Young vs. aging brain – cholesterol"The healthy young brain contains a very large amount of cholesterol, almost entirely in the pure, non-esterified or free form – more than 99.5%, according to Orth and Bellosta (2012, cited after Bjorkhem and Meaney, 2004). The aging, degenerating brain contains an increasing amount of esterified cholesterol." – September 2018 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Nighttime activity of parathyroid hormone and calcium loss"Parathyroid hormone normally rises during the night (Radjaipour 1986; Logue 1989, 1990; Fraser 1998), and especially in old age this leads to a significant loss of calcium from the bones. Taking a large portion of the daily calcium amount before going to bed reduces the nighttime rise of PTH and the calcium loss from the bones." – September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Hair loss as an indication of metabolic problems"Hair loss should – like obesity or high blood pressure – be taken seriously as an indication of a systemic metabolic problem. The metabolism of the hair follicle contains clues about aging, tissue regeneration, and cancer." – September 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Benefits of coconut oil for thyroid and health"The easily oxidizable short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids of coconut oil provide an energy source that protects our tissues from the toxic, inhibitory effects of unsaturated fatty acids and reduces their thyroid-inhibiting effect. Animal studies over the past 60 years suggest that these effects also offer protection against cancer, heart disease, and premature aging. Other expected effects include protection against excessive blood clotting, protection of the fetal brain, protection against various stress-related problems including epilepsy, as well as some protection against sun-induced skin damage." – Nutrition For Women |
The role of estrogen in cellular renewal and responses to threats"Estrogen is the hormone of new beginnings, a kind of biochemical eraser that can delete recently stored information and restore the underlying original capacity for growth. When we are threatened – by injury or aging – we need the ability to renew cells." – Nutrition For Women |
The effect of estrogen on the production of prolactin and growth hormone"Estrogen promotes the production of prolactin, a protein hormone, and its close analog, growth hormone. Ionizing radiation, aging, and oxygen deficiency all cause biochemical changes similar to those induced by estrogen." – Nutrition For Women |
The Effects of Estrogen on Experience and Memory Formation"Excitation patterns are stabilized as knowledge and as developmental changes of tissue: growth and aging and their effects. An excess of estrogen or other factors that impair proteolysis could block the ability to experience. The difficulty in remembering dreams is probably related to this synthetic (non-proteolytic) parasympathetic dominance during sleep." – Nutrition For Women |
Nutritional Factors Related to Aging and Reproduction"Even in affluent cultures, protein deficiency, inappropriate physical activity, and emotional stress contribute to premature aging of the individual and damage to offspring." – Nutrition For Women |
Estrogen, Reproductive Aging, and Cancer Theories"This antioxidant effect of estrogen suggests a convergence of research on reproductive aging with Warburg's theory that impaired respiration is the primary defect in cancer, and also with Selye's observation that the effect of estrogen resembles the initial shock phase of the stress response." – Nutrition For Women |
Prevention of Premature Aging through Essential Nutrients"All essential nutrients are constantly needed to prevent the body's deterioration. At various times, nutrients like vitamin C, pantothenic acid, or vitamin E have been identified as methods to avoid premature aging. In our culture, many people have severe deficiencies of these nutrients, but any nutrient deficiency can cause degenerative changes." – Nutrition For Women |
Aging and Cushing's Syndrome: Fat Distribution and Vitamin E"The distribution of fat is similar in aging and Cushing's syndrome. It is known that vitamin E alters enzyme activities in a way that would balance this distribution, and this could occur in cases caused by hormonal disorders, not just pure aging." – Nutrition For Women |
Normalization of the Immune System by Testosterone and Progesterone"Some of the changes of aging are probably related to autoimmune reactions, where the body attacks itself; both testosterone and progesterone normalize the immune system and suppress autoimmune problems." – Nutrition For Women |
The Role of Vitamin E in Efficient Oxidation and Energy"In cells, vitamin E inhibits destructive and wasteful oxidation (as seen in aging and cancer) and makes the normal oxidation process more efficient, so that more usable energy is provided for a given amount of oxygen." – Nutrition For Women |
Importance of Nutrients for Mitochondrial Function and Aging"In old age, the walls of blood vessels tend to harden due to calcium. In at least some tissues, calcification is known to begin in degenerating mitochondria, and mitochondria tend to degenerate in aging tissue. Nutrients such as iodine, vitamin E, magnesium, and vitamin B2 are especially important to maintain the function of mitochondria, which produce most of our energy." – Nutrition For Women |
