Ray Peat on Milk

Influence of Milk on Parathyroid Hormone and Optimal Levels

Milk consumption lowers parathyroid hormone compared to diets that chronically stimulate its production. Little attention has been paid so far to the optimal level of parathyroid hormone, as opposed to the normal reference range.

September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Digestive Benefits and Protective Components of Milk

Its functions begin in the digestive system with an instructive and supportive effect that prepares the gut’s defenses against the environment. Plant substances destroyed in the rumen – tannins, lignin, and polyunsaturated fatty acids – are cumulatively toxic to the gut. Aside from the fact that milk is almost free of these substances, it contains compounds that promote the absorption of essential nutrients, or perhaps it is better to see it as providing nutrients without damaging the gut or hindering nutrient absorption.

September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Milk Consumption Associated with Lower Dementia Risk

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 Whole Milk in Polluted Environments

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

September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Environmental Influence on Physical Development

When our environment is limited and food is insufficient, 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 use). When our environment meets our needs, our brains and muscles grow. Lower leg growth (like the brain) is a good indicator of environmental support: parents who grew up in a population with stunted lower legs can have children with well-developed legs if milk is abundantly available.

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. Heart, eggs, skin (gelatin), and milk are more favorable 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

Connection 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 to acne when there is a deficiency of vitamin B6, thyroid hormone, progesterone, etc.

Nutrition For Women

Change in American Perception of the Benefits of Breast Milk

Around 1973, some Americans began to recognize that human milk is good for human babies and helps prevent diseases. 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 cavities, 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 protein component.

Nutrition For Women

Lifestyle Choices to Slow Aging and Promote Longevity

Altitude and a milk-based diet are obviously two important thermogenic factors that slow the accumulation of harmful adaptations, but there are many other controllable factors that could extend lifespan even more. Reducing inflammatory factors is important, and personal choices can make a big difference, such as choosing easily digestible foods to reduce endotoxin, avoiding polyunsaturated fatty acids 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, like citrus fruits with their high flavonoid content that support cellular respiratory functions.

November 2020 – Ray Peats Newsletter

Mitigating the Harmful Effects of Excess Serotonin

Avoiding prolonged fasting and stressful exercise that increase free fatty acids, combining sugar with proteins to keep free fatty acids low, using aspirin, niacinamide, or cyproheptadine to reduce free fatty acid formation during unavoidable stress, avoiding a phosphate excess relative to calcium in the diet, consuming milk and other anti-stress foods before bedtime or during the night, and staying in a well-lit environment during the day with regular sunlight exposure can minimize the harmful effects of excess serotonin and reduce 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 solve the problem through diet alone. A piece of fruit or a glass of juice or milk between meals, along with adequate 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

When looking at a tissue section used to diagnose ductal carcinoma in situ, I noticed that the structures resembled cross-sections of tubercles. In the 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 possible structural similarity of 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 safe energy source and also act hormonally and adaptogenically. The short-chain saturated fatty acids are important for regulating gut flora. Mechnikov’s idea of altering the flora with cultured milk was a correct approach, but much more research is needed on bacterial nutrition and toxin formation.

August–September 1992 – Ray Peats Newsletter
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Supplements according to Ray Peat

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