Ray Peat on sugar

January 29, 2026

Aerobic glycolysis and lactic acid in cancer metabolism

“Aerobic glycolysis – the metabolism typical of cancer, in which lactic acid is formed from glucose despite the presence of oxygen – is promoted by serotonin.”

September 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Substances that promote brain growth and efficient energy use

"Progesterone, glucose, or glycine converted to glucose (Zamenhof and Ahmad, 1979) increased brain growth by either increasing energy supply or improving the ability to use energy effectively."

September 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Components of milk support efficient energy use.

"Milk provides lactose, which is quickly metabolized into glucose, as well as small amounts of other substances, including progesterone and thyroid hormone, which promote their efficient use."

September 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of the liver in the conversion of thyroid hormone into active thyroid hormone

"The liver provides about 70% of our active thyroid hormone by converting thyroxine into T3, but it can only provide this active hormone if it has sufficient glucose. Frequent snacking—for example, drinking a few ounces of orange juice about every hour—keeps T3 levels up by supplying the liver with glucose."

Nutrition For Women

Environmental influences on evolution and heredity

"The accumulation of environmental aspects in our tissues—which alters the functioning of our tissues and their affinity for different substances—is a short-term counterpart to the general upward drift of evolution and has clearly known links to heredity: Hormonal influences travel in both directions via the placenta, and the mother's efficiency determines the supply of nutrients—e.g., sugars—to the fetus. Persistent changes, i.e., intergenerational environmental influences, are visible in a wide variety of organisms and organs, but in the brain—the environmental organ—these Lamarckian effects are particularly visible and particularly crucial."

Nutrition For Women

Metabolic inefficiency in the estrogen-dominated state versus the oxidative state

"Energetically, the estrogen-dominated metabolic state is less efficient than the oxidative state, which is dominated by the thyroid gland and progesterone (or testosterone). The estrogen state—like the state of learned helplessness in rats—is parasympathetic, insofar as many chemical equilibria have shifted away from the mobilized sympathetic or adrenergic state. For example, the estrogen state lowers blood sugar, while the mobilized state conserves glucose by oxidizing fat."

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Estrogen-related blood clotting and metabolic problems

"It is well known that taking estrogen can cause the blood to clot too easily. Other effects include anemia, low blood sugar, and a slow-working liver."

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Different effects of progesterone and cortisone on blood sugar, brain stability and brain aging

"Although progesterone and cortisone both increase blood sugar and stabilize lysosomes, their effects on the brain are very different: at high doses, progesterone has a sedative and numbing effect, while cortisone has a stimulating effect, and cortisone causes changes in the brain that resemble aging."

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Glucose and hormones to relieve schizophrenia symptoms

"Pfeiffer investigated the connection between porphyria and certain forms of schizophrenia, but I don't think he mentioned that a good dose of glucose or an anti-estrogenic hormone like testosterone or progesterone can make the symptoms disappear."

Nutrition For Women

The superior efficiency of oxidative metabolism compared to fermentative metabolism

"Sugar can be used for energy production with or without oxygen, but oxidative metabolism is about 15 times more efficient than non-oxidative, glycolytic, or fermentative metabolism. Higher organisms depend on this highly efficient oxidation to maintain integration and normal function."

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Tissue response to stimulation and oxygen utilization

"One response to stimulation is the production of more energy, with a proportional increase in oxygen and glucose consumption in the stimulated tissue. This results in more carbon dioxide, which dilates the blood vessels in that area, thus providing more glucose and oxygen. If the stimulation becomes destructive, efficiency is lost: oxygen is either wasted, leading to a bluish discoloration of the tissue (assuming blood flow is maintained; bluish discoloration can also indicate poor circulation), or it is not consumed, causing reddening of the tissue. If more glucose is consumed to compensate, lactic acid also dilates the blood vessels."

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Systemic effects of inflammation and fatigue on blood sugar and energy efficiency

"However, severe inflammation or profound exhaustion lowers blood sugar levels throughout the body and delivers large amounts of lactic acid to the liver. The liver synthesizes glucose from the lactic acid, but at the cost of approximately six times more energy than is obtained from this inefficient metabolism – making the organism as a whole 90 times less efficient than in its original state. Additionally, the unproductive breakdown of energy molecules (ATP or creatine phosphate) further increases this waste."

