Readers Summary
- What is evolutionary strategy based upon?
- Why is circadian biology critical?
- How does circadian biology react in normal environments?
- How do power laws determine ultimate survival?
- Do we have an example in modern life of this that we are unaware of?
- How might disrupted circadian biology lead to cancer?
Evolutionary strategy is based upon finding an environmental niche and exploiting it. Evolution is based upon change and the natural adaptations to it. Today, we are going to explore how some environmental triggers might open a “biochemical trap door.”
Why is circadian biology critical?
For evolution to work, a cell first must adapt to its environment. So the first thing any living cell would see in an earth day is a period of day and night. It also has to find food to make energy (ATP). In addition, it has to control its own cellular division. The epic battle for the cell is the circadian cycle has to “yoke” the metabolic cycle to its growth cycle. Most people know that the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), is the circadian pacemaker that monitors this dance between darkness and light and the seasonal cold and hot temperatures in our environment. Evolution apparently agreed with this assessment, because we now know it to be true.
What most people do not know is how leptin plays a massive role in regulating it. Research has revealed that leptin can induce expression of a neuropeptide gene called vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) through the VIP cytokine response element. VIP actually is what sets the circadian pacemaker to light. Leptin yokes metabolism and sleep to the light and dark cycle. When temperature becomes the dominant environmental trigger and not light cycles, leptin induces endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS), that shuts down the photic effects of VIP on the SCN. This means that leptin forces the SCN not to be able to use light any longer to yoke circadian cycles! Once temperature begins to yoke the circadian rhythms, some very special things happen to our biochemistry that normally does not occur in other environments. These are ancient epigenetic programs that are hardwired into the DNA of every descendant of a eutherian mammal. We are descended from these animals.
So what happens in normal environments you ask?
When it is night time, the interior of our cells become more reduced chemically and electrically. (A lower redox state like we saw in the mitochondrial series). During a low redox time, cells are usually recycling their components using autophagy during sleep. Autophagy is critical to health and longevity in a mammalian biochemistry. During the day, while energy is being made to explore the environment, the cell is more oxidized because of increased leakiness of the mitochondria at cytochrome one. Remember the more we leak, the faster we age, and the more neolithic disease we sucuumb to.
Another interesting coupling occurs between the circadian cycle with the cell cycle. Size and shape of cells change before genomic changes occur. They are linked together via the PER 1 and PER 2 genes and two cytoskeleton proteins called YAP/TAZ. PER 2 directly affects the cell cycle when the cell divides. Cell division is called mitosis. Mitosis is the phase in the cell that occurs just before cell division to generate an offspring. The mammalian period 2 gene plays a key role in tumor growth in mice; Mice with a mPER2 knockout show a significant increase in tumor development and a significant decrease in apoptosis (levee 19). It should be clear because of these links that just a simple mismatch in circadian cycles can lead to the development of cancer and neolithic disease.
Circadian biology is crucial to optimal health. The real kicker, that no one until now has realized, is how biology accelerated time using the theory of relativity for ultimate survival. It appears Mother Nature used power laws to fuel explosive growth in the species that we were descended from. I will explain in a later blog why this is a very critical factor in tying things together, but the result of it is what you need to pay attention to now. Evolution figured out a way to speed up. The consequence of this was that it also sped up epigenomics. This relative increase fueled human evolution, but also made us more susceptible to neolithic diseases if we do things against our circadian biology or our paleolithic genes. This can be worked out mathematically with power laws. This implies we better pay attention to the factors that affect this equation. This caused a logarithimic change in how cells are guaranteed to become more oxidized (age faster) to circadian cycle mismatches as time proceeds.
When epigenetics speeds up rapidly, it also changes the phenotype of the species affected by it. This is how we got the human brain from a primate model so quickly in a small evolutionary window. The use of this biologic power law fueled the development of our large brains from chimps. When you couple a super faster epigenetic rate to a diet high in nutrients, you create the perfect storm for a biologic system to create disease. Modern humans fit this equation perfectly. Many of these mismatches are not diseases at all, and we remain unaware of it even today. This is why we can’t cure most of them either. This is why medicine has many blind spots.
How does cancer occur when the circadian cycles are off?
Time for some minor head hurting. I no longer think cancer is a strict disease either. I think cancer is also an ancient epigenetic program that help us become multicellular at one time. It evolved to include tissue regeneration and repair. It was a way to extend life, not end it as we think today. I think the cancer program in us was a great evolutionary adaptation at one time. It is caused by an acceleration of growth signals when there are no more stem cells left for adequate replacement. The cell has two choices, death or immortality. Guess what life chooses, by default, when it faces this decision? Oncogenesis is that answer. Life is looking for an “out” to survive, but we have not evolved a proper answer for it as yet. I think this is why we have found no cure for cancer with the billions of dollars that have been spent on its research. Honestly, I think the answer lies in Factor X.
So how might this all occur you ask? This is thought to be caused by mPER2 circadian deregulation of common tumor suppression and cell cycle regulation genes. Such as: Cyclin D1, Cyclin A, Mdm-2, and Gadd45, as well as the transcription factor c-myc, which is directly controlled by circadian regulators through E box-mediated reactions.
Sorry about the head hurting, but I have to show you I am not mad. I am a maven of Mother Nature. I connect things together. It is fine if you do not know about all this. The key thing to remember is these epigenetic signals because our DNA to malfunction when there is a problem between leptin and circadian cycles. Defects in leptin biology are all linked to cancer generation and propagation. This means that sleep is also tied directly into cancer because it is wired into cell cycle functioning directly as explained above. It also is linked to cell mediated immunity by evolutionary design as well! This means that lack of sleep causes sepsis and can cause cancer in mammals whose biology is out of sync with their world. Research clearly shows that mammalian immunity is destroyed when sleep is destroyed. It appears that sleep directly affects the chronic diseases of aging and likely plays a role in cancer development as well. Every bio hack in my office starts with a discussion of sleep.
Mother Nature also used power laws to guarantee survival of our ancestors who were cold adapted as well. These were the animals from which we evolved. Remember the currency of that biologic transaction is called epigenetics. This is controlled 100{a7b724a0454d92c70890dedf5ec22a026af4df067c7b55aa6009b4d34d5da3c6} by the environment. Ten years ago, we did not know this. Eight years ago, I began thought experiments in my head about what this could do to a cell over time, if applied over millions of years. This is the basis of Factor X.
Power laws dictate that epigenetics had to speed up. It is required for ultimate survival. It created the perfect situation for the development of a large human brain rapidly. This is not too controversial. But this implies that we should not have a lot of fossil ancestors. And guess what? We do not. This is why we have found so few missing links. In fact, my theory says we are the missing link we are currently looking for! Radical? This is controversial. But, I believe it is based on firm science.
If you want to see a modern world example of power laws effecting biology, I want you think about the recent TV program that starred Robb Wolf, called I-caveman. We all saw how that program turned out. We know what happened. I bet Robb had no idea how power laws dictated how he would be able to take down a large game animal to ensure survival. It is the same plan that Mother Nature employs. We saw how some in the group gave up early. We saw how some of their decisions subjugated their biology. Do you remember what the vegan women said? Do you remember the gung-ho kid that gave up too early?
Ultimate survival requires that out of the starting life forms, 80-90{a7b724a0454d92c70890dedf5ec22a026af4df067c7b55aa6009b4d34d5da3c6} will not make it because they die off or give up. Evolution does not ever give up. It adapts to what it’s given. Just like the Apollo 13 astronauts did to survive. Just as the surviving passengers did in the Andes plane crash, survivors did in 1972 stranded on the top of a mountain. Ultimate survival follows this basic power law. It is a core to biology. Robb survived with his group because of its application. If this experiment was extended in real life, the others left behind would have died for sure. Robb would not have and his success would have been explosively selected for by his progeny. With Robb’s success, it would have catapulted him to a new understanding of how to successfully hunt and hone while Mother Nature was rewiring his biochemistry to make the most efficient use of the resources he procured. From this efficiency, it would speed up epigenetic control of his genome to cause extreme changes to his biology, to mandate his success. This is how evolution speeds up, and how it is transmitted to our genome in present time, and eventually epigentically transmitted to offspring. Maybe you have some insight why fat parents really make for fat infants now? It’s a function of power laws.
Evolution uses epigenetics to determine adaptation to environments. We have discarded the strict definition of genetic determinism that came from Watson and Crick, as founders of DNA. We know today that the power of epigenetics dictates a lot more about newer generations adaptations than we even knew ten years ago. The implications of this information now makes us look at some of our own long standing assumptions about how living cells work in cold and warm environments to see how our cells ACTUALLY react to a thermoplastic environment. That is the essence of what I have found.
I have put it all together in my mind and came up with three tests experiments to disprove it. The Leptin Rx reset was step one. The results speak for themselves. So I proved biologic plausibility with this experiment on myself, my family, and many of my patients now. I gave the world the Leptin Rx for free to test. I’d say that has been a success in my practice and on the Internet. Now the last two experiments were tougher to figure out, but I think I did it in 2012. The last two are steps in this ancient pathway that guaranteed success for survival. I have completed the other two. I did not disprove my theory either, but I do think I destroyed lots of modern day dogma we all still suffer from.
Getting back to the cancer issue
Is there a great recent, modern day example of my theory in action whose demise fits this theory today? Yes. We’ll get to him soon enough. First, read this recent article and immerse your brain in it.
What does this article imply for us all, if this is true? Well, it is true in all mammalian biochemistry. There is not a mammal alive that does not have this wired into their hypothalamus. I’m going to tell you what it means to me today. As the SCN function declines, it slowly destroys the chemical clocks in our head. When we are adapted and eat a warm climate diet, it INCREASES the decline of our metabolism and causes the inside of our cells to oxidize. The interior oxidation pushes us toward a fork in our biologic road. That fork in the road is where cell suicide (apoptosis) or the choice of a cell to become immortal (oncogenesis), occurs. If stem cells remain available, our biology uses them first. If none are left in our tissue stroma, we become senescent (non dividing with a poor functioning organ) or we become cancerous. This implies that if we replenish stem cells we may be able to alter the biology.
The goal of longevity is to protect your stem cell supply at all costs as a young mammal. So having a program of living that does this is important. When we live outside our circadian cycles, we force our cells to make this decision too often, and we deplete those stem cells. We travel that road utilizing lifestyle behaviors that subjugate our stem cells because we are unaware of how a circadian mismatch may deplete our stem cells and force that decision to come to us earlier in life as future generations are born. This is why we see much more childhood cancers today as we did 120 years ago. It is a transgenerational epigenetic effect of our modern life.
You need to go back and read what I wrote earlier in this blog about how circadian biology is yoked to cellular metabolism. If epigenetics has sped up, and you eat a warm climate diet, you by definition increase mitochondrial ROS that slowly kills you. As you age, it speeds up because epigenetics switches are designed to react fast and furious for change. This is why neolithic disease all increase as we age. Name one that does not?
Want more food for thought? Safe starches are in no way safe at all in a species that is derived from a cold adapted ancestor. Why? Re-read the NYT article. What are its implications given what I have just explained to you? This is more fuel or proof that the “metabolic trap door” I found makes all starches less safe when they are eaten outside of how our circadian biology accounts for them in our sped up systems. Evolution power laws have sped up too, simultaneously, to compound the issue. This explains why kids today are bigger than their preceding generations. It explains also why they reach puberty faster today. It explains that when you add carbs to their diet it speeds up neolithic disease generation in modern man faster. This is why diabetes and cancer are now prevalent in younger age groups compared to 100 years ago. Colon cancer was the 37th leading cause of death in 1900. Today it is number two. Now you know why. CW is never going to answer these questions, because the manner in which they are approaching it is dead wrong.
Review it all again. When the body used carbs for fuel, it generates more ROS in mitochondria. When you add this to a long light cycle, due to artificial lights of technology over time, you are actually causing your endogenous decline because it destroys your SCN clock for light. However, if you used cold it does not use light. It uses a new signal (eNOS) that I will discuss in a later part of the series. That is not made unless carbs/starches are diminished in our diet. Carbs are a critical part of a warm adapted brain in the correct season, SUMMER. Biology says carbs can’t grow in winter, when eNOS is selected to appear and the brain wiring I uncovered proves that! Biology is telling us that we should not eat these things out of cycle. If we do, it is at our peril. This implies that there are no safe starches out of a normal cycle. That season is a summer cycle.