Potential therapeutic use of thyroxine in aging, radiation sickness, and cancer"Since aging and X-rays have some biochemical effects similar to those of estrogen, they might also antagonize thyroxine; this suggests that large doses of thyroxine could be used in senility, radiation sickness, and cancer." – Nutrition For Women |
Aging theory: accumulation of racemic molecules affects biology"An interesting theory of aging suggests that racemic molecules accumulate over time; these molecules are known to have different physical and biological properties." – Nutrition For Women |
The role of vitamin C in collagen synthesis and reversing aging processes"One of the oldest known functions of vitamin C is its role (hydroxylation) in the synthesis of collagen for connective tissue. At high concentrations, it can also depolymerize (make soluble) collagen, thereby reversing one of the key features of the aging process." – Nutrition For Women |
Adjusting vitamin E requirements based on unsaturated oil intake"Unsaturated oils can also stimulate a dangerous type of oxidation, in which they break down in a way that apparently accelerates the aging process. One of the more conservative researchers on vitamin E recently revised his estimate of the required amount of vitamin E (in A.J. Clin. Nutr., 1974): He wrote that the requirement increases from 15 mg/day to about 50 mg/day if a person consumes many unsaturated oils (fish, seeds, etc.)." – Nutrition For Women |
Chemicals for maintaining cellular energy charge and biological function"Although electronic energy is closely linked to life, there are two chemicals involved in maintaining the energy charge of cells, and this energy charge is directly related to biological function and structure. Creatine phosphate (CrP) is a type of energy reservoir for muscles, and in vitamin E deficiency, creatine leaks from the muscles. Aging also appears to be associated with deficient creatine phosphate reserves (Verzar). Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is directly involved in all forms of life functions, for example in maintaining the resting potential of nerves and muscles as well as in controlling secretion, protein retention, and the elimination of toxins." – Nutrition For Women |
Reversing aging effects through deep slow-wave sleep"Many of the changes caused by daily stresses are reversed during deep slow-wave sleep. The amount of slow-wave sleep decreases with age. A few animal studies have found that artificially extended sleep times reversed some of the major problems of aging. Progesterone can increase the amount of slow-wave sleep, presumably due to its effect on body temperature." – November 2020 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Reduced functionality and structural changes in aging"With aging, reduced functionality of the organism and structural changes go hand in hand." – November 2018 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Aging skin, progesterone, and vitamin D"It has been known for several decades that the production of progesterone and DHEA steadily decreases with age, and in recent years it has been found that aged skin produces only half as much vitamin D upon sun exposure as young skin. Old skin contains about half as much cholesterol as young skin, so it is not surprising that the substances derived from it are reduced." – November 2018 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Cholesterol content of aging skin and its appearance"The characteristic cloudiness of aged skin is the result of a buildup of layers of dead cells on the surface. While the vital underlying skin cells contain significantly less cholesterol than normal, the inactive cells contain an increased amount of cholesterol sulfate. When the free cholesterol content in the skin is experimentally increased, the skin regains its ability to shed the dead surface cells. When it is experimentally decreased, such as by a statin, the skin takes on the structure and appearance of aged skin. Aging seems to be a state of cholesterol deficiency." – November 2018 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Excitatory signal transmission and brain cholesterol"Excitatory signal transmission appears to contribute to the loss of cholesterol in the brain during aging; the amount of cholesterol in synapses decreases with age (Sodero et al., 2011). Although excitatory (glutamatergic) stimulation lowers brain cholesterol, environmental enrichment (meaningful experience) increases it (Levi et al., 2005) and also reverses the age-related decline of cholesterol-derived neurosteroids." – November 2018 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Methods to Reduce the Formation of Cholesterol Esters"In addition to eliminating polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 and n-6) from the diet to reduce the formation of cholesterol esters and decrease the age-related decline in cholesterol synthesis, supplementation with progesterone is one way to reduce ester formation (Synouri-Vrettakou and Mitropoulos, 1983; Miller and Melnykovych, 1984; Jeng and Klem, 1984; Mulas et al., 2011; Anchisi et al., 2012). Lidocaine is another inhibitor of cholesterol ester formation (Bell, 1981; Bell et al., 1982), which is probably useful in some degenerative conditions." – November 2018 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Urgency to Reembrace Holism to Explain Developmental Processes"The holistic view of the organism and its adaptive potentials, as advocated by Hippocrates and Aristotle, was rejected by the new science of recent centuries. Regaining and creatively using this perspective has become urgent if we want to understand developmental processes, including aging and degenerative diseases." – November 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Iron Accumulation: Stress, Aging, and Oxidative Damage"The accumulation of iron in tissues during stress and aging makes them increasingly vulnerable to serious damage during periods of oxygen deficiency, as iron atoms catalyze reactions such as lipid peroxidation." – November 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