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Adrenal gland response to inflammation and stress hormones

"When the body registers inflammation or other stress (possibly by detecting changes in blood sugar, lactic acid, or carbon dioxide – or all of them together), the adrenal glands release anti-stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol (provided these glands are not exhausted or 'starved'). Both adrenaline and cortisol can raise blood sugar to meet the increased demand."

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Effects of cortisone on protein conversion and immunity

“Cortisone stimulates the conversion of protein to sugar, and since there are no stored proteins (apart from small amounts circulating in the blood), this means that cortisone begins converting the organism into fuel for the affected area. In acute emergencies, the lymphatic tissues are the first to shrink; this is fine because they can be restored once the animal recovers, and their function—immunity—is partly a matter of a longer time horizon, from days to weeks. However, if these tissues are chronically depleted by stress or malnutrition, an infection is more likely to be fatal—as is the case in the elderly or in impoverished populations.”

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Nutritional and hormonal influences on cellular respiration

"Various nutritional, hormonal, or toxic conditions disrupt respiration in different ways: For example, vitamin E deficiency, estrogen excess, a toxic thyroid, and DNP (the formerly popular, carcinogenic uncoupling agent) cause oxygen to be consumed without producing the normal amount of useful energy. A deficiency in vitamin B2 or copper can prevent oxygen consumption. Cancer (contrary to a persistent established doctrine) involves a respiratory defect and leads to a tendency toward hypoglycemia, which is often compensated for by the conversion of protein to sugar—leading to the final wasting state (cachexia)."

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Vitamin B2 deficiency and its effects on lactic acid

"Sugar waste, which leads to the formation of lactic acid, can result from a vitamin B2 deficiency, and lactic acid appears to stimulate the formation of new blood vessels."

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Stress management through dietary and environmental adjustments

"Generally, stress should first be addressed by correcting the underlying defect – which may be environmental or nutritional. Increased nutritional needs usually include protein and fat; acute hypoglycemia may require a large amount of sugar, and this suggests that the adrenal glands may be exhausted. In this case, pantothenic acid, vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium, and potassium should be supplemented in addition to other nutrients."

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Similarities between injury and exertion in energy requirements

"Injury and exertion have in common that more 'fuel' is needed. I think blood sugar levels are therefore at least helpful in understanding stress – even if other substances are involved in the signaling or coordination processes."

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Blood sugar as an integrating factor in stress

"From my own experience, I tend to believe that blood sugar is an important integrating factor and that the body can probably perceive small or rapid fluctuations that would be very difficult to detect using standard laboratory methods. For example, it is known that men in particular release adrenaline under the stress of having blood drawn, which tends to increase blood sugar concentration."

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Differences in fructose metabolism in people with high blood lipids

"Fructose does not stimulate the pancreas in the same way as glucose. It is gradually converted into glucose. However, in people with high blood lipids, it is used by liver and fatty tissue many times faster than in people with normal levels: It is as if the 'cell doors' are already open in these people – perhaps as a result of high insulin levels – and the cells absorb fructose faster than usual."

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The importance of potassium for sugar metabolism in diabetes

"Potassium is necessary for the utilization of sugar and should probably always be tried as a supplement in the diet of diabetics."

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The role of B vitamins in sugar metabolism and diabetes

"Some B vitamins (B1 and B2 and probably niacin) are said to have similar effects on the utilization of sugar. In some forms of diabetes, insulin levels are normal or high, while in others there is an insulin deficiency; both forms demonstrably respond to diet, but especially the form with high insulin levels."

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Sugar excretion in urine during stress without correlation to insulin requirements

“Stress can cause sugar to appear in the urine – as can many other conditions – and this does not require insulin treatment.”

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Effects of progesterone treatment on veins and suicidal depression

"Just as the veins on the forehead immediately shrink when a large amount of sugar is consumed during a migraine, I have seen veins (on the back of the hand) disappear under progesterone treatment – precisely at the moment when a suicidal depression resolves. This suggests that there might be a kind of migraine state in the vascular system of the brain's limbic system; at the same time, however, there are also very rapid shifts in brain chemistry."