In mammals, guess what signals that thermoplastic change of our environment? A gut hormone called VIP. Moreover, because of how this hormone is wired to the leptin receptor, it becomes the initial stimulus to the metabolic trap door opening for mammals. A gut hormone is what changes our entire metabolism in a few weeks. And if you read my blog yesterday, you will see the start of all these processes begins first with a lot of dietary carb intake that stimulates PUFA increase into our cell membranes of all mammals. It’s the giant circle of life. Last time I checked, we are all mammals.
Now back to the original point of this section, cancer, oncogenesis, Apple, technology, carbohydrates, death, and Steve Jobs, are a prime example of this theory in our modern world. Diet alone was not the sole cause of his demise. That is a very bad assumption many in the paleo-world are making. In fact, they are committing the same errors that a vegan does with their own dietary choices by using technology out of cycle as well.
The biologic effect of technology is buried far from their consciousness because they are eating a smarter diet for their biology, and they look and feel well on the outside while their cells slowly oxidize and age. This implies that the proof of my theory will be born out in the second half of their life with the insidious chronic uncoupling of their biology from circadian biology. We can measure the proof of my theory by checking their telomere lengths right now to see if what they believe today is in safe. If starches are safe, prove it. I put it to the test and they are not safe. Optimal is not Paleo by today’s beliefs.
Radical Theory #6: Modern life is as bad to us as a vegan or SAD diet. Eating better than the rest of the world will only hide its effects from your consciousness longer until you realize it. This implies that what you think is really safe may not be safe at all. It means that your ultimate proof won’t come until it’s too late for reversal unless you prove it to yourself today. Can we do that? Yes. Why do I know this? Because I tried to disprove it in 2006, 2009, and in 2012.
On February 27th, I use my talk at the Paleo Summit with Sean Croxton to delve into these mismatches further for you to consider. We must begin to question all our basic assumption of diet and all modern life and how it effects on our biology. For example, are our neolithic brain’s thoughts allowing us to live outside our biologic blueprint? How does this process manifest when you consider the effect of time with respect to epigenetic control of a modern mammal whose ancestors are cold adapted, and living in a modern world that is warm adapted 24/7? How can we test it? Can it be reversed? Does it require us to optimize our diet as soon as we become aware of it, and limit ourselves to the exposure to technology at the wrong times to get to an optimal life?
More Support: Webinars by Dr. Kruse
- Factor X (May 2012)
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Additional Resources
- What Powers Life and Death?
- The Quilt: Apoptosis
- Leptin Reset Easy Start Guide
- Cold Thermogenesis 7
- The Paleo Summit: Is The Paleo Diet The Answer?
Cites
- Kalsbeek A, Fliers E, Romijn JA, la Fleur SE, Wortel J, Bakker O, et al. The suprachiasmatic nucleus generates the diurnal changes in plasma leptin levels. Endocrinology 2001;142:2677-85.
@Moma Grok this was heard at the monster MDA thread……..and shows the QUILTS magic with her really being aware of how it is all happening.
MomaGrok says,
My update of the week … last week's energy is gone, but not all the way to dismal again. I'm needing a lot more sleep again, still sleepy after 9hrs. I'm warm and cold, can't figure out why I'm what when. Bloating is going down VERY slowly the last few days, but my wrist shows swelling. No idea what that means!
And once again (noticed this every year since I went primal), Ash Wednesday fasting is EASY. I remember the pain and misery of trying to go hours between meals in my old life. It seemed that the next meal would never come,, and it was such pain to follow the rule of "one normal meal, with the other two added together not quite reaching the size of the main meal." So ver ydifficult. I used to think the rule was unfair and impossible – and was very thankful it wasn't a Ramadan-like rule! (no eating from sunup to sundown for a month)
Since getting rid of the excessive carbohydrates, it has been EASY. And especially this year, since resetting leptin … I go from a huge breakfast to a small dinner 9+hrs later without thinking or caring about food at all. I feel like I could easily do a Ramadan-like rule now.
Interesting how these fasting disciplines require just a small exercise of self-discipline now. I'm sure that's what was intended by those who originated them. It used to ttake Herculean effort for me to follow, and it felt like an impossible request. Now I realize it never should have been that way.
Wow. Turnin the primal world on its ear. Diet is the first step, but not by any means the only one for health and longevity. It is a "holy trinity" of light, cold and diet. Totally makes sense that there would be more than one "sensor" that determines our biological adaptations.
@Chrystin The holy trinity of the ancient pathway is coming……..and when you see all three next to each other…….you are going to say I knew this………but I had no idea how all three worked………well…….FACTOR X brought all three of the HOLY trinity of optimal living together. And the results are spectacular.
This isn't the Davinci code, this is the Matrix and i'm feeling unplugged.
@Jeremiah Our biologic truth is stranger than any thing I could have imagined. I did not believe it until I tested it. I tried to disprove it……….well. I'm 0-3. And the final test was definitive in my view. Now I am going to share it. My bet is 90% will shun it……..10% will adapt to it and from the 10% will come the people who lead to the tipping point for what defines optimal living. I designed the QUILT to also function by biologic power laws.
This is how people who are unaware of something learn best. It is how the human brain is constructed. And how the human brain works……..well I am an expert on this.
wow. makes me super sad we're in a La nina and have a mild winter here as a result. need a cold fix – literally.
@cgk you can make a cold winter anytime you want……in your house. You can change your environment just as modern man has done to itself to its detriment already
@john McLean I am just warming up.
While it's very clear to me that there's a mismatch between us and the modern world, what's not clear to me is whether returning 500 years (or more) to a pre-electric lighting in Paris world is necessary.
If as you say colon cancer was so rare 100 years ago, then do we really need to emulate living in caves in the Arctic? Or just bring back more seasonality to our lives? The former may be optimal, but it brings to mind the joke about living forever or just feeling like you are!
@Beth you will soon understand why its that important. because evolution has speed up eating carbs off cycle has become the cause of neolithic disease and premature death. Its not just a diet story. I am laying it out piece by piece because i told you where this all started……you would think I was bat shit crazy. For 6.5 years I have been working on it. Jan 9, 2012 I finished my own proofs for the entire pathway. Now I am laying it all out for you as I wrote it all out.
I have many parts yet to lay out…….
When it gets out I think you will understand the implications.
So this is where I am, maybe I'm way off, hopefully not.
Live Like We're in an Ice Age – Despite whether you're 'Paleo', 'Vegan', 'SAD', if you're not eating mostly meat and fat, you're aging yourself faster than we're designed to. Even if you live at the equator and get tons of sun, you're still a cold-based being and would do better over the long-run to eat more meat and fat, less starches and fruit. Overall, we're adapted to eating starch and fruit on a seasonal-only basis and that was just to get us prepped for hibernation. Since we no longer hibernate, there is no reason to eat these foods. Granted you can, but it's not optimal/safe.
Cold Thermogenesis helps combat all the artificial light in our modern lives – Back in the day before Paris 1924, we naturally were not exposed to all this light. Now we have iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, laptops, televisions, and a plethora of electric light. This ages us faster because our circadian rhythm gets thrown off. Cold thermogenesis helps us protect against this by the 'trap door' yet to be revealed. By using this 'trap door', your body uses another route to circumvent the usual light-based circadium rhythm.
Food is just part of your health – Even if you eat a squeaky clean optimal diet (which I'm guessing is lots of saturated fats/meats/eggs, some veggies, little fruit and nuts), you still have to combat the other detriments that the modern life provides. One of these is the artificial light point discussed above. I'm sure there are others yet to be revealed. But overall, understanding that there are more components to living an optimal life beyond just what you eat is important.
Once you tie these factors together (optimal diet, cold therapy, good sleep), everything else will just fall in line. Please let me know Dr. Kruse if I'm way off. As always, thank you.
@Mark nice job…….so do you think any starches/carbs can be considered safe then if your descendants are cold adapted and you evolved in a warm world and are being fed a summer diet all the time? Seasonal fruits and starches not withstanding? Do you think eating by circadian cycles has any merit at all and making the case some starches maybe safe is a prudent move.
The more technology you use actually adds to the damage of the diet…….even if it is deemed small by you neolithic thoughts.
We have a way of checking this today. To see if this really all works in us. Instead of blogging about it.
Is there a certain time of the day we should be doing the cold thermogensis exercises you laid out a few posts back?
@Stevenson Nope……anytime works
So, are the beds that will drop our temperature as we sleep in production yet?
@August not a good idea. Some cooler is in the works…….but not for you. Im already using this in my spine cases.
Not now, when viewed through the lens of long-term health, eating like the Inuit now seems to be the way to go. I'm looking forward to your cookbook to get some ideas beyond eating just eggs and coconut oil lol.
@Mark go back and look at how I have told people to eat after the Leptin Rx and see if this is not perfectly in alignment with eating and living to your biologic directives. The more technology you use the more you are damaging yourself and most are unaware that light at the wrong time is equivalent to eating carbs at the wrong time. The reason there are no safe starches is because modern technology is adds to the problem of what constitutes what the optimal or perfect diet really is or contains.
Many people will not realize how small changes leads to major problems down the road because of compounding with time. This is how the power law of the rapidity of evolution and epigenetics has compounded this issue for modern man.
All the clues were there to tie it together……….but the ancient pathway has not been talked about much. I am going there to show you all the other effects. Some are eye opening and may convince more than the 10% of generally survive…….via power law math……..This is how I view the paleo community today. They are doing a lot right…….just not all of it right to get to optimal They are just going to get OK.
If you want to outsource medicine there is only one way………..that way can bring massive change. 5-10% of those people can bring that to bear. Evolution proved it already.
@Mark http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/43737929#4…
@Dr. Kruse – That's a great video, probably the best part was how candid her response was to the results. She readily acknowledged that the choices that she made earlier in life had consequences. But what's so important now, is that the stuff that you're talking about (Ice-Age diet, cold thermogenesis, light exposure) needs to be promoted as the path to be taken to help telomere length. Not marathons and Flax Seed cereal.
I think it's very empowering to know how things affect health and from there, one can make the decision on what to do about it. While most people aren't going to 'go off the grid' once the sun sets, maybe they will elect to do cold thermogenesis to help offset some of the damage that they are doing. Not Optimal, but better than 'just' eating good. For I think I'm like most people, I want to be Optimal, but in practical terms I most likely will not do everything to get there. But with this knowledge, I'll do the best that I can.
On a separate note, in regards to carbs, your perspective is very interesting to me. For after reading Dr. Jaminet's work, I thought that I needed to have some carbs. Whereas before reading his perspective, I fully believed that I didn't 'need' to have any. I'm looking forward to you laying out why we don't need carbs, especially when it comes to brain function, protein conversion (I know I don't eat enough protein to fuel a ton of gluconeogenesis), and response to exercise (heavy weight lifting). I'm sure that it will be a much different approach from the usual eat carbs when you're 'insulin sensitivity is the highest' protocol (in the morning and post-workout).
As always, thank you.
@mark She was a fit physician who thought she doing well and she was 11 yrs older than her chronologic age. So this is the ultimate measuring stick to safe starch theory. You can do the test yourself before and after and answer the question definitively. I have and they are not safe for anyone in my family and not the four patients who agreed to test for it. Many in this community believe what they are doing is harmless……..OK. Prove it. Prior to my Leptin Rx reset i was 15.2 older than my chronologic age. Today I am 16.9 yrs below it. One thought changed my DNA.
I can lead the horse to water but I cant make it drink.
All my horse are no longer thirsty.