The Role of Heme Oxygenase in Progressive Phenotypic Improvement"The actual function of heme oxygenase is to support a progressive improvement of the organism's phenotype – instead of aging, inflammation, fibrosis, and cancer, which today are the ultimate results of its activity. Heme oxygenase and the enzymes that produce NO, HCN, and H₂S might simply require guidance through the response of an organism to an enriched environment." – November 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Thymus Gland Atrophy: Causes and Restorative Factors"Factors that cause atrophy of the thymus gland include cortisol and other glucocorticoid hormones, estrogen, prostaglandins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, endotoxin, hypoglycemia, and ionizing radiation. Progesterone and thyroid hormone support the restoration of the thymus gland and provide protection by counteracting all these atrophy factors. Increasing sugar content in the diet can correct some of the metabolic changes of aging." – November 2016 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Estrogen, serotonin, and manipulation by pharmaceutical companies"The manipulation of information about estrogen by pharmaceutical companies was even more extreme than their handling of serotonin. Activated under stress – along with serotonin – it is one of the main activators of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which activates the pituitary gland and adrenal glands, promotes inflammation, and is a key factor in PPD (Glynn and Sandman, 2014; Hahn-Holbrook, 2016), as well as in other forms of depression, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease." – May 2019 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
The effects of pregnancy on women’s brain structure"In women, MRI scans (Hoekzema et al., 2017) show that the brain’s gray matter shrinks significantly during pregnancy, similar to changes seen in advanced age, and in some women, these changes persisted even after two years. However, another study found a very rapid restoration of brain structure in the second month after birth. In these healthy women, the brain’s restoration over this two-month period corresponded to a rejuvenation of five years (Luders et al., 2018)." – May 2019 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Stress, metabolic energy, and system integration"The stimulation of CRH production by histamine, serotonin, endorphins, IL-1, nitric oxide, and/or estrogen leads in a healthy state to the activation of complex and appropriate anti-stress responses. However, if stress is very intense or prolonged, or if nutrition has been inadequate, all activating signals – including CRH itself and the anti-stress glucocorticoids – can produce effects that are not integrated into the organism’s functions while it copes with its problems. These effects generate symptoms and eventually lead to degenerative processes and aging. This failure of integration is almost always the result of insufficient metabolic energy." – May 2019 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Nutritional and age-related factors in chronic inflammation"Poor nutrition, aging, and other stresses weaken our anti-inflammatory defenses and lead to chronic systemic inflammation." – March 2021 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Connection between chronic inflammation, aging, and degeneration"A prolonged exposure to environmental conditions far from the ideal conditions of a healthy pregnancy leads to a systemic inflammatory state, and this chronic inflammation causes the degenerative processes of aging, associated with a failure of tissue renewal processes." – March 2021 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Stem Cell Exhaustion and Senescence in Aging Tissues“The loss of stem cells and the accumulation of senescent cells, which should have been replaced from the stem cell pool, are a general feature of aging, even though tissues differ in the rate of stem cell loss according to their specific stresses.” – March 2021 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Aging and PUFA Accumulation Increase Prostaglandin Production“As polyunsaturated fatty acids accumulate more and more in our tissues with aging, prostaglandin production increases, and the balance becomes less fully restorable.” – March 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Decline of Testosterone and Rise of Estrogen Due to Stress“In men, testosterone decreases due to stress and aging, and its conversion to estrogen is increased by stress and inflammation. Endotoxin