Ray Peat on milk

Influence of milk on parathyroid hormone and optimal values

Milk consumption lowers parathyroid hormone levels compared to diets that chronically stimulate its production. The optimal level of parathyroid hormone has received little attention to date, unlike the normal reference range.

September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Digestive benefits and protective components of milk

Their functions begin in the digestive system with an educational and supportive effect, preparing the gut's defenses against the environment. Plant substances that are broken down in the rumen—tannins, lignin, and polyunsaturated fatty acids—are cumulatively toxic to the gut. Besides being almost free of these substances, milk contains compounds that promote the absorption of essential nutrients; perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it provides nutrients without harming the gut or hindering nutrient absorption.

September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Milk consumption is associated with a lower risk of dementia.

Several studies show that milk consumption protects against dementia or mild cognitive impairment (Kliem and Givens, 2011; Crichton, et al., 2010; Chan, et al., 2013; Ahmadian-Attari, et al., 2014; Ozawa, et al., 2014).

September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Safety of low-fat milk compared to full-fat milk in contaminated environments

When animals are exposed to pollution, their fats accumulate fat-soluble toxins such as DDT and dioxins. In such situations, low-fat milk is safer than full-fat milk or cheese. However, milk fat generally contains fewer toxins than body fat and fatty meats.

September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Environmental influences on physical development

When our environment is limited and food is scarce, we can adapt, for example, by replacing muscle with fat and babies being born with smaller brains (the brain is an energy-intensive organ, although its efficiency increases with its energy expenditure). When our environment meets our needs, our brains and muscles grow. Lower leg growth (like brain growth) is a good indicator of environmental support: parents who grew up in a population with stunted lower legs may have children with well-developed legs if milk is plentiful.

Nutrition For Women

Dietary influence on thyroid function and food comparisons

When we eat large amounts of muscle meat or liver, the high concentration of cysteine ​​suppresses the thyroid gland. Heart, eggs, skin (gelatin), and milk are more beneficial for the thyroid. Other thyroid-suppressing foods include peanuts, soybeans, raw cabbage, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, unsaturated oils (such as safflower, corn, cottonseed, and soybean oil), and an excess of iodine.

Nutrition For Women

Benefits of honey and milk for liver glycogen

Two or three tablespoons of honey in a glass of milk provide some magnesium as well as sugar to increase the liver's stored glycogen.

Nutrition For Women

Relationship between tryptophan, serotonin, prolactin and acne

Since tryptophan promotes the formation of serotonin, which stimulates the release of prolactin, and prolactin in turn activates the skin's sebum production, large amounts of milk can promote a tendency towards acne in the presence of a deficiency in vitamin B6, thyroid hormone, progesterone, etc.

Nutrition For Women

Changing American perceptions of the benefits of breast milk

Around 1973, some Americans began to realize that human milk is good for human babies and helps prevent disease. It will no longer be so easy to convince American women that the best nutrition for their babies consists of infant formula made from cow's milk, sugar, and vegetable oil.

Nutrition For Women

Early exposure to non-human milk and the development of allergies

Since food proteins can enter the bloodstream, early feeding with non-human milk seems most likely to promote the development of allergies.

Nutrition For Women

Milk improves the calcium-phosphorus ratio, but provides too little magnesium.

Consuming large amounts of milk improves the calcium to phosphorus ratio, but does not provide enough magnesium to prevent tooth decay, heart problems, and cramps.

Nutrition For Women

Heat treatment and its effects on protein quality

Heat breaks down proteins. Canned or powdered milk has lost significant amounts of lysine, an important component of protein.

Nutrition For Women

Lifestyle choices to slow down aging and promote longevity

Altitude and a dairy-based diet are clearly two important thermogenic factors that slow the accumulation of harmful adaptations, but there are many other controllable factors that could extend lifespan even further. Reducing 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 inflammatory prostaglandins, avoiding antioxidant supplements that create a reductive excess, and selecting foods with anti-inflammatory and thermogenic compounds, such as citrus fruits with their high flavonoid content, which supports cellular respiratory function.

November 2020 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Mitigation of the harmful effects of excess serotonin

Avoiding prolonged fasting and stressful training, which increase free fatty acids; combining sugars with proteins to keep free fatty acids low; using aspirin, niacinamide, or cyproheptadine to reduce the formation of free fatty acids during unavoidable stress; avoiding an excess of phosphate relative to calcium in the diet; consuming milk and other anti-stress foods before bed or during the night; and staying in a brightly lit environment during the day with regular sunlight exposure can minimize the harmful effects of excess serotonin and reduce the associated inflammation, fibrosis, and atrophy.

July 2019 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Defense mechanisms against nitric oxide: The nutritional approach

Key defense mechanisms against nitric oxide include progesterone, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin A, niacinamide, coffee, aspirin, and foods containing flavonoids, terpenoids, polyphenols, and sterols. Milk from grass-fed animals contains a variety of polyphenols. Citrus fruits, many tropical fruits (e.g., guavas, longans, and lychees), and cooked mushrooms are good sources of apigenin, naringenin, and related substances.

January 2016 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Dietary alternatives before considering Cytomel supplementation

Before using a Cytomel (T3) supplement, it may be possible to resolve the problem through diet alone. A piece of fruit or a glass of juice or milk between meals, along with sufficient intake of animal protein (or potato protein) in the diet, is sometimes enough for the liver to produce the hormone.

Generative Energy: Restoring the Wholeness of Life

Tuberculosis and cancer: Structural similarities in tissue

While examining a tissue section used to diagnose ductal carcinoma in situ, I noticed that the structures resembled cross-sections of tubercles. In mammary glands, the fatty residues from milk secretions should be able to stimulate cell division. The fats produced by the tuberculosis bacillus stimulate the cellular response that creates the tubercle structure. Since a tuberculous breast roughly resembles a cancerous breast, it is important to consider the potential structural similarity between the two diseases under the microscope.

September 1995 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Benefits of short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids

Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids provide a reliable energy source and also have hormone-like and adaptogenic effects. Short-chain saturated fatty acids are important for regulating the gut microbiota. Mechnikow's idea of ​​modifying the microbiota with cultured milk was a promising approach, but much more research is needed on bacterial nutrition and toxin production.

August-September 1992 – Ray Peats Newsletter

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Supplements according to Ray Peat

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