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Effects of cancer on stress hormones and nutritional needs

"Cancer overstimulates the anti-stress hormones of the adrenal cortex and usually causes extreme wasting through the mobilization of fat and protein; blood sugar and glycogen storage are disrupted. During or after cancer treatment, a diet to prevent hypoglycemia seems advisable: frequent small meals, liver (or comparable nutrients), magnesium, and potassium. Vitamins A, E, C, and pantothenic acid are particularly important during stress, but all nutrients are necessary."

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Menopausal symptoms and progesterone deficiency

"Strickler found that only 10% of his patients with menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes actually felt and benefited from estrogen when it was given alternately with a placebo. These studies, and several dozen others, have convinced me that menopausal symptoms primarily result from a progesterone deficiency relative to estrogen. The 10% who do feel better with estrogen may have an estrogen deficiency, but this hasn't been established, and several other factors could explain the euphoria: For example, a healthy thyroid may respond to increased estrogen with increased thyroxine production—which at least makes the person feel different and may also raise blood sugar, increase alertness, and so on."

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Estrogen causes adrenal cortex hypertrophy to compensate for blood sugar levels.

"It is known that an excess of estrogen causes hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex. Since estrogen stimulates insulin secretion and lowers blood sugar, the hypertrophy could serve to compensate for this by increasing blood sugar."

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Chronic stress and low blood sugar as factors in diabetes

"Animal studies have shown that cortisone can trigger diabetes, apparently by damaging the pancreas. Furthermore, it is suspected that chronic stress (which can be triggered by low blood sugar) may be a factor in the development of diabetes."

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Influence of vitamin C on cholesterol and related nutrients

"Vitamin C has been proven to lower blood cholesterol levels. Eggs are rich in cholesterol, but also contain lecithin, which apparently makes cholesterol beneficial or at least less harmful. Niacin and vitamin E also help regulate cholesterol. High insulin levels, which result from sugar consumption, appear to play a significant role in cholesterol's ability to damage blood vessels."

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Zinc, vitamin A and the influence of blood sugar on herpes

"Zinc and vitamin A could also have an effect via blood sugar. It is well known that emotional excitement, too much time in the sun, working too long without eating, etc., can trigger a herpes outbreak (for example, cold sores); low blood sugar probably triggers the outbreak."

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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."

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Daylight and blood sugar as influencing factors on sleep

"Since blood sugar levels are normally higher during the day – due to the effect of light on various glands – some people with impaired liver function find it easier to sleep during the day."

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Warburg's findings on cancer and glucose consumption

"Warburg1 showed that all cancers have defective respiration – by which he meant that glucose is consumed too quickly. The excessive consumption of glucose despite the presence of oxygen is called aerobic glycolysis and is typical of cancer."

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Diabetes, pregnancy and fetal brain nutrition

"It's known that diabetic women typically have large babies with big heads who learn quickly. With each pregnancy, a woman tends to have a lower glucose tolerance or to appear more 'diabetic.' HCG, the hormone that helps maintain the pregnancy, raises blood sugar to meet the fetus's need for plenty of sugar. In that sense, diabetes and pregnancy have a lot in common. And as a woman ages, she is more prone to diabetes and therefore more likely to provide the fetus—especially its brain—with better nutrition. In addition to this natural tendency, a more mature woman is less likely to live on snack foods."

Nutrition For Women

Nutritional needs during pregnancy and their effects on development

"Better nutrition before and during pregnancy and breastfeeding makes a big difference for the mental and physical development of the baby. Young pregnant women should take special care to avoid low blood sugar. Older women probably need a little more vitamin E and should take extra care to ensure they do not ingest a toxic amount of copper through their water supply or cooking utensils."

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Insulin, carbohydrate cravings, and the role of pantothenic acid

"Since insulin remains elevated after excess sugar is broken down, it tends to keep blood sugar low and increase cravings for carbohydrates. Pantothenic acid helps break down insulin; this is one way it helps maintain adequate blood sugar levels."

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Maternal adaptation to the fetus's fat and glucose dependence

"During pregnancy, the mother's body adapts to increasingly rely on fat for energy so that the baby can use most of the available sugar. The brain consumes the majority of the body's glucose, so mental fatigue can easily affect blood sugar levels. The developing baby is extremely dependent on glucose for energy, and its brain can be damaged by a lack of sugar."

