Ray Peat on intelligence

January 29, 2026

Stress hormones, nutrition and longevity

"Stress hormones cause various tissues to age, including the brain and collagen in connective tissue. Good nutrition – including the anti-stress substances found in certain foods – will simultaneously optimize mental performance and extend a healthy lifespan."

Nutrition For Women

The influence of language on devaluing animal intelligence

"If we believe that language and logic are the source of knowledge, we will devalue our own animal intelligence – and thereby become susceptible to clichés and doctrines that have been deliberately built into our culture."

May 2017 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

McClintock's research on virus development and epigenetics (double paragraph, same title applies)

“A simple shift in perspective can solve some old puzzles, such as how millions of virus species could have arisen, since viruses cannot reproduce on their own without the organisms they infect, and why our cells would retain such an enormous amount of useless or harmful DNA if our DNA evolved by weeding out the parts that did not contribute to fitness. McClintock’s work has led to an answer to these questions—and also to a foundation for understanding the ‘intelligence’ of epigenetics and the inheritance of adaptations. The ‘dark’ DNA functions during embryonic development, mediating the effects of the intrauterine environment.”

March 2021 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

A larger brain correlates with intelligence and longevity.

"In animals in general, a larger brain is not only associated with higher intelligence, but also with greater longevity."

January 2018 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

The development of intelligence through interaction and learning

"Our intelligence develops as we grow into the world as it is, and our world includes things we learn about and people we learn from."

Generative Energy Restoring The Wholeness Of Life

Environmental influences that were ignored by the genetic reductionist school

"Although many types of experiments showed both prenatal and transgenerational influences of the environment on intelligence, body proportions and the aging rate, the genetic reductionist school ignored them and defined itself as the only scientific school of biology."

October 1990 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Potential benefits of delayed puberty from animal studies

"If we can generalize from animal studies, delaying puberty could increase brain size and longevity, improve intelligence, reduce violence, and even make people more physically attractive."

October 1990 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

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