@Mark you know you you perceive and may people perceive you need carbs? You know why they make you feel good? Because they do. But here is where your neolithic brain causes you a big problem. You feel better because you are a product of rapid evolutionary expansion that allowed you to become consciously aware of how you feel. The real problem we face today from what I have found is this. It implies that epigenetics in humans is lighten fast for adaptation. So this means that if you continue to be unaware of the mismatch you are creating a huge problem at your telomere ratio and you are depleting your stem cells as you are unaware of it. Just think of a marathon runner or cardio nut as a perfect examples. Where I am concerned, is the people in our community seem to be unaware that this sped up epigenetic program has bigger implications for them. They use technology like nuts. They all are into exercising some to a psychotic degree to get a body that looks good naked to them and makes them feel good. This feeling however can be Pandora's box when you sit down and run the math. I know, because I have run it with a couple of scientists locally. The result were startling. You can lose 20-50 yrs of your life just by one mismatch alone. As your mismatches expand the numbers are unreal. The worst part is the real issue is hidden from them because diet has the biggest protective effect to our telomere lengths so they are unaware of what i happen. It appears that light use outside of the normal light cycle when you are warm adapted and your biology works best cold adpated is the worst mismatch you can have for telomere length!!! This means safe starches can be deadly starches for those who also use technology when they are eating via a warm adapted environment and using light to guide their circadian rhythms!!! They need to consider this and they can check this for themselves by running their own telomere tests experiments. Why is this so important to me? Because when paleo becomes mainstream diets trials will be run and these people will be the tested and they wont fare well in the head to heads as expected………and this will signal to the modern healthcare complex that paleo is a gimmick or fad because it confers no real benefit. The truth is it does but you have to control the biggest mismatch which they wont do and no one in this community is thinking as I am. We have people telling people to eat starches anytime they want, especially when increasing exercise, to make them feel better! Of course they will feel better they are warm adapted. DO the same test in cold adapted people and you will see you get the modern Inuit. Fats and diabetic faster than their American counterparts …..They key factor in the entire equation is the rapidity of the adaptation by modern mammalian systems in humans. We have sped it up beyond belief and this is why we feel better initially with starches. Insulin and estrogen are progrowth and you get big muscles and hot bodies doing it as you kill you telomere length. Arguing about research papers is beyond useless because all were done in warm adapted humans……..not cold adapted ones. There is a massive difference. That difference is what really matters. You got to know about it first to realize it. Then you decide who is correct.
This is why kids get cancer and people in the 20's get heart disease and diabetes or why Lustig has seen infants who are obese and diabetic within 6 months of birth. The epigenetic programs speed is the KEY reason and this caused by FACTOR X. Any thing that is pro growth in this type of biologic system will lead to shortening of telomeres. People can now test and see if I am nuts or maybe I know something everyone does not! People need to be aware you can look rockstarish and feel great and still be in a world of hurt on a cellular level………our brain allows us to hide from these facts, while they slowly continue to do things everyone thinks is safe or OK.
The rapidity of epigenetics becomes a perfect disease propagator as they age because they are also eating smaller portions of safe starches/fruits at times of the year they should not be. Moreover, since they live in a warm adapted world and they evolved from cold adapted mammals they create a huge problem……..the effect of diet and technology is not cumulative. It is logarithmic. This means that telomere length is directly proportional to a pro growth diet and speed of the species epigenetics. Humans have the worse ratio. You can test it yourself. You now make all your decisions on how you feel instead of your basic primal instincts. You cant eat carbs in the winter unless you figure out how to get a banana to Calgary from Chile. A mountain lion, or a walrus can do that. They eat what biology provides regardless of their drives. We are subjugated to our drives and it undercuts our biology of our paleo genes and results in neolithic diseases that are all caused by shorter telomeres. Now that people are aware that this can happen……..you have a way to test your neolithic thoughts to see if what Jaminet is saying is true or just a neolithic thought? A thought other paleo brains might follow because they have not taken this experiment as far as I did. You can apply the same thing to the reward theory of obesity too. Knowledge is power. Information without context allows us to fall into to some interesting mismatches as humans. One of my deepest beliefs is that everyone is smart at something. I am hoping that people sit down and consider these implications.
So Dr Kruse, did you lengthen your telomeres?
@Huck……….three times.
Is anyone brainstorming about how to make one of these contraptions? I was think an elevated deep freeze full of milk jugs for ice cubes, add water, and a hose on the drain plug into an oval horse trough to submerge in, with a drain hose on that to water a tree or something with after its ambient. Is this somewhere else being talked about? Cheap and easy is good. The darkness is doable, the coolness idk.
As someone who is complying with use of prednisone (along with antibiotics) for a difficult sinus issue, your words got me interested in the metabolic repercusions of many western medicines. For example, the side effects of prednisone include sleeplessness and endocrine (cortisol) disruption. Short term use may be a set back for me, but I can't imagine how it ages those who are using it long-term for chronic conditions? The daily rhythms are thoroughly broken. What other medications are doing more damage than good by way of these types of disruption?
@laurab if you name one I can tie it to a circadian mismatch. It does not mean medicine is bad. it means how you use it is important. When I realized the impact of this information I immediately stopped using any oral steroids over night for my patients. I rarely use epidural steroids for spine patients. This information change me, my practice, and my thoughts about what is optimal. I question everything I believe to be true now and look at things through evolutionary glasses before I act now.
I'm thinking about all those poor terrorists in Gitmo who we stuck in a dark cell and sprayed cold water on to punish them…
@akman you just helped them survive longer.
I am thinking about purchasing some ice vests to wear intermittently through the day and some dark goggles to filter light out. AC on full blast during commutes….
Dr Kruse, it turns out that 50-55 degrees is close to optimal for the storage of wine. Wine also does not like light. A wine cellar would seem to be a good place to hang out, maybe even an excuse to build one. Wine has resveratrol, but I don't think it was part of the arctic diet. Thoughts?
@bob you are spot on the money……..and what else is in wine? Resveratrol! That has its own levee in my QUILT
ask Kevin Cottrell of Paleo Fx who came to my house this week for me to bio hack his wife…….where my CT room is. It is in a room that has 2000 bottles of wine!
Dr Kruse. Have you successfully used cold to reduce high blood pressure with any of your patients? CW would say that cold would raise blood pressure, so interested in any clinical observations you have.
@Huck yes I have. Most have come off medicines or had them reduced if they adapted their lifestyles. My own father in law at 84 yrs old has had a dramatic change in his health.
Jack, it's just so hard to know how to procede with medical issues with this kind of out-of-the-box contemplation of illness and treatment. This kind of medical (r)evolution can be a long time coming in conventional acceptance or even acceptance through investigative study that precedes general acceptance. Till then we are stuck with agreeing to conventional treatment that we don't feel completely comfortable with or rejecting the good that can be done with the current pharmaceutical choices.
@laurab I agree it will take some time. But people can take total control of their decisions now and make changes and they can measure their changes and find the real truths and not the ones I was taught in medical school. I erased my former self and rebuilt me using this Primal Rx for health. There is no reason we all cant. Once we get enough of us……..we can do a lot more than you think.
Aww, Dr K you are describing my Ottawa Grandmothers lifestyle. The only source of heat was the little cook stove in the kitchen. We children would change into our nightgowns behind the stove then creep through the house and up the stairs to bed in the dark. Under the quilt it was as cold as ice until we warmed up the little place we slept under. When we woke in the am sometimes there was ice on the blankets. When the stove would cool down someone had to go outside to get another armload of wood. A lot of times I would hear some chopping going on even in the dark. One didn't forget to use the outhouse before bed otherwise it was the pot, if there was one, or a long trek outside in the cold. In the am it was out to the well to pump water for coffee and out to the hen house for eggs. Any where in the house outside of the kitchen was cold. Any wash up done outside of the Saturday bath was done with cold water. Gee, I guess I didn't know how good I had it as a child. 🙂
@Terry F you need to get back to that. we all do……except I want indoor plumbing!
OK… so I'm building a home with a "cooks kitchen"… I LOVE to cook!! So, are there really no safe starches and I should be redesigning my kitchen for more meat and fat cold storage?! Or, are the safe starches only NOT safe because they are being used out of step with our circadian rhythm? Would that mean they could become safe if they were used in conjunction with CT and "light therapy" in a cyclical type of thing? Or, we just mitigate some of the damage of starch via CT?
@JDW read my epic reply to mark…….it covers this well.
And to clarify, I don't mean processed franken-starch but "natural" starches (tubers, organic corn, winter squash, etc.)
@JDW I have no problem with starches in spring summer or fall…….but after Oct 15 until March 15 I do not touch them period.
disregard post 42… wrote it before I saw your #38! :o)
This is beyond amazing stuff, doc!!! I sat today reading your posts AGAIN and looking up so many words that my flow was terrible. 🙂
OK, so, you don't eat starch in the winter based on the natural growing season but what about people living in the tropics? Would it be reversed? We don't grow things in the summer but right now, the gardens are overflowing!
And, would we have to incorporate our genetic origins? I'm in S. Florida now but of Irish decent… how far back do we go and does it make a difference?
@JDW my family and my patients think so too……..now I want you to know it. I want you to think deeply about it…….and then if you decide to do it……post your results and then tell some friends. The more people we transform the closer a tipping point comes for real change we all want to see.
People in the tropics also have a growing season, a rainy season, a dry season when carbs are seasonally low. Even at the equator. Biology can not be constantly turned on without consequence. The proof of that is America. this is why we are overrun with AD now. It came out of no where in 60 yrs. Why? Speed of epigenetics with carbs and PUFA mix in the SAD………anything that you add to the mix that is pro growth or anti circadian cycle destroys our biology. Your lineage matters but that is genomic info……..genomic info is not as important as epigenonic info because the epigenome rapidly adapts to our environment to set our entire biochemistry. That is why its speed is a critical component to the mathematical models of power laws and why biology uses it for ultimate survival. cellular theory of relativity is ND=(somatic genomic stability)(speed of epigenetic control of the genome) squared. This is eerily similar to E-mc2. I no longer think it is a coincidence and we better pay attention to it.
Yesterdays Paleo problem was the SAD…….people rallied around it and adopted it. Todays's Paleo battle is technology and eating carbs in cycle or face shorter telomeres.
Dr. Kruse, a couple of questions if I may, have you read Lights Out ? and if you made your living by flying across
several time zones at a time (ie international airline crew ) with the knowledge that you now have, would you quit and do something else ? Thanks and cheers from Australia.
@Graham I have read parts of it. There was no biochemistry in it. And some of it made no sense. I am going to make sense of this all for you. Flying across time zones would cause me to buy a lot of term insurance. The same is true for those who work bad shifts.
Dr.Jack, have you seen Cynthia Kenyon's research on C. elegans and the effects of insulin on them? If so, what do you think? Thank you for taking time to read this and respond.
@Ruby I have and This is why Dr. Rosedale thinks mTOr is a killer………guess why I do not? If you run the C. elegans longevity experiments in cold guess likely happens? mTOR is no longer associated with death……..infact it extends longevity. There is a HOLY TRINITY for LONGEVITY and I will be discussing the big three shortly. The implications of what I have found here means that every single study on nutrition and longevity is moot until we repeat the experiments in cold adapted environments to test the ancient pathways effect on the biochemistry. It means cold is a requirement for ultimate longevity of every cell on earth. 99% of us seem to be unaware of it……..I was but I am not any longer. It appears all life on earth came from cold adapted organisms.
This is why calorie restriction in humans and primates is so hard to study. When you cold adapt them it becomes easy…….want to know why? Cold abolished the hunger and appetite signals using the ancient pathways. It make calorie restriction easy. How do I know……..I tested it in me.
I told you this information turned me on my head when I found it. It is that big a game changer.
Jack,
A nice exchange between Mark and you. The implication of your scenario so far is that due to the explosive changes being made by our epigenetic programs, 80% of the population will have ruined their DNA by adapting in a faulty direction. I'm guessing you think the paleo/primal audience will be more receptive to the science and adopt a more reasonable circadian cycle/diet/environment. As a living entity, the Earth seems to have a way of dealing with faulty decisions or adaptations. The USDA and the general population would be so slow to correct their ways, the damage will be done. That branch will become short lived and frail over time. Those that respect the circadian clock will survive.
So how are you going to get your wife to live in the teepee during winter Months?
@Eric My wife and I have recreated one room in our house that helps us be modern day salmons…….were we can swim up stream. Our diet also is built to be congruent to this theory. For us it is no longer a theory because our telomeres are longer since we tested this theory over 6 yrs and we found something that we did not expect.
My entire family and many of my patients are now using this to offset our modern mismatches in the hope of improving our health to optimal.
I would point out that I have an 84 yr old FIL that now sleeps 11 hours a day, has no ailments outside of some arthritis in his neck from a operation I should not have done on his neck in 2004. His HDL is over 90 and his HS CRP Is below 0.5. If I can change these parameters in an older human what might I do for a 25 yr old paleo in great condition? What might their optimal life become?