specifically increases the conversion of testosterone to estrogen.” – March 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Age-Related Changes in the Brain, Amplified by Estrogen“With aging, iron and polyunsaturated fatty acids accumulate in the brain. Estrogen slows the removal of dopamine, increasing its potential to react toxically with iron and highly unsaturated fatty acids, especially arachidonic acid and DHA; it also tends to increase the formation of prostaglandins and nitric oxide. Progesterone’s opposite effects likely explain the lower incidence of Parkinson’s disease in women compared to men.” – March 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Questioning the Theory of Antioxidant Protection“The enzyme that breaks down superoxide – superoxide dismutase (SOD) – is sold as a dietary supplement, following the cultural narrative that aging is caused by oxidative stress and that antioxidants protect. This view is increasingly questioned as a reductive cellular state is recognized as a common factor in shock, stress, and degeneration.” – July 2019 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Information Loss as a Theory of Aging and Death“The replacement of energy by information, the abstraction of the world, led to theories that aging and death of organisms result from the inevitable, entropic loss of information – the damage to DNA by somatic mutations caused by oxidative damage – as well as to a theory about the fate of the universe as entropic heat death.” – July 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Aging, Metabolic Changes, and the Tendency Toward Cancer-Like Metabolism"Aging itself involves a metabolic shift toward cancer metabolism, with a relative inability to reduce energy consumption in the basal fasting state, along with increased fatty acid oxidation and decreased glucose oxidation." – July 2016 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Obstacles to understanding central biological concepts"Some of the best-known concepts in biology – including genes, membranes, and receptors – have hindered and continue to hinder the understanding of aging, cancer, stress, shock, epilepsy, regeneration, perception, and thinking." – January 2019 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Research on extending development and health"The possibility to extend the developmental phase, delay or eliminate aging, and restore normal differentiation in cancerous tissue arose from the work of experimental embryologists who recognized the importance of studying the physicochemical properties of the living substance itself." – January 2019 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
The biological shift toward fat: Adaptive mechanisms of energy utilization"The biological changes associated with the shift of fuels from glucose to fatty acids and amino acids during stress, aging, and dementia have been called the deprivation syndrome." – January 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Aging increases fatty acids in the brain"With aging, the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids increases, and part of the arachidonic acid is incorporated into the brain. Especially during the night, the highly unsaturated fatty acids enhance excitatory processes, including the formation of prostaglandins and other pro-inflammatory compounds." – January 2017 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Factors disrupting the balance of respiratory enzyme and PUFA"Vitamin E deficiency or an excess of PUFA, caused by ionizing radiation, oxygen deficiency, or aging. All these conditions involve impairment or reduced activity of the crucial respiratory enzyme cytochrome-c oxidase." – January 2016 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Identification of reductive stress through metabolic ratios"With aging and during stress, the metabolism of animals shifts toward reduction, with a higher ratio of lactate to pyruvate, of NADH to NAD, of ascorbate to dehydroascorbate, etc. – a state of reductive stress." – January 2016 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Age-related muscle loss, fat gain, and reduced insulin sensitivity"Some of the obvious changes of aging, such as the loss of muscle mass (Martinez-Moreno et al., 2007), the increase in body fat (Bahadoran et al., 2015), and the reduced sensitivity to insulin (Ropelle et al., 2013), are caused by increased nitric oxide." – January 2016 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Restoration of energy by inhibiting energy-limiting systems“During aging and many stress-related conditions, it can be therapeutically useful to use substances that block our energy-limiting systems to allow the restoration of full energy production.“ – January 2016 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Reversal of skin aging by steroids and restoration of hair growth“People who studied the effects of steroids on aging skin found that the steroids that reversed the structural age changes of the skin (progesterone, testosterone, pregnenolone) sometimes restored hair growth.“ – Generative Energy: Restoring The Wholeness Of Life |
Oxygen, iron, and their roles in aging and tissue degradation“I think that oxygen waste is a central event in the aging process. Just as a cut potato needs oxygen to form melanin, so do our tissues. Iron tends to accumulate in our tissues with age, and iron seems to be a factor in the waste of oxygen (especially in age pigment).“ – Generative Energy: Restoring The Wholeness Of Life |
