Proposed:
We could make our Peat writings less clotted and tortuous, and our meanings clearer, if we agreed to a concept or designation called (something like) an Optimal Peat Diet
-Yes, I know Dr. Peat does not call his dietary suggestions a "diet."
-But he does make some fairly clear general statements or guidelines.
-Spelling out a Peat-Derived Diet (or somesuch)...we could hammer that out over time here.
-It shouldn't be considered "written in stone."
-Of course there will be exceptions...the person with some unnamed condition who absolutely cannot eat any kind of fruit, or milk, etc. The designation is intended simply as a generalization.
Let me start us off. Peat has said something like, "I think everybody should have 1 quart of OJ and 2 quarts of milk per day." That is off the top of my head, and I stand ready to be corrected. What if we used that statement as a base, noting of course that those amounts can/should be increased as the metabolism allows. I tend to think Peat would worry about "anyone" getting less than that.
So what if we designated, as a per day starting point:
-2 quarts of milks, or the equivalent thereof in cheese or other acceptable proteins; variable upwards as metabolism allows
-1 quart of OJ, or the equivalent in other acceptable fruits or acceptable sugars or carbohydrates.
-saturated fats: some amount (please help me here) of saturated fat-- from ruminant meat, butter, coconut oil or olive oil (though here Peat does say to restrict olive oil to less than about a TEAspoon per day)
-potatoes: Peat has said, I believe, "you could have one per day." He mentioned a russet variety as good and perhaps this is approximately the size/amount he had in mind.
-"roots, tubers, and shoots" ; I think this is the phrase he used, saying those kinds of foods wouldn't kill ya, but he didn't really seem to be saying that they were positives, nutritionally. So I would tend to restrict those, perhaps fairly strictly, on a "Basic Peat Diet."
-seafood: occasionally, but almost more like a supplement--not really for their protein. Peat has said shellfish once or twice a week as I recall, and certain kinds of warm-water fish like sole he has also said are okay--but again, only occasionally.
-masa harina and white rice: once in a while. Peat has said one could have white rice "about once a week." I don't recall exact statements on masa harina.
-vegetables: generally, Peat says they're not good for you. Definitely not a fan of "foliage" (ha) as he calls it, or broccoli or cauliflower (or crucifers in general); he has said sometimes he drinks some broth of kale for nutrients.
-chicken: nope. Pretty much crawlin' with PUFAs. This bears further exploration, as Peat has said chickens will reflect their diet. What if there diet was completely free range with no bad feed?
-chicken skin: plan your funeral
-cheeses: yes, with some finer points to be wrestled with
-grains: nope (except white rice)
-fruits: yes, the ones with avoidable seeds; ripe
-sugar: yes, although fruits and honey are better on a consistent basis
-water: yes, pure
That's a start.
If this sounds like a good project to you, I'd like suggestions how to make it better.
I think that, in addition straining out cloying and clotting phraseology like "Peat Eating," a designation like this could also make our communications clearer. There are so many people writing, variously, that they are "eating a Peat diet" or "eating according to Peat guidelines" or "adding some Peat principles"...it really does make it hard to know what the heck we're talking about. I certainly do not have any intention of using such a label in some authoritarian way, like "Oh, I'm so superior to you because I'm eating a BPD and you're NOT!" And I don't think we would be unleashing some language Frankenstein which would turn Peatdom into the Third Reich.
Admin edit to add:
Proposed food chart and food list recommendations, rough draft. Please help critique.
-2 quarts of milks, or the equivalent thereof in cheeses, variable upwards as metabolism allows. Dr. Peat has said, when asked general questions about diet, that “everyone should probably have about 2 quarts of milk and 1 quart of orange juice.” It would seem that Peat has a rough ideal proportion or ratio in mind for protein to sugars, and his shorthand of 2:1 milk-to-OJ that as a sort of general baseline for most people. When people trying a Peat diet complained to him that they were gaining undesired weight, he said something like: “I never said to drink whole milk. If there are concerns about weight gain people should drink low fat milk or eat the lowfat cheeses” (as I say, just an approximate quote there; I’ll try to find Peat’s exact words later). And Peat would seem to be fine with replacing some or even all of the milk with cheese. Some have taken Peat’s comments about his own diet—that he himself has drunk a lot more milk and OJ than the 2 and 1 quart/s—as an ideal, general recommendation for most people. But I don’t believe Peat intended that implication. He was, rather, I think, trying to illustrate how, as one’s metabolism increases, so too will the basic food requirements.
-1 quart of OJ, or the equivalent in other acceptable fruits. Again, as above with milk, this would seem to be a general, baseline recommended amount and ratio (of fruit to milk). And the same notes about Peat’s statements regarding his own diet and his much higher intake of fruit (or OJ) also apply here. Peat recommends tropical, fresh, ripe fruit which can be eaten avoiding the seeds. He favors oranges because he says they are extremely nutritious in comparison to other fruits. Some have argued that the carbohydrates in what are sometimes (I don’t know where the language comes from or how much if any validity it has) referred to as Peat’s “safe starches” or “safer starches” (like masa harina, potato, and white rice) can be considered “Peat recommended” substitutes (or at least partial substitutes) for fruit carbs. This is one of the blurriest areas of the Peat food picture, and one which will require additional space to fully discuss. Some would even argue that Peat would have us include “roots, tubers, and shoots” (his phrase) as “Peat recommended” substitutes (or, again, at least partial substitutes) for fruits. It is not as if Peat says nothing to guide us in this ambiguous area. The problem is that he makes statements both for and against the so-called “safe starches,” probably varying sometimes because of context. But I do think we can illuminate this murky area and bring more clarity. That effort will probably take place under the category of “safe starches.”