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Similarities between pregnancy and diabetes, and blood sugar trends

"Pregnancy itself is similar to diabetes in that it involves an adaptation to the oxidation of fat rather than sugar, so a slight tendency towards diabetes can be understood as supporting the pregnancy. Older women are more likely to have some degree of diabetes or elevated blood sugar levels. With each pregnancy, there is a tendency for blood sugar to be higher and for the baby to be larger and more developed."

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Estrogen-induced changes in nutrient requirements for stabilizing blood sugar and for a healthy pregnancy

"Vitamin E, vitamin A, and magnesium are other nutrients that help maintain blood sugar levels. Vitamin B12 is needed to utilize vitamin A. Folic acid, vitamin B6, and zinc are depleted by increased estrogen and are particularly important for a healthy pregnancy. Too much copper can lower blood sugar; too much iron can destroy vitamin E, and a vitamin E deficiency can lead to jaundice, which can affect the baby's brain."

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Central regulation of estrogen and its link to important bodily factors

"Estrogen is centrally – or rather decisively – regulated by the liver. Estrogen, progesterone, iodine, sugar and stress are closely linked."

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Changing perceptions of the benefits of breast milk in the US

"Around 1973, some Americans began to discover 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 formula made from cow's milk, sugar, and vegetable oil."

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Low blood sugar, sugar cravings and vitamin A

"Low blood sugar usually causes a strong craving for something sweet. It is known that a vitamin A deficiency leads to increased hunger – I suspect this works via the blood sugar mechanism."

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Metabolic effects of caffeine and adrenaline on the utilization of sugar and fat

"Since both caffeine and adrenaline increase the metabolic rate, fat is likely burned more quickly. Adrenaline is known to raise blood sugar – apparently by inhibiting glucose utilization and increasing fat use. Coffee normally raises blood sugar due to its adrenaline-like effect."

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Human chorionic gonadotropin in weight loss clinics: Effects on appetite and metabolism

"Many weight loss clinics use injections of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to make weight loss diets easier and potentially improve fat distribution. This hormone shifts the body's energy metabolism towards using fat instead of sugar, thus causing blood sugar levels to rise. This suppresses appetite. The hormone is produced by the placenta to make sugar available to the growing fetus."

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Amphetamines and their effects on appetite and hyperactivity

"Amphetamines mimic the action of the alarm part of the nervous system (sympathetic nervous system) and thereby increase blood sugar levels; this is presumably the mechanism (or part of it) that suppresses appetite. Low blood sugar is associated with hyperactivity, and this is probably why the same drug works for hundreds of thousands of hyperactive children who are given it to help them sit still in school; coffee also works for hyperactivity – and may also help with weight loss."

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Muscle atrophy due to stress and cortisone during training

"If a workout generates too much stress and too little actual muscle work, the muscles will atrophy because cortisone shifts the amino acid metabolism towards glucose production."

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Lactic acid as a signal for glucose production during training

"The formation of lactic acid (becoming out of breath) is the most important signal that new glucose needs to be produced. That's why aerobic exercise is the most stressful."

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Biophysical approach and individual nutritional needs

“Emphasizing the uniqueness of individual needs should be seen in the context of searching for the most general principles: This can help us recognize meaningful patterns and make things that would otherwise be banal significant. I think a biophysical approach to cytoplasm is one of the principles that helps in perceiving such patterns. Other, more specific and immediately useful ideas concern stress, the efficient or wasteful use of sugar, and the energetic ‘charge’ of cells.”

Nutrition For Women

Nutrition-induced thermogenesis and endogenous energy regulation

"Nutritional thermogenic factors include sodium, calcium, vitamin D, carbohydrates – especially sugars – and protein, which interact with our endogenous energy-regulating factors, especially thyroid hormones and progesterone."

November 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Prenatal influences on brain development and adaptability

“Experiments over the last 60 years have shown that more or less glucose, carbon dioxide, heat and progesterone during embryonic and fetal development can influence brain growth – as well as the way the brain controls later development and adaptability.”

November 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of the cholinergic system in glucose oxidation

"The cholinergic parasympathetic system tends to decrease the oxidation of glucose. Excessive activation of this system leads to shock, with extreme inhibition of respiratory metabolism; however, under normal circumstances, the activity of this system increases at night and decreases during the day."

