Ray Peat on High Altitude

Connection Between High Metabolic Rate and Longevity at High Altitude

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

November 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Lifestyle Choices to Slow 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 more. Reducing pro-inflammatory factors is important, and personal choices can make a big difference, for example choosing easily digestible foods to reduce endotoxin, avoiding polyunsaturated fatty acids that disrupt cellular respiration and form pro-inflammatory prostaglandins, avoiding antioxidant supplements that create a reductive excess, and choosing foods that contain anti-inflammatory, thermogenic compounds, such as citrus fruits with their high flavonoid content that support cellular respiratory functions."

November 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Connection Between Highland Therapy and Antioxidant Activity

"The changes observed by Meerson’s group during highland therapy resemble the changes seen with supplementation of thyroid hormone and antioxidants. The lower oxygen concentration in tissues at high altitude would increase the body's antioxidant reserves and make it more resistant to stress. Similarly, reducing the intake of unsaturated fats through diet protects against oxidative stress."

Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain

Connection Between Inflammation and Disease Susceptibility

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

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Treatment of New Diseases with Medications for High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema

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

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Oxygen Supply and Activation of Glycolysis in Working Muscle

"At low altitude, 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 people 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 people who adapt, there is a steady increase in retained CO2 with increasing altitude. People who fail to adapt experience a loss of CO2, accompanied by a rise in lactate."

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Treatment of High-Altitude Pulmonary Hypertension with Calcium Channel Blockers

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

May 2020 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Treatments of 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 Connection to 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, allowing faster recovery, since it is assumed that oxidative metabolism prevents lactic acid formation. The lower oxygen availability at high altitude should actually lead to higher lactate levels 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 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 lactic acid formation. This explains the lactate paradox during physical exertion at high altitude."

December 1999 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

High Altitude and Lactic Acid Metabolism in Stress and Cancer

"Under all examined conditions, 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 moderate altitude (620 meters above sea level), ACTH in runners after a race was elevated only at the very low altitude. 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 was found that during intense physical exertion (which always causes an accumulation of lactic acid in the blood) at high altitude, there is a lower peak accumulation of lactate, and this appears to be caused by a reduction in the glycolysis rate or glucose consumption."

1997 - Ray Peat's Newsletter
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