Analysis of the paradoxical properties of older blood“Two clear differences were found between old and young blood. The albumin in old blood is in a more oxidized state. (I believe it was the well-known gerontologist Verzar who first reported this.) Although the blood – at least in aging humans – contains much less oxygen, something causes the albumin in older blood to be more oxidized. The other striking feature of older blood also seems paradoxical at first glance: The red blood cells are younger. That means, in an old person, the red blood cells are more fragile – possibly because they are damaged faster by oxidation – and are replaced earlier; on average, they are therefore many weeks younger than the cells of a healthy young person. None of these features is paradoxically truly paradoxical. Poor oxygen supply is a stressor and causes a waste of glucose as well as a compensatory mobilization of fat from the stores. The relatively reducing environment in the cytoplasm leads to the mobilization of iron from the stores – in its toxic reduced (ferro-) form. Products of the peroxidative interaction of iron with unsaturated fatty acids are detectable in the blood (and other tissues) during stress, especially pronounced in older animals.“ – Generative Energy: Restoring The Wholeness Of Life |
Dietary restriction and protein metabolism in aging"One of the fundamental metabolic changes in aging is the slowing of the protein turnover rate in cells, and it seems that dietary restriction increases the protein turnover rate in aging animals. I consider it likely that both unsaturated fatty acids and the amino acid cysteine contribute to the age-related slowing of protein metabolism." – Generative Energy: Restoring The Wholeness Of Life |
Denckla's theory of a death hormone of the pituitary gland in the aging process"W. Donner Denckla proposed that there is a death hormone in the pituitary gland that appears at puberty and initiates the aging process by suppressing oxygen use. He claimed that simply administering a thyroid hormone would not protect against it and that it is an independent hormone, even though it seemed to appear in tissue extracts in connection with prolactin and growth hormone. Although I think there is still much to learn about pituitary hormones, I do not believe Denckla discovered anything other than puberty." – Generative Energy: Restoring The Wholeness Of Life |
Characteristic skeletal changes and stress hormones in aging"The skeletal changes (shrinkage, curvature of the back, forward displacement of the lower jaw) that are so typical of old age in humans also occur in other animals with age and under the influence of stress hormones." – Generative Energy: Restoring The Wholeness Of Life |
Aging and the role of estrogen in the availability of reactive electrons"In my experiments, I found that both aging and estrogen stimulation caused a strong increase in the availability of reactive electrons, which I measured by their reaction with a dye. These electrons come from an interactive system that includes proteins (cysteine) and glutathione as well as various cofactor catalysts like ascorbic acid and NADH." – 2001 – February |
Metabolic impairment from intense training due to the effect of lactic acid"Intense training damages cells in a way that cumulatively impairs metabolism. There is clear evidence that glycolysis, where lactic acid is produced from glucose, has toxic effects that suppress respiration and kill cells. Within five minutes, physical exertion lowers the activity of enzymes that oxidize glucose. Diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and general aging involve increased production of lactic acid as well as accumulated metabolic (mitochondrial) damage." – 2000 – July |
Exercise increases free fatty acids and lactate in the blood"Physical exertion increases – like aging, obesity, and diabetes – the concentrations of circulating free fatty acids and lactate. But ordinary, integrated physical activity activates body systems in an organized way and increases carbon dioxide and blood flow." - 2000 - July |
Mitochondrial metabolism as a central problem in aging and disease"Mitochondrial metabolism is now considered the fundamental problem in aging and several degenerative diseases." – 2000 – July |
DNA repair and cellular regeneration of the skin after sun exposure"In ordinary nuclear chromosomal genes, DNA repair is well known. The other type of repair, where non-mutated cells replace genetically damaged cells, has often been observed in facial skin: During intense sun exposure, mutated cells accumulate; but after a period without damaging radiation, the skin consists again of healthy young cells. Just as one can see the skin recover from genetic damage previously considered permanent and cumulative – simply by avoiding the damaging factor – mitochondrial aging is also beginning to be seen as both avoidable and repairable." – 2000 – July |