Here is the rub…….Life is like an hour glass. When we are young we can't see through the opaqueness of the hourglass because it is filled with sand……….as time passes the sand diminishes and the clarity we see through the glass is a silent reminder to us the most valuable asset we have is time. If we guard that time when we are young as we value it at the end of our life what might that do to our life? That is a neolithic thought that every young person should entertain given what I have found here.
Dr. K, is there anything wrong with going to bed early (really early) and getting up accordingly—e.g. 7:30 pm to sleep, 2:30 am awake?
@Cu I have no way of knowing with our testing your blood in a hack or doing the ultimate test…….a telomere length.
Is this what it means? We are fattening in an eternal harvest?
We continually stoke up on the bounty of the 'Summer', anticipating the food shortages signalled by the cold and the dark of winter. Electricity and oil and gas now mean those winter signals never come. The lights stay on, the screens glow and the heat never drops?
No winter, all summer, hell of a bummer!
@GeorgeP That is a simple way of looking at it. Its more complex because we know we came from Africa. What makes this so much more interesting is why we evolved in Africa and developed our brains there…….but we remained with the older mammalian cold adapted biochemistry of our ancestors. It perplexed me for a long time until I married the concepts of Power laws with FACTOR X……..then it became an intuitive answer. I sat down with some smart people gave them my theory and we worked out the math…….and it clicked. Then I came up with three evolutionary directed N-1 experiments to see if the major parts of the ancient pathway really was active in humans and it was………….the next step was application to others……….and the Leptin Rx reset is the first N-1 I ran back in 2007. The other two I began in 2009 and they both ended this yr.
Is there some signaling for eating I am missing? I am not hungry, but I am eating and enjoying it. I know I fail in my sleep if I don't eat dinner, if I do eat dinner, I can't calibrate the fat and wake up. My kid had her second episode all about saying she wasn't hungry and you aren't supposed to eat if you aren't hungry. We had deal that if I heard her belly growl, she would eat. It never did in two weeks and I slept with her. I know it didn't. When she got out of the hospital, she asked her newer sensitive "lady" doctor why she wasn't hungry and the 200 lb doctor said she was hungry and lying about it. I know my kid wasn't lying and my kid was very insulted. So we left and never came back. I hear a noise in my stomach and I know I need to eat and feel myself fading and need to eat. My kid has said the same thing for ages. She just eats to keep from fading. I am awake and out of coconut fat, because Trader's is out of coconut fat. I had to eat slow fat and can't sleep yet. i would like to eat enough of what ever it takes to get through the night. I suddenly seem ripped so I guess there was inflammation in my skin or something, maybe it wasn't fat I was pinching in the calipers.
@curious Nope…….this is how cold works. It actually makes calorie restriction easy because its ultimate effect is improving our autophagic repair. This is all under control the ancient pathway of ultimate survival that we got from our ancestors. The biochemistry of this pathway I will describe in detail soon. Cold allows for amazing things……..it allows ultimate survival when mTOR and IGF-1 are both increased…….all while we are eating less calories but have superior metabolic efficiency. This is how Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps became legendary. They found the ancient pathway before most modern humans. they got it from NASA who got it from a small group of humans who use it daily. I am merely explaining it all and how it works and why we all need to use it.
Dr Kruse..
Dr. Hollick use to point out cancer rates increase as latitude increases. His argument was that Vitamin D status as the reason. Doesn't this indicate D status might be as important if not more so than light levels?
@BenG in researching this 5 years ago I came accrues Albert Schweitzer's work and it confirmed some of the ethnographic observations Weston Price made as well…….in 1913 he said he was shocked at how fit and muscular the native indian Inuit were and in all them he was with them he could find no evidence of cancer or heart disease.
Given what I was uncovering about cold……..it began to make sense why. When one goes away from the equator the D levels drop in a standard fashion on a population basis……so as this happens cancer would rise because there would be a mismatch greatest before we got to an environment that was purely cold adapted. When you reached that cold adapted area it would revert to a lower incidence because cold environments activate the ancient pathway that blocks photic control of circadian biology and we use eNOS. When this occurs the process of autophagy becomes much more efficient. This means sleeps improves tremendously because we are regaining major control and efficiencies of the autogrpahic process. This is how I got the idea that sleep was life primordial condition. When autophagy is working optimally guess what tow disease fall dramatically? Cancer and Heart disease. Dr. Schweizters observations made the cancer link for me……..Dr. Ernst Von Schwartz of UCLA cardiology made the heart links for me because he told me that all human hearts fail because of a break down because of DECLINING autophagic efficiency. Anything that improves autophagy improves a healthy lifespan. Ironically, he told me that he had a theory that we could prove this by giving end stage heart failure patients, who were so sick that could not even receive heart transplants, growth hormone to improve their heart function. They did a pilot study and found it had better effects than a transplant would have! The reason made intuitive sense to me……..GH is released most in humans during sleep after leptin enters the hypothalamus and changes the prolactin surge to allow GH to be released………..This made WAP and AS observations crystal clear when you looked at the circadian biology of sleep. Cold is the reason. Cancer rates are highest away from the equator (think UK subartic climate where Vit D is low but it is not cold enough!) but before we get to our naturally cold adapted regions that our biology works best in……….the same biology findings hold true for autoimmunity too. MS follows the same distribution. That is not a coincidence wither in my view.
@Jack To continue the point BenG…….people with diabetes general sleep terribly. They have the highest incidence of sleep apnea. They also suffer from more neolithic disease than any subgroup…….why? They are mammals living completely out of the natural elements. Here is an excerpt from the coming head hurting biochemistry to make a point for you how linked leptin, sleep and autophagy are……..
"Leptin controls the controlling action of prolactin on the HPA axis release because it controls the cleavage products of POMC, namely alpha MSH and b-endorphin which both are excititory to PRL release. Leptin sensitivity directly controls the activity of these two peptides…….high levels of prolactin are associated with obesity and T2D because chronic elevations of prl release large amounts of leptin from adipocyctes. This is one mechanism that causes postmenopausal women to gain weight. We can best find this out clinically by assessing their DHEA or IL-6 levels. It is a window to autophagy efficiency."
I'm not sure if my head hurts because of all the information I'm trying to process or if it's from something during my hours of sleep. I happened upon your amazing website on February 14. I was on HCG for 6 weeks and lost 25 lbs. At first I didn't grasp the whole leptin reset concept and felt stupid that I didn't get it. I kept reading. And reading. And the pieces started coming together and you added more and more parts to the "whole". I've been doing the rx and have not had a second of cravings— ever. For the first time in my life, I do not think about food. I don't feel hungry. The practice I look forward to the most is the "cold therapy" — I wonder if the cold baths have helped me lose more weight this past week-after being on a plateau for a week or more. The only issue I am having is waking up too early ( is 3:30am is too early?) with a headache… it goes away with a cold shower or bath, but I would love to not have these waking me up so early. I still feel tired, but maybe it's because I'm not sleeping enough… I will keep reading your posts.. I'm so intrigued.
@Leslie Cold therapy and HCG are like perfect bed fellows. My next blog will show you why………you are stumbling into something that will change your life forever. The headache is likely from the reset…….it occurs fast and passes fast. Keep doing it.
Thanks Dr Kruse,
My wife has been doing the reset…she had to go to bed early when I did, so she cut the carbs, is eating a BAB etc. She had Metabolic syndrome with FBG of 110, but it's already dropped to 100 in about two weeks. Interestingly, my FBG was 85 last August then it was 94 in December (I'd guess lower D, low light cycles)(without changes in diet, etc). but it's dropped back to 84-86 since the reset and I've started cold showers and Ice packs a few times a week.
@BenG so tell me what does this imply to you? Am I nuts,crazy, a "charlatan" as one blogger described me? Or am I on to something that is helping you in a very unique way you had not anticipated?
It's quite possible. But I'm not qualified to decide.
If you can convince fitness industry gurus like Lyle McDonald over at http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/ or Will Brink at http://www.brinkzone.com you might be really be on something. They've known every diet and supplement out there from cabbage soup to Jenny Craig to Atkins, and how they are all gimmics. Point is your're in a hostile industry–and industry with well deserved skepticism.
@BenG Ben you are quite qualified and do not know it. You and only you are the only owner of your biology and telomeres. It you want to leave it to people who have not thought it out…….OK. I have and I did something no one else has. I challenged the paleo diet to the ultimate test. And it won. ……you can test this just as I did not rely on me, LM or WB. Telomere testing is now common and cheap. Im using their doubt to my advantage……..you bring them to the table as skeptics review it all and then the science proves it itself to them. This is not me selling or describing a new diet. It is uncovering an evolutionary plan that already has worked magnificiently in our past…….Just like how Tom Cruise did it in Top Gun. The key is they must look. I already know. Telomere testing is the ultimate arbiter of what is right or wrong in biological systems in 2012, not LM or WB. I gave my theory pretty high testing parameters. And I did more……….to add an overwhelming amount of support it too. Its coming soon.
Heard on FB: Jim Moore to Dr. Jack Kruse (not Jimmy Moore either)
Dr. Kruse, I lost over 300 pounds following very similar principles that you advocate. Thanks for spreading the message to help end the misery.
So in the ranching industry, the return of profit is slow for cattle. when you are building a herd you want twinners. I am wondering if its possible for a human to start ovulating one after the other until one takes? We have multiples on both sides, identical and fraternal. I never conected them because they were my grandmothers siblings, male and female. That side has garden variety bipolar also. And that side has had lots of polio cases and child deaths from some quarantine. I can't find anything that tells about that. Would progesterone blip or something cause something like that multiple ovulations?
Dr. Jack, your writing has really opened my mind and the way I look at things so thank you for all that you do. My question now is what about summer. Are we better off living in the natural conditions or is air conditioning preferable? Does the cold thermogenesis apply in the heat of the summer?
@Larry I have a a blog about how I eat in summer………read it here
I drive around in freezing cold AC all times of the yr and I turn off all artificial lights post sunset.
@Dr. Kruse
Great response, I really appreciate all the time and effort that you are putting into this.
While I still have a lot of questions, which I'm sure will get answered as you lay out the rest of your posts, one that I'm particularly pondering about is your response about eating starches. You said that you have no problem with them between March 15 and Oct 15 (spring, summer, fall). But is this statement based on the assumption that one is not being assailed by technology? My previous understanding was that the Inuit diet (mostly fat, some meat, little non-starchy veggies) was the ideal because that is what we are descended from (cold-adapted) and that any intake of carbs was not ideal and would shorten our telomeres. And in addition, the influx of artificial light in modern life precludes us from having proper light signaling for the circadian rhythm to take over and therefore we use cold therapy to supplant circadian rhythm through the 'trap door', but this defaults us back the Ice-Age diet and not the equatorial diet.
Also, as we turn off the turbo boosters (carbs) that are propelling us, while at the same time shortening our telomeres, where does that leave our function in the end? Should we expect to function quite well on a VLC diet? Or does function take a backseat to longevity? I'm referring to cognitive function here, not physical feats. For I think it's already pretty much certain that most elite-level physical feats are not helping to lengthen telomeres. And related to this topic, how flexible does the body become once you eat VLC? Judging by your encounter with the blackberry, it seems as though the body does not like to eat outside what it's used to once you get there, if that makes sense. Or are you just much more aware now of how it feels to be optimal, as opposed to feeling OK before you changed your life through cold therapy and an ice-age diet? (If this is covered in an upcoming post, I can be patient)
Thanks again. And I apologize that these comments are kind of all over the place, it's probably easy to tell that I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all of this stuff lol.
@Mark if you use technology…….there is no safe starches. Yes…….I went there. You finally read between the lines
A VLC diet requires a cold environment……..this is what the low carbers are in the dark about. I have not hit them between the eyes yet but you can bet they need a wake up call too.
This has wide ranging implications
That is why VLC in a warm environment makes no sense either long term. It is also why safe starch theory came to be. No one thought it all through as I have.
So here is my argument. You got it loud and clear.
@Dr. Kruse
Just extending on your comment to Larry. I interpret that comment as to mean that you are trying to get back to our cold-adapted ancestor as much as possible. For example, daily ice baths in your "hot" tub or in the nearby lake, while good, aren't enough. One should be look to expose themselves to the cold as much as possible. In the same plane, trying to limit one's exposure to artificial light past sunset will limit the damage done by this pathway (this stuff is logarithmic, not cumulative). This leads me to my question on this topic.