November 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The respiratory tract: The central “main pathway” of metabolism to balance

"The field, the integrity of the organism, is maintained by an orderly respiratory metabolism and can be disrupted by mechanical trauma, excessive stimulation, toxins, etc. – or by the lack of oxygen, glucose, or substances that specifically neutralize inflammatory signals."

November 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Beyond TSH: Hypothyroidism and systemic metabolic disorders

"Due to the inefficient use of glucose in hypothyroidism, fatty acids are mobilized from the tissue, and these contribute to stress and inflammation. In autoimmune diseases, free fatty acids are consistently elevated."

November 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Thymus atrophy: Causes and supporting factors for recovery

“Factors that cause thymus atrophy include cortisol and other glucocorticoid hormones, estrogen, prostaglandins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, endotoxin, hypoglycemia, and ionizing radiation. Progesterone and thyroid hormones support thymus restoration and offer protection by counteracting all of these atrophic factors. Increasing dietary sugar may correct some of the metabolic changes of aging.”

November 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Oxygen supply and activation of glycolysis in working muscles

"At low altitudes, tissue activates the glycolytic process when its oxygen consumption exceeds the blood's ability to deliver oxygen – as in a heavily working muscle. In this process, glucose is converted into lactic acid to provide additional energy."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of maternal physiology in the regulation of the fetal environment

"The physiology of a healthy mother constantly adapts – in interaction with her environment – the intrauterine conditions: It regulates the temperature, provides oxygen and sugar, regulates the carbon dioxide level and essential nutrients, and at the same time keeps out larger toxins."

March 2021 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Adjustment problems of premature infants in new environments

"The premature infant suddenly leaving its oxygen-depleted, CO2-rich and sugar-rich environment and experiencing the extreme new environment of a hospital incubator is an extreme example of how our normal adaptive responses can become destructive when steered in the wrong direction by an unfavorable environment."

March 2021 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Oxidative metabolism to maintain protective factors after pregnancy

"In childhood and adulthood, a robust oxidative metabolism can maintain some of the essential protective factors of pregnancy, including adequate levels of glucose and carbon dioxide, good temperature regulation, and the avoidance of overproduction of superoxide and lactate. Under these conditions, cytokines can contribute to adaptation and ongoing development."

March 2021 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Heat and insulin in the prevention of inflammation

"It is the oxidation of glucose (which produces carbon dioxide) – facilitated by heat and the right amount of insulin – that can prevent inflammation."

March 2021 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Maintaining body temperature as a substitute for exercise

"Simply maintaining a high body temperature can provide these benefits of exercise (Hoekstra, et al., 2020), as long as glucose levels are maintained."

March 2021 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Cellular energy production and inflammation

"Disruption of energy production is fundamental to inflammation. When cellular stimulation increases faster than oxygen can be supplied, there is a shift towards glycolytic energy production, whereby glucose and amino acids are converted into lactic acid."

March 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Sleep-impairing effect on stress-induced catabolism

"The stress of darkness creates an inefficient catabolic state in which cortisol breaks down tissue to provide glucose, and sleep reduces this stress to some extent."

March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Lipolysis intensity and disruption of restful sleep

"The intensity of lipolysis decreases during the most restorative deep sleep, but the free fatty acids themselves tend to increase lactate and dampen glucose metabolism by blocking the oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide. This creates an inflammatory and excitatory state that disrupts deep sleep."

March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Salty snacks and better sleep quality

"Salty snacks are particularly helpful in promoting sleep – presumably because they stabilize blood sugar and lower adrenaline. Ice cream, which combines sugar, calcium and some fat that prolongs sugar absorption, is often effective in improving sleep quality."

March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The crucial role of thyroid hormone in maintaining deep sleep

"Thyroid hormone is extremely important for the ability to achieve and maintain the necessary deep sleep by promoting the oxidation of glucose and increasing ATP."

March 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The protective role of glucose for gut health during stress

"Intense or prolonged stress damages the gut, impairs its barrier function, and allows bacterial toxins – especially endotoxins – to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Glucose is the crucial factor that protects the intestinal epithelium during stress."

March 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Nitric oxide triggers a metabolic shift towards glycolysis.