Accumulation of iron and calcium in aging and under stress"Iron and calcium tend to accumulate with aging or under stress, and both promote excitation-related damage; bicarbonate helps keep iron in its inactive state and probably has a similar effect against a wide range of excitatory substances." – 1999 – December – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Imperfection and adaptability of organisms under stress conditions"Shock, inflammation, aging, and death have been proposed as survival-promoting due to this totalitarian genetic viewpoint. Could it not be that organisms are simply not perfect and that some things just systematically go wrong? That is: An organism has a certain strength, resilience, or adaptability, but when it finds itself in conditions that are too difficult, processes can arise that never offered any survival advantage, as several otherwise sensible defense maneuvers begin to interfere with each other." – 1998 – Ray Peats Newsletter – 4 |
Misconceptions about cellular mechanics lead to ineffective treatments"The inadequacy of the mental image of a cell with pumps and motors leads to shock being treated with things that cause shock, heart failure with things that cause heart failure, and aging with things that accelerate aging." – 1998 – Ray Peats Newsletter – 4 |
Inhibition of Connective Tissue Aging by Carbon Dioxide“With age, connective tissue hardens due to chemical cross-linking of large molecules. When amino groups are well saturated with carbon dioxide, this type of reaction should be inhibited.” – 1998 – Ray Peats Newsletter – 3 |
The Role of Inflammation in Aging and Degenerative Diseases“What we call inflammation provides a good conceptual link between studies on excitotoxicity or cellular stress and newer approaches to treating aging and degenerative diseases based on ideas of regeneration and development. Controlling inflammation becomes a part of promoting regeneration.” – 1998 – Ray Peats Newsletter – 2 |
The Decline of Testosterone with Age and Hormonal Changes“Since the time of Brown-Séquard and Eugen Steinach, it has been generally accepted that declining testicular function is a typical feature of aging, and testosterone was probably the first hormone whose consistent decrease with age was clearly established.” – 1998 – May – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Decline of Thyroid Hormone T3 and Aging Effects“The active thyroid hormone T3 decreases with age, and this necessarily reduces the production of pregnenolone and progesterone.” – 1998 – May – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Increase of the Estrogen/Antiestrogen Ratio in Older Men and Women“In aging women and men, when breast and prostate atrophy, their estrogen/antiestrogen ratio increases.” – 1998 – May – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Decrease of Progesterone and Pregnenolone in Aging Men“Progesterone and pregnenolone also decrease in aging men.” – 1998 – May – Ray Peats Newsletter |
The Similarity of Estrogen and Aging in Cellular Calcium Uptake“Oxygen deficiency causes tissues to retain calcium (and iron), as well as estrogen in many cases, since it – similar to the aging process – promotes cellular calcium uptake. Because porphyrins strongly bind metals, it has been suggested that they may play a role in mediating metal deposition in stressed tissues.” – 1997 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Lactic Acid as an Indicator of Respiratory Deficiency“In general, lactic acid in the blood can be seen as a sign of faulty respiration, as the breakdown of glucose to lactic acid increases to compensate for insufficient oxidative energy production. Normal aging seems to involve a tendency toward excessive lactic acid production, and it is known that age pigment activates this process.” – 1997 – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Carrel's Theory: Changes in Body Fluids During the Aging Process"Carrel's work with tissue cultures led him to believe that changes in the body's fluids are an essential part of the aging process. Extracts from animal embryos were medically used to treat older people due to their confirmed effect on cell function." – 1995 – September – Ray Peat's Newsletter |
Progesterone deficiency in aging and stress-related infertility"It is now proven that aging animals, at the time they become infertile, have a progesterone deficiency but continue to produce estrogen. Even in young individuals, stress around the time of ovulation prevents implantation by impairing progesterone production. If progesterone is deficient after embryo implantation, miscarriage occurs." – 1995 – August/September – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Reproductive aging, hypothalamic regulation, and hormonal support"About 30 years ago, researchers began to understand that reproductive aging is not caused by a lack of eggs and that the aged uterus can support a pregnancy if it receives the proper hormonal support. Interest turned to the brain cells in the hypothalamus that regulate the pituitary." – 1995 – August/September – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Stress, estrogen, and the role of the brain in menopause and aging"Stress, especially when amplified by estrogen, leads to damage, exhaustion, and aging. The uterus and ovaries participate in the stress response, but – as Zeilmaker and Wise have shown – the brain is more directly involved in menopause than the ovaries or uterus. Coordination proves crucial for complex processes like ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. The destruction of the nerve cells that regulate the pituitary makes this coordination impossible." – 1995 – August/September – Ray Peats Newsletter |
