Readers Summary
- Are you aware that you can easily change your metabolism by yourself at home?
- Do you know that you can change your calorie needs?
- Are you aware of what you do not know, because you have not considered it?
- Consider three new radical rules that might intrigue you to know more about CT
Now that you understand that I believe cold environments were how life first evolved, what implications does this hold for all life and humans today? I think with this thought experiment we need to begin to talk about another aspect of evolution to fully conceptualize how cold works for biology. Let’s talk about sleep for 4 short minutes. First, I want you to watch this video before you proceed.
Recently, one of my readers pointed out he was confused by Dr. Gamble when she said the normal pattern of sleep in a natural environment had two cycles. He wanted to know why her version and my version for sleep as written in my post “Rx for the Leptin Rx” were not congruent. It was a great question that really opens the discussion to the idea of evolutionary mismatches. These mismatches occur in many modern systems of biology, and they are actually increasing in frequency and severity as time elapses. The reason is quite simple. Evolution is constantly getting faster as time goes on, relative to the current state of our genome. This is really how the “cellular theory of relativity” is currently affecting our own genome today. The speed of evolutionary change has far out stripped the ability of our paleolithic genes to catch up. This mismatch causes major problems for modern humans. When they further exacerbate the system with choices not congruent with our biology, the results are magnified in disease incidence and prevalence.
She also mentioned in passing, early in her talk, that people who went deep into the ground have been found to be “very productive” while in a cold dark environment. She did not expand on this concept at all, but I would strongly suggest you remember this as the cold thermogenesis series progresses on. There is a deep biologic reason this occurs. As we use this pathway, lots of things improve that we do not expect.
She assumed in her talk that native polar people without artificial light sleep differently than we do today. She spoke about the effect of light cycles. She said that she felt that light cycle were the most important affect on our biology. Light cycles are important to all life, but this bright researcher is apparently unaware that mammals have an innate ability to change their internal chemical circadian clocks when the environment they are in changes. Plants have the same ability.
We stop using the photic light cycles to yoke metabolism to our sleep when it is cold. There is an epigenetic switch in us that stops our suprachiasmatic nucleus from using light in cold environments. This is done by design by evolution because light cycles do not become important in freezing cold because carbohydrates cannot grow in these environments. This is tied to ubiquination rates and how light control carbon utilization from foods. So evolution designed a plan to teach mammals who cannot think, as humans can. We can control our environment but wild animals cannot. When an animal has no way to control its environment away from the equator at higher latitudes, the best way to yoke the season cycles at our poles is to use temperature instead. That is precisely what happens in plants and animals. Humans seem to think they are immune to this condition. I will explain the complex biochemistry later in the series and provide you with cites. Right now, I want you to be aware of this metabolic trap door. Its mere presence is shocking enough. But its implications are far greater for modern humans because of how they link to ubiquination rates in cells.
There is one larger problem with her assumptions in this TED talk. She said light is the big deal. She was right but never gave the context of why it was a big deal. It turns out on cold environments light becomes less dominate in signaling. Today we know it is not true any longer in seasonally cold environments. This means that if evolutionary biology gave up on light for some reason, switched and used cold temperatures to monitor to how to us carbon in us when light levels were uncoupled from our mitochondria in seasons where light is not dominate. It raises a question: what else may happen to our metabolism in cold? Evolution does not do these things without a reason. She was quick to point out that this ability has been lost in modern humans, in her estimation, because of our discovery and widespread use of artificial light has become a huge game changer. We know Paris, France became the first city in our world that used artificial light in 1924. Today NYC is knows as the city that never sleeps. I think most humans are not really aware of how basic circadian mismatches destroy our biology slowly via the “slow erosion of metabolic function by the use of artificial light frequencies”
We know that humans die most from heart disease and heart failure. Heart failure is the number one cause of admission according to Medicare data. The heart has a lot of mitochondrial density. After this blog is through, you might know why this makes complete sense. The reason has to with a slow erosion of the process of autophagy in humans due to the circadian mismatches created by our choices in life when they are married to the rapidity to the development of our neolithic brain. In essence, humans became so smart so fast eating DHA, we became able to control too much of our environment for our own epigenetic and genetic good. The smarter we became, the more mismatches we became able to create. This cause our biology to become uncoupled from the cell cycle and metabolism for longer than just autumn or winter. We became able to live disconnected to nature for decades. For humans, this disconnection of chrono-biology lead to a steady walk over thousands of years to become the less efficient metabolically during sleep. This is especially true during REM sleep when autophagy dominates our biology. Autophagy is used to set ubiquitin marking to fix and recycle proteins for repair. Reduced autophagy leads to heart failure and it will lead to brain shrinkage. So this means that biologic mismatches are best measured in animals by looking at their rates of heart failure. For humans, the rates are staggering. That is a big clue that what we all believe to be true could be what is actually killing us slowly. Remember autophagy occurs when we sleep.