Since I've been doing the 'ice bag rides' to and from work, they have become a lot easier. Now they're at the point to where I look forward to them. But I still don't have the gumption to take a cold shower in the morning. For some reason, my will at that time of the day (usually 4:30 am) to do cold therapy and eat an ice-age diet is at its lowest. Given my experience with the ice bags, would you say that it gets easier once start doing a new method of cold therapy? For example, if I just man-up and start doing only cold showers, that eventually they won't be tough and will be enjoyable, just like the ice bags?
Lastly, whenever I try to do more cold therapy (cold air in the car, less clothing outside, less/no covers in bed with little clothing), my hands usually get pretty cold. I don't mind it but my newborn doesn't appreciate it. Does this go away as one gets more 'cold adapted'?
Thanks again.
@Mark It all gets easier as you cold adapt. My neighbors watch me swim in 12 degrees all winter long. SOme days I have 40 lbs of ice on me. I only need to so this twice a week now. I still drive around with my AC on all the time and drink ice cold beverages like water.
Thank you for the response and keep on being a rockstar!
@Larry Better to be real than popular, focused than smart and passionate than dead………
I will be a part of that 10%. I feel at this time, I am missing some of the steps, but assume it will get clearer to me as you continue to write. My life Mission Statement is to live "Impeccably". Hopefully at 70 years of age, I am not too old to adapt. Time will tell.
@Bob with this attitude you will make it.
Question Dr. Kruse…
Given that you've referenced the preferencing for N-6 in the process due to their 'anti-freeze' properties, can one expect to see the Omega 3 : Omega 6 ratios adjust with Cold Thermogenesis as the disproportionate amount of O6 are consumed in the WAT to BAT movement over time? Did I miss something here?
@Kevin This process works automatically in all mammals prior to hibernation signals. In humans we don't hibernate. Guess what the signal is? Eating lots of carbs thru summer and fall……..the mammals hibernate and we don't……….they don't get diabetes and we do. Why don't we hibernate? Because evolution speed up epigenetics to form our brain and we extinguished our ability to hibernate. Sleep is our only remnant……..and when sleep goes……..well we go to pot. Autophagy gets trashed and we die a slow death of neolithic disease. Got it?
@Dr. Kruse
Excellent. I'll shoot for the Ice Age Diet, get as much cold as I can (cold showers tomorrow!), and limit post-sunset light/technology. Thanks again.
@Dr. Kruse – That's good to hear, the buy-in period might be rough but it will all get easier eventually. By the way, this may be premature, but since I got back on VLC last night, I have been burning up today. Drinking a ton of ice water and splashing my face with cold water out of the tap. Crazy…
@Mark I do not think this is crazy. Crazy to me is eating a high carb diet and exercising yourself to a shorter telomere length with safe starches that make you feel good. They make you feel good because hormones are optimal for a time until you destroy you stem cell supply………then the shit hits the fan and your Grete Waitz or some other marathon runner. PEople who do extensive cardio have no idea what they are doing to autophagy. Once they do they might stop. Stopping habitual behaviors people like is hard. Kinda of like the false promise of safe starches……..
From Monte via email:
I'll keep this short and to the point. Dr. Kruse,
In 2007 I was 100 pounds overweight. I worked from home in a family business and rarely went outside. Even walking a block would make me winded. A mile was torture. Metabolic rate was very low (probably a survival mechanism) and vit d levels had tanked (teeth rotting and falling out). At 5'7" and 25 years old this was a very bad condition. I didn't realize it though. Sometimes you get lost in your own Neolithic world. What happened next, in January of 2008, is nothing short of a miracle.
The family business fell through and I had to all of a sudden get a job. As luck would have it Wal-Mart hired me for the frozen department…as an OVERNIGHT worker. Talk about the perfect storm for confusing the hypothalamus! The work was hard and fast. I was constantly moving for 8 hours. I was very very cold. The freezer was usually kept at negative 20 degrees. I would go in there for up to 45 minutes at a time. Very brutal. I was out of shape and slow so my time in the cooler was longer than everyone else. When I got home at 7 a.m. I "might" have a small breakfast and then pass out till the evening and get ready to do the whole cycle again. This cycle went on for a full 30 days with NO changes in my body. Then something crazy started happening.
Hunger went away almost completely. I was never hungry. EVER. I would go days without eating simply because I forgot to. Food had zero emotional value to me. I now feel that the PRIMARY reason people eat in our Neolithic world are because of conditioning (Pavlov's dog) and emotion. I was a bit shocked at how little I cared about food. Not even mom's home cooking or foods that I used to love could phase me. I just didn't care. Even though I was eating one meal every one or two days….My energy was boundless!!! I had such a crazy amount of energy that I felt like I was floating most of the time. People thought I was a maniac. I would work so hard and fast that it would intimidate the employees and scare the customers.
I didn't notice the weight. But others did. It was falling off at the rate of about 1 pound per day. Testosterone MUST have been through the roof. If someone did something to make me angry I would get enraged and an even more crazy energy would come over me. I'd work for 8 hours straight at break-neck speed and not even stop for five minutes in order to "work off" the anger. At home or on off days I'd feel fairly normal. But when I was driving to work (10 p.m.) I would feel this sudden surge of energy. Probably how our Paleolithic ancestors felt when walking into the presence of a predator. This was BEFORE I stepped into the door to work. When I got there I was "primed" and ready for the "kill".
I'd like to point out that I felt GREAT during all this craziness. Emotionally and eventually physically. It was a very fun time. I felt very ALIVE. Well doc, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. You are the first one to explain mechanisms that adequately take into account my own experience. For that, I can't thank you enough.
My tolerance to cold temperatures after 3 months was incredible. I could go into the subzero freezer (-30 to -10 Fahrenheit) for hours at a time in nothing more than a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and not even feel it.
P.S. My vitamin d levels and general nutrition had to be horrible during this time. But my body didn't care. The weight was flying off and I felt great!
P.P.S. When I quit the job for a better paying day time job…guess what happened. Weight loss stalled completely but didn't go back up. My body had reached a new set point. Albeit 30lbs higher than optimal, still 70lbs lighter than before! Haha. I wonder if all this was because of a Leptin Reset or because of reduced "food reward". Perhaps one follows the other.
P.P.S. If I could do it all over again I would! Mainly because I still have about 30 pounds of fat to loose! Can't wait for your cold techniques to be published.
Dr. Kruse, I understand and subscribe to the science behind chronic cardio etc., but one thing as a T2D I am struggling with is how much cardio is enough and how much is too much. Cardio has an impact in helping to control/defeat T2D so I am trying to figure out what the balance is. Any adice for those of us in that situation.
@joseph This is easy for me. None. I advocate heavy slow cold weight lifting and running sprints. Nothing more or less. And monitoring your performance with serial V02 max and hormone panels.
Sorry to seem dimwitted here, but can you define the term 'safe starches' as used in the context of this blog post? Does this include fruit (apples/oranges), leafy-green vegetables, seaweed, dark chocolate? Or are you just referring to rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, grain etc…?
@Akman I wont do this because I do not want to advocate something I think is not a good idea. I think you should go over to Paul Jaminet's site and look for yourself. It is his theory.
@Dr. Kruse – Well said. All this info and understanding really helps me avoid starches/sugars/fruit more than the old/simple message of "carbs make you fat".
Can't wait for the hard biochemistry posts on processing of fats, ketones, proteins….
Jack, I have been sitting in my bath tub at 52 degrees for about thirty minutes daily this past week. My skin gets pink, and other than a little shivering during and after for a brief time I feel good with the immersion. However, today I checked and my oral temp was just under 96 degrees. I don't have a way to measure skin temp. I know you said lowering core temp wasn't the goal, so I am wondering how to proceed from here? Am I doing too much too soon, or do I just need a few more sessions to adapt? Thanks!
@rodney you have to go based upon your numbers. Hypothermia happens 2-3 degrees below your normal core body temp. You can use that as a rough estimate but if you want to be sure slow it down or buy skin thermometers that swimmers use. I use the ones we have in surgery to check.
CW at it's finest – saw an article on Paula Deen and how she is going to 'lighten up' her cooking after being diagnosed with T2D last month. quote from the article:
During those years, she continued to promote her butter-and bacon-laden cooking on television and in books…
Obviously butter and bacon is what caused the T2D…..this comes after my Mom's doctor (cardiologist) told her that she needs to 'cut all oils', to which she replied, 'what about coconut oil', doctor: 'nope, that's an oil'. so then she asks, 'what about the paleo diet.' doctor: 'what's that?' mom: 'it's basically eating like a caveman, eating mostly meat, veggies, and fruit' doctor: 'oh that's just atkins'
I think this cardiologist also does endurance races and eats low fat….just infuriating
@Mark This why this stuff has to be presented to the community and they decide what to do next. This is actionable and the data is easily collectable. It can be done at home over a small period to see results.
Dont think anyone mentioned this: But what about those pesky Kitavans? (as Robb Wolf might say). They are high carb, living in a warm environment. I would assume according to your assertion, that would be a recipe (pun intended) for disaster. And what about modern evolutionary theory that places the ascent of humans smack dab in Africa? If your theory is correct, shouldn't we have seen this ascent in a colder climate, since we are bio adapted to that best? Why would the hominid fossil record skew so heavily to warm tropical climates?
@the Kid The kitavans do not have eat PUFA's with their carbs or have modern technology so I would not expect to see a large mismatch or extensive amount of ND. But they do not exhibit greater longevity than than cold adapted humans. I think the Himalayan monks and Sherpa's would fare pretty well against them. The problem of population shopping there are not that many human populations that are cold adapted any longer. And there are not too many examples of the Kitavans left either. The best test today would be a head to head telomere test. I know who I would be better on and I know who Matt would be betting on. He'd be broke when we got the test back. Fat adaptation blows carb adaptation away on a ROS basis if one just studies the biochemistry of both cycles. Moreover, we could also test their Vo2 max in a head to head. There are ways. But I would always bet on fat adaptation over carb adaptation for telomere length. The biology supports it and its not really controversial unless you do not get biochemistry and are hanging onto dogma.
TheKid,
You can't let facts and reality get in the way of a good theory 🙂
@TheKid – just guessing here, but the Kitavans also probably don't/didn't have many iPhones or TVs keeping them up at night
Comment 80 by Dr. Kruse: @Mark if you use technology…….there is no safe starches. Yes…….I went there.
Jack,
I am reading your posts…fascinating.
But what makes me wonder:
I lived in Japan for 3 years and I visited Okinawa several times. Those folks there are the longest living earthlings (on average) with plentyful 100-years plus olds. I have seen many men and women in their Nineties, who were alert, strong and physically fit.
They are certainly adapted to WARM weather, eat lots of carbs (Yam potatoes, tropical fruits) and thrive…
Just trying to understand your theory better.
@Werner…….this is not true. Okinawans longevity is tied to a SNP that reduces their leakiness at cytochrome one and nothing to do with their diet as is often reported. NOT TRUE. I covered that long ago here. https://jackkruse.com/why-we-die-and-why-we-live/
How does blood type come into play here? Or does it?
Jenni
@Jenni No role.
I believe Dr. Kruse has addressed the Africa question before. I see his latest comment on it at #56 on this blog entry.
does this mean one can eat VLC in the summer if one keeps taking cold baths and showers? is this desirable?
@Cu This is not something I have tried……but this maybe the year to try it for me.
Maybe I have missed this, but what is (if any) the connection that you see between bone health and cold thermogenesis. At this point of my life, I am not at all interested in having a 6 pack at 80. I want to keep my bones and jaw from falling apart and so fat it's been a losing battle. I am aware of some speculative talk about the fact that Inuits have severe osteoporosis in part due to the increased SNS and thyroid activity induced by cold adaptation. Obviously this causes me concern and until I am convinced otherwise, I am not going to dive in the icy waters headfirst. I am interested in your thoughts on this.
"However, given the current ambiguity surrounding the ''protein-calcium buffering'' model, an alternative explanation is offered. It is hypothesized that the accelerated bone loss among the Inuit and Inupiat reflects higher production and utilization of the thyroid hormones, T-4 and T-3, as a mechanism of cold adaptation through enhanced nonshivering thermogenesis. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc."
http://www.mendeley.com/research/bone-loss-tradit…
@heather J When I get to the biochemistry you will see the flaw in this article.
Dr. K, do you ever think about moving to a colder environment?
@owl no. I recreated one in my house.