The role of gonadotropins in the function of the ovary and brain during the aging process"Gonadotropins are involved in the development, maintenance, and function of the ovaries, and their effects depend on their timing, their balance with each other, as well as with the steroids produced by the ovaries in response to their stimulation. Their effects are also modified by many other factors – ovarian, nervous, pituitary, uterine, and immunological. In youth, this system functions in a coordinated manner, resulting in ovulation. However, with age, the key changes seem to be a reduced ability of the ovary and brain to produce progesterone." – 1995 – August/September – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Current Studies on Reperfusion Injury and Aging Factors"Reperfusion injury, any stress causing oxygen deprivation and an excessively reduced (electron-rich) cellular state, the significance of lipid peroxidation and iron in the aging process, as well as the role of iron in damaging steroid synthesis in steroidogenic tissues, have recently been important research areas." – 1994 – June – Ray Peats Newsletter |
The Heart as an Indicator of Stress Resistance and Longevity"The heart gives us some clues about our overall resilience to stress, aging, disease, and death. The heart and brain are the most stress-resistant organs, and while moderate stress and malnutrition can cause the skin and thymus gland to lose more than 90% of their substance, only the most prolonged and intense strains can cause the heart and brain to lose more than a quarter of their substance." – 1992 – June – Ray Peats Newsletter |
The Heart's Stress Resistance and Its Glucocorticoid Resistance"The many ways in which the heart is able to resist stress and even benefit from it can be generalized to develop methods to protect other organs and the entire body from the chronic and cumulative strains that lead to general atrophy, loss of function, and aging. During stress, the heart and other working organs become resistant to glucocorticoid hormones. When a person is given radioactive testosterone, it can be seen that it reaches the highest concentration in the heart. It is the anti-glucocorticoid effect of testosterone that causes it to enlarge skeletal muscles during moderate exercise." – 1992 – June – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Heart Protection from Stress and General Aging"When reflecting on Meerson's achievements in protecting the heart from stress, it is important to remember that the heart is our most stress-resistant organ and that the things that protect the heart from fatal stress also protect other organs from the everyday strains that accumulate and cause the problems of general aging. Liver, lungs, pancreas, and other vital organs are exposed to the same types of damage as the heart – but under relatively mild and ordinary conditions." – 1992 – June – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Oxygen Deficiency in Aging and Estrogen Excess"The regularity with which oxygen becomes deficient in aging, under stress, and with estrogen excess suggests that a fundamental coordination mechanism may be involved, shifting toward conditions that activate the expression of certain genes—possibly the hypoglycemia-stress-heat shock proteins or perhaps simply the proteins of cell division and growth." – 1992 – June – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Mechnikov's theories on aging, phagocytes, and bacterial toxins"Although Mechnikov believed that phagocytes were responsible for the atrophy of aging, he also thought that bacterial toxins from the gut dominated the aging process." – 1992 – August/September – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Age-related decline of brain-stabilizing hormones"With aging, pregnenolone and its derivatives, progesterone and DHEA, decline sharply. The brain, the organ with the highest concentration of these stabilizing substances, has many systems to adapt to their decreasing concentration, but the immune system probably compensates less well for these age-related changes." – 1992 – August/September – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Effect of thyroid hormone on sleep, cramps, and anxiety"Many people consider thyroid hormone a kind of stimulant because it can cure the coma or lethargy of myxedema, but that is a highly misleading notion. In hypothyroidism, the brain-stimulating hormones adrenaline, estrogen, and cortisol are usually elevated, and the nerve-muscle-relaxing magnesium is low. Normal, deep sleep is rare in a hypothyroid person. The correct dose of triiodothyronine (the active thyroid hormone) along with magnesium is a reliable treatment for insomnia, cramps, and anxiety—regardless of whether these symptoms are caused by exhaustion, aging, or alcohol withdrawal." – 1991 – June – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Osmotic adaptation of salmon and accelerating aging hormones"Another fish species, the salmon, which returns to freshwater to reproduce, shows the other extreme of adaptation to an osmotic problem. After living isotonically in the hypertonic ocean environment and keeping its mineral content and osmolarity below that of seawater, it must suddenly adapt to the extremely hypotonic freshwater. The secretion of prolactin and glucocorticoid steroids seems to facilitate