"Even in the presence of oxygen, nitric oxide causes a metabolic shift towards glycolysis, wastefully producing lactate from glucose."

March 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

List of various medications and dietary supplements

"Acetazolamide, agmatine, amantadine, aminoguanidine, antibiotics (minocycline, tetracycline, etc.), antihistamines, aspirin, bromocriptine, DCA, emodin, glucagon, glucose, memantine, methylene blue, niacinamide, T3 (triiodothyronine), vitamin D, vitamin E."

March 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

How ideology distorts the understanding of stress physiology

"The ideology surrounding stress physiology, which distorts the importance of serotonin, estrogen, unsaturated fats, sugar, lactate, carbon dioxide and various other biological molecules, has hidden the simple remedies against most inflammatory and degenerative diseases."

July 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Mitigating the harmful effects of too much serotonin

"By avoiding prolonged fasting and strenuous training that increase free fatty acids, combining sugars with proteins to keep free fatty acids low, and using aspirin, niacinamide, or cyproheptadine to reduce free fatty acid production during unavoidable stress; also avoiding an excess of phosphate compared to calcium in the diet, consuming milk and other anti-stress foods before bed or at night, and being in a brightly lit environment with regular sunlight exposure during the day, one can minimize the harmful effects of too much serotonin and reduce the associated inflammation, fibrosis, and atrophy."

July 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of CO2 in the relaxation of smooth muscles and oxygen supply

"Since CO2 relaxes smooth muscle, cells that are working and consuming oxygen and glucose (and thereby producing CO2 in proportion to their activity) cause nearby blood vessels to relax and dilate. This delivers more oxygen and glucose – according to the increased demand."

July 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The link between diabetes and hypothyroidism

"Diabetes and hypothyroidism are very closely linked because the use of glucose is necessary for the activation of thyroid hormone – and this thyroid hormone in turn is necessary for the efficient use of glucose."

July 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The brain-stabilizing effect of carbon dioxide

"Since carbon dioxide has a stabilizing effect in the brain, among other things by relaxing blood vessels, a loss of carbon dioxide leads to vasoconstriction, an insufficient supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain, and consequently to a decreasing metabolic rate."

July 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The immediate effects of energy deficiency on cell health

"Energy deficiency, caused by too little glucose or oxygen, immediately leads to swelling of the cells and is accompanied by excitation; the ammonia associated with energy deficiency and excessive excitation also contributes to swelling."

July 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

How glucose deficiency affects cell metabolism

"Glucose deficiency leads to glutamine being used as fuel, which produces more ammonia. Ammonia then promotes (through an excitatory effect on the cells and through direct activation of enzymes) the glycolytic utilization of glucose. Thus, even in the presence of oxygen, lactic acid is produced, and the glucose deficiency is further maintained."

July 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of glucose in reducing cellular excitation through oxidation

"The fact that glucose can reduce excitation in other situations is probably related to an increased oxidative state."

July 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The metabolic response to a cellular crisis: a question of survival

"When cells are dangerously overstimulated, oxygen and glucose are depleted. In the absence of oxygen – or when the ability to use oxygen is blocked – glucose is converted to lactate, and when the glucose is exhausted, glutamine is converted to lactate."

July 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The influence of lactate in a reduced cell state and the inhibition of glucose oxidation

"With a limited supply of oxygen but an unlimited supply of lactate, the cell's metabolic reactions shift towards a reduced, electron-rich state. This state inhibits glucose oxidation by blocking the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase, thus promoting lactate production. These are internal processes of stressed cells that can be interrupted if the organism provides corrective factors to restore oxidation."

July 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

How sugar oxidation soothes cells – through the formation of carbon dioxide

"The cell-calming effect of sugar oxidation is probably related to a greater formation of carbon dioxide, which shifts the electronic equilibrium towards a more oxidized and coherent state."

July 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Aging, metabolic shifts and the tendency towards cancer-like metabolism

"Aging itself involves a metabolic shift towards a cancer-like metabolism, with a relative inability to reduce energy expenditure in the basal fasting state, as well as increased fat oxidation and decreased glucose oxidation."

