Ray Peat on Protective Inhibition

The opposing dynamics between estrogen and progesterone and their biochemical interactions

"This polar opposition of estrogen and progesterone also includes the polar antagonism of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP and, to some extent, an associated antagonism of various prostaglandins (it has been suggested that different populations of lysosomes are involved, but I suspect it relates to the superoxide dismutase enzyme system and its inhibition or activation, as one of my tests for determining estrogen effect turns out to be an inverse indicator of S.O.D. activity)."

Nutrition For Women

Psychoactive substances and their effects on chronic diseases

"During LSD research, it was observed that people with chronic headaches, asthma, or psoriasis sometimes fully recovered during treatment with frequent LSD doses. Another ergot-derived alkaloid, bromocriptine, is now used to suppress lactation (such as that caused by a prolactin-secreting pituitary tumor that can develop after taking oral contraceptives) and is experimentally used to treat Parkinson's disease. Both LSD and bromocriptine shift the balance of two brain chemicals, DOPA and serotonin, toward DOPA dominance. Effects include inhibition of prolactin release. Excess prolactin is involved in breast cancer and other forms of cell proliferation, presumably also in the rapid cell division seen in psoriasis."

Nutrition For Women

Metabolic interactions of caffeine and adrenaline on the use of sugar and fat

"Since both caffeine and adrenaline increase the metabolic rate, fat is likely consumed faster. Adrenaline is known to raise blood sugar, apparently by inhibiting glucose utilization and increasing fat usage. Coffee usually raises blood sugar through its adrenaline-like effect."

Nutrition For Women

The influence of vitamin C on tyrosine metabolism and adrenaline levels in tissue

"Tyrosine metabolism, which is involved in brain function, is sensitive to vitamin C; furthermore, vitamin C maintains adrenaline levels in the tissue, possibly by inhibiting its oxidation, and adrenaline is necessary for chalones to perform their function – the inhibition of cell division."

Nutrition For Women

The effect of high body temperature on reducing inflammation

"The higher oxygen consumption rate that occurs at higher body temperature corresponds to high carbon dioxide production and inhibition of lactate formation, maintaining a more oxidized balance that reduces inflammation."

November 2020 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

The role of the cholinergic system in glucose oxidation

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

November 2017 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

The cell division-inhibiting effect of stimulants on cancer cells and tumor growth

"This effect of stimulants is probably also involved in their inhibition of cell division in cultured cancer cells (for example ephedrine and theophylline) as well as in caffeine's ability, when injected into the brain, to slow tumor growth elsewhere in the body."

Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain

Effects of hypothyroidism on memory and hyperactivity

"Memory and attention are already impaired by mild hypothyroidism. The Russian paradigm, with its focus on energy and inhibition, suggests that thyroid function should be carefully examined in cases of hyperactivity."

Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain

Biological effects of magnetic fields: sedation and changes in brain chemistry

"Magnetic fields probably act biologically by affecting the structure of water, and Kholodov has shown that a continuous sinusoidal magnetic field has a sedative and inhibitory effect, alters the EEG, and increases the GABA level in the brain (Speranskiy, 1973). The activity of oxygen increases in magnetically treated water (Speranskiy, 1973), so there may be a direct effect on energy production."

Mind And Tissue Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain

Noradrenaline: its dual role in pain and disease

"Y. Kuraishi (2015) said that noradrenaline inhibits pain by suppressing the release of substance P and glutamate (the excitatory amino acid), and that suppression of cancer pain leads to inhibition of tumor growth and lung metastasis … apparently by inhibiting the release of substances from cancer cells (e.g., ATP, endothelin-1, and bradykinin). Things that activate and invigorate the patient while reducing pain seem therapeutically appropriate."

May 2016 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

The effects of carbonic anhydrase activation

"Stress activates the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which converts gaseous CO₂ (the form that binds to proteins and favors structured surface or vicinal water) into ionizable carbonic acid/bicarbonate that leaves the cells. Activation of this enzyme raises intracellular pH and tends to excite cells; its inhibition lowers intracellular pH, calms cells, and conserves energy."

March 2020 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Oxidative processes and factors of enzyme regulation

"The oxidative processes that support the goal-directed, creative functioning of the organism optimize CO₂ by inhibiting carbonic anhydrase; this enzyme is inhibited by the thyroid hormone T3, progesterone, urea, caffeine, antipsychotics, and aspirin. Factors that favor a return to primitive anaerobic energy production activate the enzyme – for example, serotonin, tryptophan, cysteine, histamine, estrogen, aldosterone, HIF, SSRIs, angiotensin, and parathyroid hormone."