We could make our Peat writings less clotted and tortuous, and our meanings clearer, if we agreed to a concept or designation called (something like) an Optimal Peat Diet
-Yes, I know Dr. Peat does not call his dietary suggestions a "diet."
-But he does make some fairly clear general statements or guidelines.
-Spelling out a Peat-Derived Diet (or somesuch)...we could hammer that out over time here.
-It shouldn't be considered "written in stone."
-Of course there will be exceptions...the person with some unnamed condition who absolutely cannot eat any kind of fruit, or milk, etc. The designation is intended simply as a generalization.
Let me start us off. Peat has said something like, "I think everybody should have 1 quart of OJ and 2 quarts of milk per day." That is off the top of my head, and I stand ready to be corrected. What if we used that statement as a base, noting of course that those amounts can/should be increased as the metabolism allows. I tend to think Peat would worry about "anyone" getting less than that.
So what if we designated, as a per day starting point:
-2 quarts of milks, or the equivalent thereof in cheese or other acceptable proteins; variable upwards as metabolism allows
-1 quart of OJ, or the equivalent in other acceptable fruits or acceptable sugars or carbohydrates.
-saturated fats: some amount (please help me here) of saturated fat-- from ruminant meat, butter, coconut oil or olive oil (though here Peat does say to restrict olive oil to less than about a TEAspoon per day)
-potatoes: Peat has said, I believe, "you could have one per day." He mentioned a russet variety as good and perhaps this is approximately the size/amount he had in mind.
-"roots, tubers, and shoots" ; I think this is the phrase he used, saying those kinds of foods wouldn't kill ya, but he didn't really seem to be saying that they were positives, nutritionally. So I would tend to restrict those, perhaps fairly strictly, on a "Basic Peat Diet."
-seafood: occasionally, but almost more like a supplement--not really for their protein. Peat has said shellfish once or twice a week as I recall, and certain kinds of warm-water fish like sole he has also said are okay--but again, only occasionally.
-masa harina and white rice: once in a while. Peat has said one could have white rice "about once a week." I don't recall exact statements on masa harina.
-vegetables: generally, Peat says they're not good for you. Definitely not a fan of "foliage" (ha) as he calls it, or broccoli or cauliflower (or crucifers in general); he has said sometimes he drinks some broth of kale for nutrients.
-chicken: nope. Pretty much crawlin' with PUFAs. This bears further exploration, as Peat has said chickens will reflect their diet. What if there diet was completely free range with no bad feed?
-chicken skin: plan your funeral
-cheeses: yes, with some finer points to be wrestled with
-grains: nope (except white rice)
-fruits: yes, the ones with avoidable seeds; ripe
-sugar: yes, although fruits and honey are better on a consistent basis
-water: yes, pure
That's a start.
If this sounds like a good project to you, I'd like suggestions how to make it better.
I think that, in addition straining out cloying and clotting phraseology like "Peat Eating," a designation like this could also make our communications clearer. There are so many people writing, variously, that they are "eating a Peat diet" or "eating according to Peat guidelines" or "adding some Peat principles"...it really does make it hard to know what the heck we're talking about. I certainly do not have any intention of using such a label in some authoritarian way, like "Oh, I'm so superior to you because I'm eating a BPD and you're NOT!" And I don't think we would be unleashing some language Frankenstein which would turn Peatdom into the Third Reich.
Admin edit to add:
Proposed food chart and food list recommendations, rough draft. Please help critique.
-2 quarts of milks, or the equivalent thereof in cheeses, variable upwards as metabolism allows. Dr. Peat has said, when asked general questions about diet, that “everyone should probably have about 2 quarts of milk and 1 quart of orange juice.” It would seem that Peat has a rough ideal proportion or ratio in mind for protein to sugars, and his shorthand of 2:1 milk-to-OJ that as a sort of general baseline for most people. When people trying a Peat diet complained to him that they were gaining undesired weight, he said something like: “I never said to drink whole milk. If there are concerns about weight gain people should drink low fat milk or eat the lowfat cheeses” (as I say, just an approximate quote there; I’ll try to find Peat’s exact words later). And Peat would seem to be fine with replacing some or even all of the milk with cheese. Some have taken Peat’s comments about his own diet—that he himself has drunk a lot more milk and OJ than the 2 and 1 quart/s—as an ideal, general recommendation for most people. But I don’t believe Peat intended that implication. He was, rather, I think, trying to illustrate how, as one’s metabolism increases, so too will the basic food requirements.
-1 quart of OJ, or the equivalent in other acceptable fruits. Again, as above with milk, this would seem to be a general, baseline recommended amount and ratio (of fruit to milk). And the same notes about Peat’s statements regarding his own diet and his much higher intake of fruit (or OJ) also apply here. Peat recommends tropical, fresh, ripe fruit which can be eaten avoiding the seeds. He favors oranges because he says they are extremely nutritious in comparison to other fruits. Some have argued that the carbohydrates in what are sometimes (I don’t know where the language comes from or how much if any validity it has) referred to as Peat’s “safe starches” or “safer starches” (like masa harina, potato, and white rice) can be considered “Peat recommended” substitutes (or at least partial substitutes) for fruit carbs. This is one of the blurriest areas of the Peat food picture, and one which will require additional space to fully discuss. Some would even argue that Peat would have us include “roots, tubers, and shoots” (his phrase) as “Peat recommended” substitutes (or, again, at least partial substitutes) for fruits. It is not as if Peat says nothing to guide us in this ambiguous area. The problem is that he makes statements both for and against the so-called “safe starches,” probably varying sometimes because of context. But I do think we can illuminate this murky area and bring more clarity. That effort will probably take place under the category of “safe starches.”