Ray Peat on altitude

Relationship between high metabolic rate and longevity at high altitude

"In one study (Alhazmi et al., 2018), T3 was four and a half times higher, T4 about three times higher, and TSH (a promoter of inflammation) was reduced by more than 25% in people living at high altitudes. The studies at high altitudes very convincingly show that a high metabolic rate is strongly associated with higher life expectancy and better health."

November 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Lifestyle choices to slow down aging and promote longevity

"Altitude and a dairy-based diet are obviously two important thermogenic factors that slow the accumulation of harmful adaptations, but there are many other modifiable factors that could extend lifespan even further. Reducing pro-inflammatory factors is important, and personal choices can make a big difference, for example, choosing easily digestible foods to reduce endotoxins, avoiding polyunsaturated fats that disrupt cellular respiration and form pro-inflammatory prostaglandins, avoiding antioxidant supplements that create a reductive excess, and choosing foods containing anti-inflammatory, thermogenic compounds, such as citrus fruits with their high flavonoid content, which supports cellular respiratory functions."

November 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Relationship between highland therapy and antioxidant activity

"The changes observed by Meerson's group during high-altitude therapy are similar to those seen with thyroid hormone and antioxidant supplementation. The lower tissue oxygen concentration at high altitude would increase the body's antioxidant reserves, making it more resistant to stress. Similarly, reducing dietary intake of unsaturated fats protects against oxidative stress."

Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain

Link between inflammation and susceptibility to disease

"Existing inflammation is related to altitude sickness and how easily one can become ill from a coronavirus, as well as to chronic diseases."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Treatment of new diseases with drugs for altitude edema

"He used calcium channel blockers and acetazolamide to treat the new disease because of their therapeutic effect on altitude-induced pulmonary edema. He didn't mention it, but both drugs can correct the carbon dioxide deficiency in the tissues."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Oxygen supply and activation of glycolysis in working muscles

"At low altitudes, when the oxygen consumption of a tissue exceeds the blood's ability to deliver oxygen – such as in an intensely working muscle – the tissue activates the glycolytic process and converts glucose into lactic acid to provide additional energy."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Metabolic effects of carbon dioxide and altitude sickness

"By neglecting the role of carbon dioxide in suppressing lactic acid formation, they also overlook all its other essential metabolic effects, including its role as the factor whose absence leads to the syndromes of altitude sickness,"

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Effects of respiratory adaptation at different altitudes

"The fundamental principles of respiration, the Bohr and Haldane effects, describe the physical equilibria of oxygen and CO2 in humans adapted to life at different altitudes. The Haldane effect describes the fact that increased oxygen pressure reduces the amount of carbon dioxide bound by hemoglobin, and decreased oxygen pressure increases the amount of bound CO2. In adapting individuals, there is a steady increase in retained CO2 with increasing altitude. Unadapted individuals experience a loss of CO2, accompanied by an increase in lactate."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Treatment of altitude-induced pulmonary hypertension with calcium channel blockers

"Calcium channel blockers are – according to this effect of CO2 – effective treatments for altitude-induced pulmonary hypertension."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Treatments for altitude sickness and CO2 retention

"Like acetazolamide, the other recognized treatment for altitude sickness, calcium channel blockers inhibit carbonic anhydrase and thereby facilitate the body's CO2 retention."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Exhaled nitric oxide and its association with altitude sickness

"An increased amount of nitric oxide in exhaled air is a clear predisposing factor for altitude sickness."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The lactate paradox in altitude physiology

"For several decades, altitude physiologists have been puzzled by the so-called lactate paradox: the fact that physical exertion at high altitude – with less oxygen – causes a smaller increase in lactic acid in the blood than at sea level, which allows for faster recovery, since it is assumed that oxidative metabolism prevents the formation of lactic acid. The lower oxygen availability at high altitude should actually lead to a higher lactate level and slower recovery."

March 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Effects of CO2 loss on cerebral blood flow and effects of hyperventilation

"The loss of carbon dioxide reduces cerebral blood flow and causes complex paresthesias as well as stroke symptoms. Hyperventilation is a relative term and refers to the amount of carbon dioxide lost from the blood. Heavy, rapid breathing at high altitude or in a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere does not necessarily constitute hyperventilation."

December 1999 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The limiting effect of carbon dioxide on the overexcitation of nerves and muscles

"Carbon dioxide limits the electrical depolarization of nerves and muscles, a phenomenon first discovered by Gilbert Ling. This prevents overexcitation and exhaustion of brain and muscle cells, including the heart. The presence of carbon dioxide limits the formation of lactic acid. This explains the lactate paradox during physical exertion at high altitude."

December 1999 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

High acidity and lactic acid metabolism in stress and cancer

"Under all conditions studied, the lactic acid metabolism characteristic of stress and cancer is suppressed at high altitude because respiration becomes more efficient. The Haldane effect shows that carbon dioxide retention is increased at high altitude."

1998 - Ray Peat's Newsletter - 2

ACTH levels in runners at different altitudes

"When comparing very low altitude (Jordan Valley, over 1000 feet below sea level) with medium altitude (620 meters above sea level), ACTH levels in runners were only elevated at the very low altitude after a race. This suggests that the stress response was prevented by a moderate increase in altitude."

1998 - Ray Peat's Newsletter - 2

Influence of altitude on lactate accumulation during physical exertion

"It has been found that during intense physical exertion (which always causes an accumulation of lactic acid in the blood) at high altitude, a lower peak accumulation of lactate occurs, and this appears to be caused by a reduction in the rate of glycolysis or glucose consumption."

1997 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

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