Durey

Durey

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Blossom said:
Updates and venting are wonderful. I can relate to needing to vent from time to time. I just vented again about the state of medicine in another thread. Sometimes it's hard for people who are well and following conventional wisdom to understand those of us who have decided to take control of our own health. I had one family member recently tell me that they liked things better when I was sick! I'm sure it was great for that person when I was curled up in a passive ball of learned helplessness. That's not really a life though so if having that relationship means not being a full, functional and healthy person then I suppose it's not a relationship worth having. Hopefully your boyfriend will respect your choices and be supportive. We all have the right to manage our health and lives the way we see fit. Thanks for the update!


Sorry to hear that about your family member. Reminds me of some people who said that I was a more interesting person when I was drinking. Needless to say that they are no longer a part of my life. You're absolutely right about relationships. No one needs people who make you feel worse, or small, or passive. I suppose my boyfriend is supportive in his way. He's the epitome of health (although he drinks a lot and takes fluoxetine) and probably can't really relate to how I feel.


Some other things: Last week I felt really good. My mood was stable, I was extremely busy but didn't feel as stressed-out as usual, and I was having the most pleasant period I've ever had. :eek:
I've already gained 6 kg in the last eight weeks or so and even though I'll probably see my waist disappear soon, it feels satisfying to take up some space and look less fragile.
I also noticed that I'm a lot less cold than I used to be and when I recently went outside on a chilly morning and all people were wearing jackets, I was rocking my short sleeves without a single goosebump. So thanks Ray Peat for keeping me warm since 2014. :D
 
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