March 2020 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Understanding sleep onset through cortical inhibition

"The familiar processes of falling asleep can be understood as the spread of inhibition from the cortex to the brainstem and adjacent structures."

March 2018 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

The structured nature of stimulation and the resulting inhibition

"Stimulation and arousal always have a certain structure, corresponding to the perceived significance, and for Pavlov, the resulting inhibition was also structured."

March 2018 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Interactions between Serotonin, Cortisol, and Estrogen

"Serotonin activates the stress hormones, and the cortisol produced as a result can have the protective effect of inhibiting the enzyme that forms serotonin, as well as activating the MAO that removes it (Clark and Russo, 1997; Ou et al., 2006; Popova et al., 1989). Estrogen increases serotonin synthesis, reduces its binding, and inhibits its breakdown."

July 2019 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Activation of the NMDA receptor and the state of pseudohypoxia

"The NMDA receptor (like many other regulatory proteins, e.g., COX, TLR, NOS, aromatase) is activated by the reduction of its thiol groups. The reductive state that activates this excitatory system can arise from actual oxygen deficiency but also from inhibited mitochondrial function, creating a state of pseudohypoxia."

January 2017 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Nitric oxide as a central factor in shock dynamics

"Nitric oxide was a central factor in the shock state, and inhibiting its formation could alleviate the shock state. The shock state was often described as circulatory failure due to excessive vasodilation; therefore, it was obvious to see a role for the vasodilator nitric oxide in circulatory collapse."

January 2016 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Progesterone's neuroprotective and mitochondria-stabilizing effects

"Progesterone is not only antiestrogenic but also a neurosteroid, an anti-excitotoxin, and an inhibitory modulator. These effects in the nervous system have their parallels in the immune system, where it modulates the functions of many cells: it protects the thymus, slows mast cell degranulation, and inhibits the shock response. It is an antitoxin that stabilizes cell structure and function. In the mitochondria, it maintains or restores the efficiency of cellular respiration."

March 2000

The special role of palmitic acid in glycolysis and lactate formation

"While most fatty acids inhibit glucose oxidation without immediately inhibiting glycolysis, palmitic acid is unusual: it inhibits glycolysis and lactate formation without inhibiting oxidation. I suspect this is largely related to its important role in cardiolipin and cytochrome oxidase."

July 2000

Intracellular acidosis and its cell-protective effects

"The inhibition of carbonic anhydrase causes a retention of carbon dioxide, and that can produce acidosis. Intracellular acidosis has many important cell-protective effects. By reducing the ionization of the cell's macromolecules, the cell's affinity for water decreases."

January 2000 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Lack of a Coherent Theory in Established Physiology

"In established physiology, there is no coherent theory of cellular inhibition, which means that cellular activity has hardly been correctly understood. Most facts are known, but they have rarely been assembled into meaningful patterns."

April 1994 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Electrical Instability of the Heart and Adrenergic Stimulation

"The electrical instability of the heart caused by excessive adrenergic stimulation can also make the sinoatrial node more susceptible to vagal inhibition. (I think this effect can be observed in the skipped heartbeats that people with hypothyroidism often experience during stress or fatigue. In other situations, with prolonged and intense stress, vagal stimulation protects against fibrillation.)"

June 1992 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Inhibitory Brain Cells and the Relationship Between Acetylcholine and Histamine

"Some inhibitory cells in the brain (including those involved in the comatose state of protective inhibition) secrete acetylcholine. The similarity of the effects of histamine and acetylcholine is so great that many people previously considered histamine the systemic cholinergic hormonal equivalent to acetylcholine. Because of this similarity, any chemical substance that affects one of these messengers will likely affect the other as well – though not necessarily in the same way."

January 1991 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Cell Excitation, Energy Availability, and Cell Survival

"Since excessive excitation of cells (relative to available energy) causes cells to die (in the brain as well as elsewhere), it is important to consider as many of the natural inhibitory mechanisms as possible, while at the same time doing everything to maintain energy production."

January 1991 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

The Role of Progesterone in Pregnancy and Anti-Aging

"The effect of progesterone during pregnancy is to ensure the availability of oxygen and nutrients for the embryo; but it also has the general effect of inhibiting the formation of lipofuscin and other signs of aging by improving metabolic efficiency."

October 1990 – Ray Peat's Newsletter
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Supplements according to Ray Peat

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