Hi Jack, What is your opinion on the use of ephedrine as a supplement for weight loss during or after the Leptin RX, assuming it is not obviously affecting sleep? Say 8mg taken with green tea tabs once a day.
@Rojo no go for me.
Hi Dr Kruse
Me thinks that a way for me 2 lose excess fat fastest is 2 listen 2 ur gosh darn advice. 🙂
I've been doin the cold thing – drive home from work w AC on (not pleasant).
Finally this morning I ate 12 oz of organic grassfed fatty chuck – went for a wAlk at lunch – voila – not hungry. That was the part I resisted most.
Feeln a touch of hunger now but it's just after 7pm – so just water 4 me:)
If I hv 40 lbs 2 lose – would this be any ok way 2 continue? So relieved to be full and not diving into food I shouldn't be eating
@Golooraam yes it would be a great way to help weight loss.
OK, I live in SW Florida… almost the tropics. Help me work out what happens if for some reason, access to electricity is gone. So, I have no ice, no air conditioning, and no access to cold. Is there a way to adapt or change our environment for this situation? Do we then move to a higher carb diet? Sorry if its a dumb question but losing the power grid doesn't seem that remote of an idea for me.
@JDW Geothermal system? Dig a basement and make it dark. It will be cooler. Alligators do this too in FLa. its their version of hibernation…..or do what HG do in the AMAZON put cocoa beans in the water you drink all the time. It works to block the carb effects.
What? Cocoa beans in water? Really? Does that work? If so, is this a practice amongst other carb-eating primal cultures? Do the Kitavans do this also? I mean maybe the coconut oil blunts the carb effect for them? It would be very interesting to know what warm climate inhabitants have done throughout history to deal with carb intake in a climate that never allows them to experience the epigenetic effect of true cold.
@TheKid……..let me tell you something about this. Do major Fortune 500 countries go to the AMAZON basin set up shop for 5 yrs to study a group of Hunter Gathers who have no dicumented heart disease in 200 years for no reason? That is what the MARS corp has been doing. It seems the HG group found a dietary maneuver that improves autophagy to stop their heart from failing without using sleep. They are activating part of the ancient pathway I am describing to you here. Hormesis is what slows aging down and neolithic disease generation down in groups like the Kitavans in the absence of chronic stress……..this does not exist anywhere in the modern world. Life adapts everywhere. But it is most efficient and optimal in cold……..OK is what most are describing as perfect today………perfect is sub optimal………optimal is obtainable if you know where to look. I'm taking you there. The next part of the series I think will tie some loose ends for you.
@Dr. Kruse – is dry skin on the hands a sign of anything good/bad/indifferent?
@Mark it is normal with CT. I use Coconut oil in my skin as a moisturizer with some other things mixed in…….my home concoction
So Doc I need to be clear on this. You are advocating no carbs at all between Oct 15 and Mar 15. Just animal protein and fat and coconut oil?
@Bob S………Give me some time and let me finish. Step back think about what I am saying. Let me cash the check for you I have already written. I want you just to think………about the implications of it all
"…or do what HG do in the AMAZON put cocoa beans in the water you drink all the time. It works to block the carb effects."
Holy cow, doc! You are a wealth of info and you're making me push to be smarter. I need to find a good resource for cocoa beans! 😀
The geo-thermal thing doesn't seem possible although I'll have to google it today. I live in a swamp… literally. When we dig, we just find water so there are no basements. I bet we could build one with some advanced drainage systems maybe?
I am DYING over here for you to release part 4!
@JDW Part four will be released after my Paleo Summit talk and before the Paleo fx fest……..the a good reason…….everything I say there will make you think……..and when you do this I will have your attention. The next part of CT series is the kill shot in many respects…..It was hard to write it personally many months ago but it contains some very personal thoughts……It is called the HOLY TRINITY FOR OPTIMAL LIVING. This is the one you do not want to miss. I strongly recommend you pay close attention to what I say with Sean on the 27th of Feb 2012.
Cold shower number one done! After gutting through the first couple of minutes, it got a lot easier. i only had enough time to stay in there for 7 minutes, but at that point i felt like i could stay in there forever. skin turned a nice red/pink color, so that's good. temp of the water was about 55. i also wore a knit hat too, that seemed to help a bunch too. this is something that i can do everyday.
@Mark…….after the next blog I think you are going to really understand why I might have just changed you life and your perspective. I do not make big promises I cant keep. That is how important this material is.
OK… so another thought. Let's say we are cruising along and doing our CT and eating carbs during the Spring, summer, and part of fall. We come to winter and we should be cutting off all carb consumption BUT winter is the holidays and the kids vacations, and family is visiting, etc. etc. Now, I know we are striving to be optimal but human nature sometimes gets in the way. Would adding the cocoa beans to all water starting on Oct. 15th be something we could use to stay close to optimal (mitigate damage) without being so stringent as to become the extended family pariah.
@JDW The answer is here. https://jackkruse.com/so-you-completed-the-leptin-…
what or who is HG?
got it . Hunter gatherers.
@Bob Bingo!
Dr K, I go in 2 weeks for my annual physical, it's been 18 months since the last one. I was "pre-diabetic", anemic, hypothyroid, fatty liver disease and sleep apnea. I've gotten the diet under control about 98% paleo. I've lost weight, and feel really good. I've slowly decreased my thyroid meds down to one T3 tablet a day. So, I am very eager to see my new labs! I started doing the full body CT about 2 weeks ago, I've been doing the face and limbs for over a year but for totally different reasons (I'd heard it decreased wrinkles and improved circulation).
My concern is about the sleep apnea. I know sleep is one of the key cornerstones. Does it matter if the sleep I get is machine assisted? Would following your program help me get off the CPAP machine? Would targeting cold on my neck, jaw and face more often improve the apnea?
@LisaAPB anything you can do to imporve sleep helps this ancient pathway
You can bet I'll be paying attention on Feb 27th!! I'm ready for you to blow my mind! 🙂
Another question about hormones. You noted on the MDA thread that CT works on the receptor and eliminates the hormone level from the entire picture. Does this hold true for Leptin, too? Meaning, will CT alone fix leptin sensitivity? So for someone with gastroperesis or some other contraindication to performing the reset, would using CT serve as a reset unto itself?
@JDW your mind is working brilliantly……….soon to be revealed.
"or do what HG do in the AMAZON put cocoa beans in the water you drink all the time. It works to block the carb effects."
lol, I literally sat down with my new concoction of raw cacao nibs in my coffee, and read this comment.
Looking forward to the Paelo summit talk, this is all putting me in a new direction. More importantly I hope to point others in my life in a better direction.
Ice Ice Baby! My ice pack sessions have increased my HCG losses like crazy! Thanks Doc!
@Chimp Chick In the next installment Chimp you might begin to understand why.
@Dr. Kruse – You really have changed my perspective. The knowledge gained really helps me adjust my decisions, one at a time. Like this morning, I knew that I just had to get through the shower and that it would be easier next time. And overall, I think the most powerful thing is that I actually have confidence that I can reach my goals now following what you prescribe because I can read the science for myself. That's huge
I'm looking forward to your talk and your next post. Thanks for the CO tip as well.
@Mark I am not close to done yet. Just wait til the next blog in the series comes out. Your confidence will soar and everything I am going to show you you can verify in your own surroundings and you can get the science pretty easy…….Why? Well, you'll see.
Dr K: I've been following your cold thermogenesis protocol for the past two weeks…with one key addition…I climb into the tub…dump the bag of ice (or bags) over my belly and reserve 3 cubes. Those 3 cubes are placed into a 4oz rocks glass with an appropriate 12 yr Scotch…I am not kidding when I say my sessions last 50% longer with the aid of that one beverage.
@Vince Booze will lower your threshold for training CT but it's not safe. The reason is that it can lower your core temperature because of the effects on the hypothalamus. It also affects the other parts of the ancient pathway I have not hit yet. This is not a good thing to do……..but yes I know it works. I dont talk about it much because humans always try to do things in quick order instead of the correct way by biologic rules.
Hi Jack, What do you think of psyllium supplements (just ground husk, no additives) for constipation during the reset? Would this cause GI irritation or prevent the gut from healing?
@Rojo no I dont. In fact excess fiber in your diet is a terrible CW idea. It does nothing but ruin your gut further and it decreases your endogenous vitamin D levels. Not a good Optimal move.
@Rojo Constipation is a sign of an unhealthy gut. IMHO the worst thing you can do is force it to work on more mass of one of the most sticky things we can eat.
For constipation try Vitamin C and Magnesium Malate to bowel tolerance.
OR one of my old posts
Repost….
NO More Constipation
First off, i am a layman so perform your own due diligence on the subject.
Having said that let me share with you what can be helpful
first you need to swear off fiber supplements immediately and forever. They are damaging to you in more ways than just the constipation.
Second you need to empty your bowel, here is how i would go about that.
Products:
Magnesium Citrate Pills
Magnesium Citrate Liquid
Enema Bag
Epsom Salts
for three days take 2400 – 3000 mg of the Mag Cit pills. space them out take them all together doesn't matter just get them in.
On day three drink a 16 oz bottle of the Mig cit liquid and 2 quarts of water. You should probably be alone and free for the day.
Explode……. ( did i mention you should be alone??? also dont be outside say 10 steps of the throne. when it comes…. good god watch out )
now that you have emptied everything you ever ate you will need to rest. it can be wearying
continue to take at least 1200 mg of Mag Cit pills daily for the next 3 – 6 months. you will know when you no longer need it.
once a week for 6 weeks give yourself an enema following the best instructions you can fine. Use only water and Epsom salts. lemon/coffee/aloe/etc are not required they are cool and sexy but really dont address your concern. just Epsom salts will be all you need. the lower intestine is an upside down U with the part connecting to your anus on the right side. when you fill up you want to lay on the left side to give gravity the best chance possible to fill the entire intestine.
go slow gas can build up and block the waters entry and could be annoying to clean up.
Dont expect all the water you put in to come out when you relieve your self after the enema. if you are as bad as you say you will have pockets and soft spots in the bowel which need irrigation much like an abscessed tooth. it is normal for ammonia to be trapped in and under these pockets so the smell can be interesting.
After 6 weeks give yourself a 6 week break before any additional enemas.
If you object to giving yourself an enema you can fine a practitioner who specializes in colonics. these people are certified so dont use one that isn't. Also dont go until you first purge yourself. The ones i have used are rather narrow minded about their field of study and do have all sorts of stories of the total healing power of the colonic itself. My experience is that just like most specialist they have drank too much of the koolaid. they know their stuff buy you cannot rely on them to know YOUR stuff.
you should feel remarkably better after the explosion. it isn't uncommon to feel physically drained however which is why you need to rest.
Add walking to your regimen as walking tones the core and you will notice most likely within the 6 weeks a marked improvement.
planks could also help. after the explosion.
after you get clear you need to stock up on good flora and fauna.
I highly recommend a quality shelf stable product by standard process call ProSynbiotic as well as their Gut Flora. the former takes care of the upper gi and the later the lower.
only then can you call yourself done
good luck and good hunting
@jon……you are becoming the Optimal Life Zen master. Every time I see you do this it makes me smile. The quilt was designed for people like you. People who want to help others improve their former selves.
When my kids were younger, I got them giant trash cans for Easter baskets to use as toy boxes to get some stuff out of their rooms. The trash cans became the toys. They used to fill them with water year round and face off and submerge and giggle. The never seemed to get tired of it. Then in the afternoon they would take their baths after the water warmed. It was kind of embarrassing, but they loved it. Then one day, the gardeners used their trash cans. We scrubbed them a few times and tried talking to the gardeners. (The classic, no habla nothing but dinero. And we gave up.) I should have fired the gardeners. Anyway, they still talk about it. Do you think tap water is cold enough?
@Lee cold enough to begin sure…….but not where you will want to go. As the series moves on you will understand why this is the case. The next part will be an eye opener.
Jack,
thanks for the info about the Okinawans. I did not know about mitochondrial leakage. Great insight.
I am looking forward to your next episode, can't wait.
If your regimen can heal T2 Diabetes and hypothyroidism, you can claim your title of "Master of the universe".
I will spread the word in Germany.
@Werner……It is a big thing to say I can do this……but I have done it in my own clinic for over 4 years now in patients who want to do it. The results…….well they are remarkable. And the best part is that any person who wants to do this can do it by themselves……..with a little coaching and a change in thought. That is my specialty now, brain surgery without a knife.