this sudden adaptation, but these hormones also appear to cause an explosively rapid form of aging. I think their condition resembles the Cushing-like symptoms often seen in middle-aged humans." – 1991 – July – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Linking stress hormones and aging through light research"Having already spent several years studying the effects of light on hormones and health, I began to realize that the existing knowledge about the involvement of stress and glucocorticoid hormones in the aging process fit perfectly with my concept of winter disease." – 1991 – January – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Biochemical parallels between aging and estrogen dominance"There are a large number of biochemical similarities between aging and the state of estrogen dominance – and no recognizable biochemical differences between these states, apart from their history. For example, in both states the oxygen tension is relatively low, and as a result, unsaturated lipids are rapidly converted by lipid peroxidation into aging pigment or lipofuscin." – 1991 – January – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Activated charcoal in the diet extends the lifespan of mice"Gerontologist V. V. Frolkis recently found that mice lived 43% longer than animals on a standard diet when activated charcoal was regularly added to their food. This is the clearest indication I have seen that gut toxins make a significant contribution to the aging process." – 1991 – February/March – Ray Peats Newsletter (1) |
Gut toxins in the aging process: A late-acting, accelerating factor"While Bogomoletz and Metchnikov considered gut toxins as the factor driving the aging process, I see gut toxins more as a comparatively late-acting factor that accelerates a process arising for other reasons. Once our detoxification mechanisms begin to fail, gut toxins pass through the gut with relative ease and rapidly destroy the remaining defense and detoxification systems." – 1991 – February/March – Ray Peats Newsletter (1) |
Aging, hormonal changes, and the balance of gut flora"The altered hormonal environment and weakened digestion of an aging organism create a new balance between the animal and the gut flora, which sometimes allows the proliferation of more toxic flora." – 1991 – February/March – Ray Peats Newsletter (1) |
Estrogen's toxic effects on the brain and aging"Too rapid clotting is just one of the problems that can be caused by an excess of estrogen, and I don't want to give it too much weight, as I consider its toxic effects on the brain and its acceleration of brain aging to be its worst impacts." – 1991 – April – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Environmental influences ignored by the genetically reductionist school"Although many types of experiments showed both prenatal and transgenerational environmental influences on intelligence, body proportions, and the rate of aging, the genetic-reductionist school ignored these and defined itself as the only scientific school of biology." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Vitamin E extends fertility in aging hamsters"Professor Soderwall and his students at the University of Oregon had shown that the corpora lutea (areas in the ovary that mainly produce progesterone) apparently fail in aging hamsters and that vitamin E supplements could significantly extend fertility." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Progesterone's role in pregnancy and anti-aging"The effect of progesterone in pregnancy is to ensure the availability of oxygen and nutrients to the embryo, but it also has the general effect of inhibiting the formation of lipofuscin and other signs of aging by improving metabolic efficiency." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Estrogen's role in the aging process contradicts pharmaceutical claims"The idea that the influence of estrogen seems to increase with age and even contributes to the aging process contradicted the doctrine promoted by the pharmaceutical industry." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Cumulative factors in aging and adaptability"The idea that many factors act in the same direction and tend to have a cumulative effect seemed to me to have general biological significance. It seemed part of the answer to the question of what is lost or accumulates during aging and explains the decreasing ability to adapt to a changing environment." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Administering cortisol produces aging-like symptoms in organ systems"The main features of aging can be directly induced by administering excessive amounts of cortisol. These features include atrophy of skin, arteries, muscles, bones, immune system, and parts of the brain, loss of pigment (melanin), fat deposition in certain areas, as well as slowed nerve conduction velocity." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Overlapping physiology of aging and stress"The physiology of aging (especially reproductive aging) overlaps with the physiology of stress." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
Puberty as a trigger of aging mechanisms"Many studies have shown that puberty apparently triggers the aging mechanism, and the idea of a 'death hormone' localized in the pituitary gland has been proposed." – 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter |
