Ray Peat on Hans Selye

Selye's Discovery of the Phases of the Adaptation System and Stress Immunization

"Hans Selye found that the adrenal glands are an essential part of our adaptation system. In the first phase of stress, a shock reaction occurs (with changes similar to those of estrogen dominance), accompanied by damage to various tissues. In the second phase, the adrenal glands protect the animal, and this protection lasts until something is exhausted. By exposing rats to preliminary stress, Selye found that he could trigger an adaptation to other, later stresses – a kind of immunization against stress."

Nutrition For Women

Hans Selye's View on Stress and Tissue Activation

"According to Hans Selye, the activation or damage of tissue is the beginning of stress. The more cells involved, the greater the stress. An injury to a leg, which is only connected by blood vessels, triggers a stress reaction in the animal; the stress signal can therefore be transmitted through the blood, even though normally nerves are also involved. Adenine nucleotides were suspected as the cause of shock (because they act as vasodilators, like many other stress products, including phosphate), but other possibilities include histamine, various polyamines, and low blood sugar."

Nutrition For Women

Selye's Stress Phases and Their Effects on Tissue

"Selye divides stress into three phases: alarm, resistance (or adaptation), and exhaustion. Three tissues usually show effects first: thymolymphatic tissue shrinks, gastrointestinal tissue becomes inflamed and bleeds, and the adrenal cortex enlarges."

Nutrition For Women

Selye's Classification of Steroids: Anti-inflammatory and Pro-inflammatory

"Selye classifies steroids into anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory. Inflammation is a relatively nonspecific and hopefully local reaction that serves to isolate the problem if it is a toxin or infection. Cortisol is a typical anti-inflammatory hormone;"

Nutrition For Women

Vitamin E Mitigates Iron-Induced Stress Arthritis in Animals

"Hans Selye sometimes used an injected metal, such as iron salts, to experimentally sensitize animals to stress and thus facilitate the development of arthritis. He found that vitamin E could counteract this effect of iron."

Nutrition For Women

Stress Affects Steroids and Causes Degenerative Diseases in the Gastrointestinal System

"Stress consumes steroids and produces the many degenerative diseases that Hans Selye described. The gastrointestinal system becomes inflamed or develops ulcers, and fibrous tissue can proliferate. The adrenal glands enlarge, and lymphoid tissue shrinks in the first stress phase (and may enlarge later)."

Nutrition For Women

The Role of Vitamin C in Preventing Heavy Metal Toxicity

"Hans Selye showed that vitamin C can prevent heavy metal toxicity (e.g., from mercury); it reduces the metal to a less toxic form and also helps dissolve and excrete it."

Nutrition For Women

Overlooked Effects of Stress on the Gut

"While the effects of stress on the gut have been known since Hans Selye described the general adaptation syndrome (with gut bleeding as an early sign of stress), this was not considered in any of the major studies on severe brain trauma or strokes."

March 2016 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Selye's Observations on Cellular Aging and Adaptation

"Hans Selye observed the reaction to a small glass tube implanted under the skin of a rat. He noticed that the tube was soon enclosed by a capsule of fibrous tissue and that the cells gradually grew along the channel of the tube as a strand from the ends. These cells were isolated from the fluids that normally surround cells, and Selye found that after a short time they took on the appearance of cells from a very old animal, while the cells of the surrounding capsule remained normal. Selye drained the fluid at intervals so that it was replaced by fresh fluid and found that the cells of this strand showed no signs of aging at the end of the rat's lifespan."

September 1995 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Estrogen's Systemic Effect and Stress Adaptation

"Around 1940, Hans Selye found that the systemic effect of estrogen mimics the shock phase of the stress reaction. In shock, inadequate blood flow and thus insufficient oxygen supply to the tissue is the main problem, and Selye considered adrenal steroids crucial to solving this problem and enabling adaptation to stress."

July 1991 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Estrogen Treatment and the Shock Phase of the Stress Reaction

"Hans Selye pointed out that estrogen treatment mimics the first, shock phase of the stress reaction. An excess of estrogen (or any other stressor) causes the pituitary to release prolactin and ACTH, and both hormones act on the ovaries to stop progesterone production,"

October 1990 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

The Protective Effects of Pregnenolone and Progesterone in Autoimmune Diseases

"Pregnenolone and progesterone, in addition to their direct protective effect on the thymus, have a vitamin A-sparing effect, and they also have that very general protective effect that Selye called katatoxic. Both hormones have been effectively used to treat various autoimmune diseases. They tend to increase body temperature and metabolic rate but are antikatabolic."

November 1989 - Ray Peat's Newsletter
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