@Dr. Kruse – Sounds good, can't wait. By the way, I was able to squeeze in another cold shower earlier, but I did things a little different this time. Over the course of about 15 minutes prior to the shower I did 10 pull-ups (full ROM, no momentum) with a 30lb KB hanging from my waist. Then I turned water to as cold as possible (48 degrees) and plugged the drain. After about 5 minutes of standing up in the shower, I laid down in the tub for 5 more minutes. I was not fully submerged, the water came up to my sides, but the shower was still on so I got pretty good exposure. Man, I felt that for about 90 after I got out (subtle goosebumps every now and then). I'm going to keep up with this protocol going forward and extend the time as I adapt and have the opportunity to. Then once this is easy (45 min), I'll start adding ice.
On the ''ice bag rides", I'm going to take a sabbatical from them for the forseeable future. I'm not sure if it's frostbite or not but I have couple dime-sized red spots near my hip bones that are sore to the touch. Hopefully they'll go away in a couple of days. I'm discontinuing this practice for two reasons. One, I can't monitor how my skin is looking while riding to and from work, not safe. Two, I still have to test this, but my hypothesis is that the alcohol/water mix can fall below 32 degrees because the freezing point for isopropyl alcohol is something like -114F. While that may be helpful later, I'm not adapted enough yet to play in that arena.
So while my adaptation will probably take longer because I can only do one to two cold shower/tubs per day, hopefully that will still be enough to get me adapted eventually. In the mean time, VLC Paleo is going great! As always, thank you Dr. Kruse. Your work is greatly appreciated by many.
OK… so I have another thought/question. You said that HCG and CT are like perfect bedfellows. Is this because HCG almost mimics the hibernation state with so few calories? So, just like hibernating animals, your 03/06 ratios should improve? And, if you couple HCG and CT, and CT can act as its own reset… you would come out the other end more leptin sensitive, more cold adapted, and thinner which are all good. Any downside? Should I assume that CT would dramatically increase the fat loss on hcg?
As part of my HRT (for men) I am using HCG-shot=400iu/EOD for the last few years.
If HCG and CT are perfect bedfellows
what would be the correct size of HCG shot?
@jan The dose has to be adjusted to your androgen goals. If you use CT you will see your need for HCG drop.
I snow-blow'ed my driveway this morning. 3 deg out. I wore a hat, boots, gloves, and shorts with no shirt. Spent about 30 minutes doing the drive. I'm pretty well cold-adapted, I guess. Skin temp was 50 deg. No shivering, felt great. Worked out for an hour in 50 degree gargage, then took a 15 minute dip in the hot tub.
Neighbors think I am crazy, hope I can prove them wrong!
@Akman we will see soon how nuts you are………
@Rojo, @Jon
+1000 on Jon's protocol. My personal experience has been that fiber supplements literally tear up my insides creating a raw mess. Not pretty! As Jon specifies – best thing is daily supplementation with Magnesium/Vit C to keep things moving through. Depending on how bad your guts are you may want to take enough mag to keep things softer than normal for a while to limit irritation of things moving through. Personally I cannot handle the OTC Mag Citrate from the drug store. I just use a powdered magnesium product similar to Natural Calm (unflavored, no extra calcium), 1/2 to 1 TBSP (650 – 1000 mg) mixed with hot water before bed. 99% of the time this does the trick. Occasionally when things slow down or if you feel icky – the Epsom Salt enema is a great therapy. Takes time, but it pays off and the next day you will feel so much better for it. What is funny to me is that my grandmother used to swear by the enema for fighting off colds etc. How quickly things change.
Dr K's leaky gut rx protocol is the best I have found to date. For me the DGL caps have been very helpful.
@Jon – I will have to try your 6 week protocol. What ratio of Epsom Salt to water do you prefer?
@Loring, I use a cup for a quart of clean water ( filtered, distilled etc.) but you can probably go all the way to saturation , never thought beyond that since i use liquid mag cit for the getting out part.only salt for the cleaning part
If you have titanium is it a problem? I have a piece wrapped around my humerus and in hooked in the top. I can do anything with my arm.
@curious no issues. I have lots of patients with titanium…….no one has complained yet.
if i only have $200 bucks to spend, is it more helpful to spend it on 23andme genetic testing or telomere testing through spectra cell labs?
@V What is your goal? Is it optimal? or is it just feeling OK? Is it another goal?
i feel ok now. my goal is to be at a minimum as healthy as my paternal grandfather. he died at 94. up until a few months before his death he was driving to a race track an hour away in another state and he was living alone independently, although he had visitors daily. he had all his marbles. at least that is my goal. which test should i make a priority? my birthday is coming up and i want to get one of the two tests. ps just listened to mark sisson. good for the newbies anyway.
@V A telomere test will give you insight that you might need to adapt many things.
ps in anticipation of my birthday in approximately one month i am doing vlc and wearing amber glasses starting at 6pm. no computer or tv after 7. try to sleep by 8 as i have to be up at 5. i will try to get some morning sun before work and some afternoon sun at lunch time.
@V I got a feeling after my next blog………well lots of things will change for many people.
I can't wait Doc! Thank you again!!
@ Mark- My ice pack buddy.. Since our rides are the most time efficient ways to get all the cold in we can, would you consider another layer (to protect your skin) Or using less rubbing alcohol in the mix? I use the alcohol mainly for squishy purposes. I find it easier to sit on slush rather then a brick of ice. It does take a very long time to freeze, but if you cut the ratio of alcohol to water I think you might be OK in the frost bite department. =) I am now putting by ice packs in a big trash bag.. Arriving at work, the gym or the grocery store looking like I wet my pants isn't the most flattering thing I have ever done.. 🙂
On another note, I want to thank you for your analysis of all Doc's blogs. Even with a BS your interpretations make it much more understandable for myself and I am sure many of us! Same to you Jon =)
Part of what I love about your blogs is that they appear to be alive… changing… evolving. I will read the same blog over and over again, and it never fails me to get me to another insight, another answer to my questions, another level of understanding and putting the pieces together. I swear they're three-dimensional 🙂
You mentioned on MDA that you spend a minimum of 3-4 hours a day in a cold, dark environment (other than sleep). I'd like to know more about that… do you add it on before/after sleep in AM and PM? Or could it be at any time of the day? Is there anything I need to know about how to not interfere with my circadian rhythms while doing this?
Can you spend *too much* time in a cold, dark environment? Could you interfere with your seasonal rhythms doing this….
@Souldanzer the reason is simple……because you checked your dogma and you are beginning to see a new reality open to you. I did not make the rules of biology up. I think I just connected lots of parts to each other and paradoxes now make sense. My next blog will probably be the most explosive and controversial yet. After the controversy dies………people can examine the news, check the facts, and decide what to do with it. The decision will likely be the most important one most will make in their life. It was for me, my wife, and our kids. I had to bring them kicking and screaming…….but I had to. When you read it you will see why I had to.
The road to optimal really is a journey. A journey some will fear, while others begin to turn that fear into fuel to make sure they right the wrongs of previous bad decisions at the hand of bad thinking. I used to be one of those people. I decided to improve my former self. Erasing one's dogma is probably the hardest thing we can do. But, i found it is the healthiest thing we can do too………
Oh gosh, Doc. I've already dragged my husband and kids kicking and screaming this far… you mean I'm gonna have to do more dragging?! I guess I'll see how much tomorrow AM but you sure are getting me in a lot of trouble these days!
I started planting the seeds in my very sickly sister today. She is NOT ready but I'm trying to chip away at her "oh, I could never…" thinking.
How about some easy basic steps to healthier living? Ones that dont include advice only for obese men or fat women desperately looking to lose weight.
@AL that post is coming too. I have to get out some of the more serious science first.
Jack.!
I just finished listening to your Paleo summit presentation.
Hats Off.!! You blew it out of the park.
Trust me on this, you should podcast more than blog, if possible.
Awaiting the next 'explosive' on CT..
@Resurg glad you enjoyed it.
While it is still night where you are, it is morning here and I just heard your talk at the paleo summit. Thank you for presenting it all in an organically rounded out way. I enjoyed it enormously. But what I enjoyed especially is that you are very easy to understand for someone not-englisch and with a hearing impairment. That was great!
@Marijke my wife thinks I should stop blogging too……she says I think faster than I can write so my blog is my own mismatch…..LOL she maybe correct.
awesome paleo summit today, thank you! With cold therapy, should women take breaks at any time during their menstrual cycle?
@Brenda do you think humans who live this way would? Nope.
I prefer the blogging method. I like to read things and have a record of them. Stick with the blogging. Making some errors due to speed doesn't ruin the content for me.
@Gladina…..there are few bloggers who love to point out how bad I write and how "incomprehensible" things are. It really kinda makes me laugh really, because their thoughts are tripping them up from understanding why others are fascinated where I am taking them. They are completely unaware of the reality that I now live under. After my next blog I think all will be revealed. Moreover, this is precisely makes the point I made with Sean today…… how their neolithic thougths might be subjugating themseleves, while they remain unaware of it. As a surgeon in training, I learned some of the most valuable lessons form the worse teachers and surgeons I met. I learn best from failures of others thoughts. I pay deep attention to this. The smartest among humans learn from others mistakes. A great sailor is not made on a calm sea.
When you, the reader see their reaction, I will leave that to you to decide who might be correct and who might be sharing an ultimate truth. I do not waste time. It is our most valuable asset we have. My next blog brings that point home to the table.
My messages are in fact resonating and getting through to many, and some do not like it one bit. Why? I am challenging their own dogma.
I can't control that and I can't control their reactions. So, I don't bother with that nonsense. I can only control my thoughts. My thoughts can help people. Moreover, they do in my clinic daily. Regurgitation of studies is not what a doctor does best. In fact, after my next blog you might realize really why I think this way now. I know why no one does today. That, in and of itself, may blow you mind altogether. This is why I can not get angry.
I mesh those studies that my mind thinks has merits, based upon my understanding of biologic reality. I mesh it with the art of clinical practice to help people adapt and make better choices. Why do I do it this way? Why am I different? Because my blogs get people thinking and making comments to get us to real change. I know what mental masturbation gets you already……I am a product of that manner of reductive thinking from my medical education. I now question all of that.
The next blog tells you why I do and it take that belief to its ultimate test. It should make you stop immediately, and think. I think their bias and their thoughts are the facades of their own dogma showing thru. The next blog is going to be the ultimate mirror for their own dogma……..to test for themselves. I think when those who heed my warnings test it………they will see how "incomprehensible" my message and my goals really are for mankind.
I posted my goals in my starting blog. I have not changed the goals one time. People just do not like I how I deliver the package. I'm cool with that. I'm not here to be everyone's cup of tea. I am here for change and change alone. And change, sometimes requires a vision others just do not get………..
I'm just making sure that they know about the package from a physician who gets it. All too often, this community feels obligated to pound my profession's reputation. Well, soon…….my profession begins its payback in my blog post to you the public. The next post is the first payment of all my failures I made heretofore at your expense. I learned this 6.5 years ago…….and its time you know it too.
What's becoming clear to me is that what some may consider one of the crowning achievements of evolution – the ability to control our own environment – may be what's holding us back.
Great stuff Doctor. Can't wait for more.
@ Steve The next blog is going to take What I started with Jimmy Moore here in May 2010, http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/4119… then expaned upon in the Paleo Summit with Sean Croxton today……….and it is going to end in the next blog. You will all realize what the implications are for this. I will bring your mind to a place that few have travelled and you will be faced with one question to prove a point. I will give you an actionable thing to do to question everything you believe……..and then you have to decide what to do next. That thought……..will likely change your DNA forever. It did to me. It was my come to Jesus moment 6.5 years ago and it is what cured me completely.
Dr. Jack,
Trailblazers take the arrows & you my friend are a trailblazer. You have awakened my mind to what I knew but was unaware, if that makes sense.
@Larry just wait til CT4. I am just cooling down. The Holy Trinity blog will be epic. I promise. Today was an just an appetizer.
"Several of the early studies related to food and nutrient intakes at high altitude reported changes in taste perception (Anonymous 1938, Pugh 1954, Tillman 1948), perhaps due to ketosis (Anonymous 1938). In an anonymous article (1938), Shipton stated that at 27,000 ft on Mt. Everest, it is "impossible to induce an appetite of any sort. All solid food is nauseating." This change in taste perception reportedly led predominantly to a diminution of fat intake. Shipton (Anonymous 1938) stated, "one does not crave for fat at an elevation of 12,000 feet, and I don't think you could eat more than a restricted amount of it."