July 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The influence of increased CO2 on the redox balance and metabolism of the cell

"When CO2 is increased, the redox balance of the cell shifts towards oxidation (Melnychuk, et al., 1977), the use of glucose for growth and fat synthesis is inhibited, and the Krebs cycle is activated (Melnychuk, et al., 1978)."

July 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Replacement of the sperm cell with simple substances

"Loeb showed that the specific biological stimulus of a sperm cell interacting with a receptor in the egg cell was not necessary to fertilize an egg cell; seawater, with added salt or sugar or urea or acid or base, was sufficient."

January 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Glucose metabolism: a direct pathway

“One of my professors, Sidney Bernhard, simply counted the molecules carefully and found that the metabolism of glucose involved a direct transfer of substrate molecules from one enzyme to the next—th”

January 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Rapid cellular effects of thyroid hormone and estrogen

"It has been observed that the active thyroid hormone increases the oxygen consumption of the cells almost immediately, and estrogen increases the uptake of sugar and water into the cells just as quickly. These changes are far too rapid to be the result of communication with the cell nucleus leading to the synthesis of new proteins."

January 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of reductive equilibrium in cell-organizing factors

"The reductive equilibrium is an important cell-organizing factor that, for example, controls the conversion of the relatively inactive estrone into the potent estradiol. (This often begins a vicious cycle of excitation, exhaustion, and degeneration, requiring the intervention of stabilizing substances such as carbon dioxide, thyroid hormone, sugar, and progesterone.)"

January 2019 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of progesterone in energy processes in the brain

"A fundamental part of progesterone's ability to protect the brain from stress is probably that it supports the energy-intensive mitochondrial oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide."

January 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Progesterone stabilizes cells and improves metabolic functions

"Besides directly stabilizing the cell's internal structures, progesterone increases ATP concentration and oxygen consumption, reduces excitatory systems and numerous inflammatory processes, lowers intracellular calcium concentration, and increases glucose utilization. This leads to increased carbon dioxide production and also adjusts respiration and pH."

January 2018 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The brain's high glucose consumption

"When a person is physically inactive, the brain consumes about 60% of the body's glucose. And because it is dependent on glucose, it is easily damaged even by short periods of low blood sugar."

January 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Extreme stress and biological adaptation: a balancing act for survival

“During adaptation, the functional load shifts to the system that can meet the new challenge. Various stimuli—from nerves and hormones—activate the cells of this responsive system, and resources such as amino acids can be drawn from less active systems to support the new level of function. The organism must precisely target its stimulating factors, and resources—including glucose stored as glycogen in the tissues—must be sufficient. If the stimulation is too strong or too widespread, and too much fat is mobilized relative to glucose, self-damaging processes can occur.”

January 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Rethinking nutrition and blood sugar control: the balance between macro- and micronutrients

"A two-day fast worsens glucose tolerance in both diabetics and healthy individuals. And when diabetic men were placed on a 75% carbohydrate diet, their glucose tolerance was better than on a 44% carbohydrate diet (Anderson, 1977). The high-carbohydrate diet improved the men's insulin sensitivity, and fasting—similar to a high-fat diet—worsens insulin sensitivity."

January 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Interrelationships in fat and carbohydrate metabolism

"When fats are oxidized instead of glucose, more oxygen is needed to produce the same amount of energy, and less carbon dioxide is produced."

January 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The biological shift towards fat: adaptation mechanisms of energy use

"The biological changes associated with the shift in energy sources from glucose to fatty acids and amino acids during stress, aging, and dementia have been termed 'deprivation syndrome'."

January 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Cortisol responds to low glycogen stores

"If there is not enough glycogen stored in the liver, muscles and other tissues to meet the brain's nighttime glucose demand, cortisol levels rise. This leads to the breakdown of tissue proteins to provide amino acids and glucose, and this nighttime stress also increases free fatty acids."

January 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Protective substances against the effects of hypoglycemia or impaired glucose oxidation

“Other substances that protect against the consequences of hypoglycemia or impaired glucose oxidation include progesterone, caffeine, certain anesthetics including xenon, niacinamide, agmatine and carbon dioxide.”

January 2017 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Nitric oxide: The double-edged sword of metabolic regulation

"Nitric oxide blocks the ability to utilize sugar, but it slows down metabolism. Therefore, it could serve to adapt the size of developing organs and enable survival when less fuel is available."