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/1/50.full
@Monte tonight at sunset……..your world will change. I will explain it all.
How's this summary? Human beings CAN thrive in warmth/carbs (like the tropics) SO LONG AS they are in tune with the light cycles (seasonal & diurnal & monthly (at night), as well). If you use technology – that is, artificial light – and don't get huge quantities of natural sunlight all day every day, you can't do this. You have to go the arctic path if you want optimal – daily cold exposure & very low carb (summer exception for carbs). You can let either light or cold drive your rhythms, but it has to be one of them – you can't have artificial light AND climate control if you want optimal.
Be gentle if I'm wrong, lol.
@Sunset tonight…….I will show you the road to Optimal.
To me, the most interesting thing about the above paper was the change in taste perception. This tells that cold thermogenesis goes beyond simple heat production and weight loss.
Given the above, do you believe in "gustatory alliesthesia"? Anopsology is something that has intrigued me for some time. Is is it possible that even on a Robb Wolfe style diet that imbalanced can occur if we over-ride our evolutionary gut-brain senses?
http://www.amazon.com/Instinctive-Nutrition-Sever…
@Monte it changes everything.
Listened to the Paleo Summit. One thing you said stood out: that we have become mediocre. It reminded me of this article I read some time ago about fossilized footprints found in Australia. They are of a hunting group of men. I believe they are about 6 feet tall and one is running at about 37 mph.
Only elite Olympic sprinter can do that now. AND they are specialized in terms of training, technique and lifestyle. Whereas these guys were just out for a hunt. Now maybe this one guy is an anomaly, but "my gut" tells me different.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/0…
@TheKid tonight I will show you why we have become mediocre.
I think I have figured out what Jack will be presenting, IF he ever gets around to it. He is going to say that obesity and diabetes are not diseases but adaptations of our DNA adjusting to what our body interprets as Fall Season, loading up on fat and fuel stores for the winter. Since we live in a long light environment, warm 24/7 the sensors see this as time to get ready for winter hibernation.
His trap door CT trick will be tricking the body to now switch to believing that winter is now over and it's time to convert the 06 acids/oils to 03 and burn fat again like we are about to go to into spring and long light cycles.
The key to being able to accomplish this will be loading on 03 fats, strict circadian cycle eating for a late fall or winter time period. This means only fat and meat for some period of time. Eliminating blue light exposure past sun down and brief bright blue light immediately after rising and through the day. Of course it's late fall and winter so our cold adapted body will need to spend at least 4 hours per day in a 50F environment, preferably before bed time.
I came to this thinking after reading in reverse this blog and the two before including the comments he made to our questions.
That's my best guess, we'll see.
@Eric tonight you can stop guessing. Tonight is the first day of a new reality
@TheKid
I think you mean "running at about 37 KMH". Which is 23mph. Still, point taken. 😉
Obesity…the disease of perpetual autumn
Follow up edit: I suspect the Factor-X will allow us to be able to do a full body "Spring Time Reset" on our metabolism. I'm looking forward to the details. It only makes sense that we would have a reboot button. After all, the most complex device known in the universe, able to cope with a wide range of variables in environment, surely must be capable of full repair. It matters not that some will not get the connections here. That is what evolution and adaptation is all about. I have already learned so much from this discussion that my life has changed and my future has changed. Way to go Jack!
@Eric tonight it is really going to change………
Tonight Eastern time? That means if it's 7 EST, it's 4 here out in California. Can you tell I'm excited? Can't wait…
Phew.
Thank you for setting the time for us. I ve been doing reloads on your blog page all day. I'll go sleep now (8.45pm) and catch the new reality at dawn.
I haven't been this excited for something in a long time. LOL ..
Dr K. You know how to keep us on our toes.
😀
@Cooling……its been 6.5 years for me…….of explaining properly how to tell people this. Today is that day.
Great talk Doc! Not since the season premier of Dexter have I been so excited! This may be a silly question, maybe not..? Could one wear sunglasses at night to watch some TV/read your blogs safely? If so, any specific type? I'm all about getting optimal but I am no Laura Ingalls!
Dr. Kruse,
Like Gladina, I would really like to see you continue blogging. I am still making my way through the "Quilt" information, but I have read all the blogs since and including all the comments (there is definitely gold there!). I continually reference back to past posts as well as comments made by readers so that I can keep moving forward with the discussions. Please keep writing for those of us who truly want to evolve beyond mediocre
@Susan read tonights blog……..it should suit your needs. It is epic in length……but hugely important to our species.
Hi Dr. Kruse
Still shivering a bit from my morning commute. I cranked up the AC on a 45 minute commute, repete with a bunch of ice packs in my t-shirt (I was inspired by other commentors on this blog)
Do you see any problem with near daily exercise. I know you are not a fan of chronic cardio (neither am I) – but I really enjoy doing daily calisthenics in the form of chinups or pushups – could this be a net negative?
Is there any frequency that would be optimal – say 3x a week?
I was really enjoying the musculature they were giving me
@golooraam Read the holy trinity……..blog. You begin to understand why body is best in cold.
Jack,
Have you ever read any of Nassim Taleb's books or essays? Your latest blogs are 'epistemologically' similar to his works, and they have exponentially improved my understanding of your 30,000 ft vision for optimal health. Appreciate the great work and look forward to tonight.
@Adam No I have not. Got any links?
I'd like to get your take on Wim Hof a.k.a Iceman. He has a remarkable degree of control over his autonomic nervous system and seems to have this whole cold thermogenesis gig down pat. Speaking of paleolithic, he even looks a bit like a caveman!
As a fellow physician, I have you (and a handful of others) to thank for breaking me out the the CW prison: low-fat, high-fiber diet, lots of cardio exercise, statins are good for you B.S.
I started by "guinea-pigging" myself with a paleo-diet, leptin reset, sleep, and kettle-bells and now I've started some "cold-therapy." I finally lost that last 10 lbs, feel great, and got of my anti-depressant. For me the best thing has been mental calmness and focus.
I've now started working with a handful of receptive patients re: leptin reset,paleodiet, hormesis etc. I can't tell you how gratifying it is for me (an my patients, of course) to reverse Type 2 diabetes and HTN. I start out by saying, "I sorry for all the times I nagged you to exercise more and eat less." Now I actually have tools that work. It's very cool.
Thank you for your synthesis. Consilience is were it's at.
I've found that my body thanks me daily for living and eating in a way that's hypothalamus-friendly.
@Dan in Utah. Read my holy Trinity blog post…….Wim Hof thinks he controls his mind. The leptin melanocortin pathway is what allows him to do this. He and every other human on this planet are finding out about that tonight in the Holy Trinity blog.
Great podcast Jack! Loved it. You speak so well; born for broadcasting I reckon. I find following your speech a lot easier than following your writing, that's for sure.
You got me thinking about Il-6 and leptin. I don't really know what I'm talking about, but my sister-in-law is seeking drs opinions on whether or not AML is hereditary (she's been told no). My mother-in-law and two of her siblings had MDS, which progressed to AML. We wonder whether it's linked to them being raised in the Netherlands in WWII. They were all very big babies 10lb+ (Undiagnosed diabetic mum) One of them was born in the famine of 1944. Lots of deprivation during their childhood, and then they came to bountiful Australia. Sugar addicts to the end. This is all linked isn't it? And can be stopped from hitting the next generation by following your Rx.
@Coriander…….read the Holy Trinity……..everything is linked.
Jack,
I live outside of Seattle. We don't have extreme cold temperatures here — winter temps range, usually, between 35 (avg low) and 45 (avg high) — but we do have a lot of darkness. In winter, it's usually dark around 4:30pm and light again between 7:30 and 8 the next morning.
Will your next blog give some actionable steps for someone in my situation? I honestly am not sure where to start.
Here is a linkto; The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: "On Robustness and Fragility" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I am currently reading it. I think reading this will help you have a 30,000 foot view of how unusual you are (In a good way). He talks about how the experts can/are 100% wrong on some/many models that they rely on to predicate future events in the world.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Improbable-Robus…
Hi Jack, do you know http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson1.htm? It tells about an anthropologist in the beginning of the 20th century who lives in the arctic for a considerable amount of time. He shares the Eskimo diet of fish and water and to his own surprise he feels great on this diet and even likes it.
@Marijke Im not surprised but I bet many modern humans would be. My writings in February are critical for our species knowledge……….it is the kinda of information that needs to be shared with everyone. Then when they read it they can shoot an arrow at me…….or test their telomeres………and face their our dogma and how it subjugated thier biology for years while they did not realize it………….and then fix it.
Its that simple.
To follow up BR's link….a wiki of Taleb's main points from his books: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassim_Nicholas_Tale…
It might be easier to skim through those considering your busy schedule (blogging, responding to comments, paleo fx, book authoring, bio-hacking, etc.).
From comment 55: "…. because cold environments activate the ancient pathway that blocks photic control of circadian biology and we use eNOS."
You said more often that cold uncouples us from the circadian rythms, at least this is what I understood. Does this mean that light cycles don't matter when you're cold adapted? So we could keep on the lights at night without damage?
@Marijke Wait til CT 6…….it will go deep into this. It blows safe starch theory all to pieces for once and for all.
Hello! I'm from germany. I have little problems with english. So i hope that i understand you correctly and I'm sorry for my english…
I didn't understand this:
"When you couple a super faster epigenetic rate to a diet high in nutrients you create the perfect storm for a biologic system to create disease."
What is the requirement for a super faster epigenetic? Do we currently have a super faster epigenetic?
And I thought that we always need to eat a diet high in nutrients. Does this mean that it could be harmful to eat a diet high in nutrients?
best regards,
sajonga
@Sajonga this means that anything to our biochemistry is pro growth…..carbs, insulin, estrogen, HS CRP, Low Vitamin D and K2, and high temperatures are stimulators of inflammation for example. This speeds up your circadian clocks and shortens your telomeres……
It's again me! 🙂
I thought, that "high in nutrients" mean mineral fuels. Is this right or do you mean high in calorie?
I thougth so, because going back to natural food is high in mineral fuels, isn't ist? So we can't avoid it…
New here. Been reading for 2 weeks, sometimes rereading I’m hooked! How I got here ….was doing a high protein, vlc, lf diet. first diet for me. lost 10 lbs in 6 weeks but not where I wanted to lose ….belly went to a meno board, was a link to your site on Cold therm haha here I am. Easing in to getting cold. Turned heat off in my home which is big for me. slept great last night. want to do reset but am trying to marry the Osteo, and the dysbiosis protocols. have gone paleo last 2 weeks ordered Nutiva co. eating mostly grass fed and pastured.
First thought …this is like being in a docs office and getting all your questions answered (h thought that was funny) then I thought …No, this is a Movement! Life Changer for sure.
Thank you for being you! dr Jack
@Joann you are the reason I do this….help yourself and then help others……we need to change the world.
I promise you I will help change the world. Just need to know the archives will be available for some time, as I need to read everything 3 times before it is stuck.
@JS http://www.livescience.com/7736-epigenetics-revolutionary-humans-work.html
I have a black quilt on my bed. I pull it up over my head if I sense dawn is approaching. There are LED lights on the control panel of my bedroom’s window AC unit and I can fluff up the quilt between me and the LEDs to block the light. I have installed red CFL bulbs in the house which I use exclusively after sundown.
@Glen PDG cover the LED with nail polish. Wear an eye mask.
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/43737929#43737929
Wanna bet the reporter tries to lengthen her life by eating less meat and exercising harder?
Glen that video is in several blogs comments…….in the CT series already. Nice find.
I can’t take the credit. I stumbled upon it here in the responses section.
Dr. Kruse how does cold temperature up-regulate the eNOS system. I can’t find any papers on this and I was wondering how I could connect the dots
@Chase Read paragraph 4 in this blog……and it explains it. Cold shift oxygen’s binding affinity and this reduction in O2 delivery stimulate eNOS in the capillary bed.
https://jackkruse.com/cold-thermogenesis-5/
This is absolutely brilliant. Now I am starting to make connections. A good teacher doesn’t give all the answers, he makes his students think more critically. Thank you.