Moreover, when one looks at the biology and biochemistry of sleep and truly understands the power of autophagy for longevity, it becomes apparent that we may want to consider that maybe sleep is our primordial condition and not wakefulness. Maybe, just maybe, we evolved consciousness over time. This theory I have follows the thoughts I have developed in my cold thermogenesis theory, because in extreme cold environments, the process of autophagy becomes “super sensitized” to save energy while it increases our metabolic capabilities. Remember when Jessa Gamble said that humans in dark deep holes become more energized and productive in her TED talk? The reason why is cold dark environments super sensitize the human process of autophagy without us actually having to sleep at all. The cause is an increased efficiency of autophagy by cold and dark. The metabolic trap door does something to us that we cannot do in long light cycles. To get suprasensitive autophagy in light we have to sleep well. This is an example of how metabolism and biochemistry can rewire or become thermoplastic in cold and dark environments.
In fact, in cold, sleep is heavily selected for in terms of how mammalian nervous systems are built by evolutionary design. Cold stimulus changes the behavior or eutherian mammals. This is why mammals can sleep so long underground in sub zero conditions and survive. Sleep is heavily selected for in cold.
Radical Rule #3: Sleep and cold environments were our ancestor’s primordial condition and as such, this was evolutions starting point for life on our planet.
Sounds more radical does it not? Let’s consider these thoughts and facts today.
If we assume this to be true, this thought explains why epigenetics has been found as the dominant player in how genetics operate in biology. Why? Anything that promotes survival and reproductive fitness has to be passed to the next generations. This is evolutions main directive. I think evolution found that epigenetic modifications to be quite effective way to pass on environmental information to succeeding generations. So successful, that it became a backbone law of genomic functioning. Evolution follows fractal patterning. So it is also highly conserved in all species. Today that appears to be true too. Life at its genesis was likely static, and to get the nutrients it needed, it used passive diffusion because of proximity. This made food scarce to life at all times. To survive it had to overcome this impedance. This manner of nutrient collection is highly inefficient, but the suprasensitivity of autphagy in cold made the process biologically plausible for great part of our evolutionary history. It appears that evolution naturally adapted to improve access to nutrients and to do so, it had to evolve wakefulness to obtain them. Yes, you read that correctly. To complete this, it yoked metabolism to sleep early on in evolutionary biology so it could account best for nutrients and autophagic repair to lead to optimal survival. I believe the use of timing became an easy evolutionary solution because of the rhythm of the sun and the freezing cold that these cells found them in could account for these cycles.
I believe that fractal organization of sleep and metabolism remains in every organism studied today. If you ask sleep researchers, (I have) they have told me this is a correct assumption. I believe that sleep and autophagic efficiencies are extremely high conserved across all species on our planet. We still have yet to find a species that does not sleep some. I think as life evolved wakefulness and not sleep, because it had to account for its environment. Such evolution then moved from a static model to a dynamic one, and then a whole new set of environmental problems had to be navigated to make life persist. Now you see why autophagy sits at position 15 on the Quilt. It is a critical component of optimal living in all species, not just our own.
This also signals where movement was first coupled to memory or actions in life. Even today, all learning in higher order animals is directly coupled to movement in their environment. The more one moves, the more intelligent one becomes. I just explained that to you in a recent blog, The Rewarding Feeling of Safe Starches.
We can prove this today because if we just get an Alzheimer’s patient with a demolished brain, when we introduce exercise, we can increase their cognitive function in a completely broken organ. In fact, in any neurodegenerative condition this happens by evolutionary design. That tells me a lot of how “evolution thinks”. The more I learn how she thinks, the more I learn. I hope this helps you understand how I think about life and how it all began. It is a foundational concept behind my QUILT document. When you see my point of reference, you begin to see a new reality that you might have not anticipated before.
Let’s continue on now to metabolism from the light and temperature story. There was a recent paper done that showed mammals may have another unique ability that is thermoplastic we are also not aware of. It is currently assumed by researchers and scientists that the only way a mammal can change its fatty acid concentration is by its diet. This article showed us that assumption might also not be true. (“Changes in ‘Good’ Fatty Acid Concentration of Inner Organs Might Be Largely Independent of Diet”) In this article, they state the following, “it is generally believed that mammals are unable to alter the proportions of essential fatty acids in their cell membranes except by changing their diets.
Amazingly, the amount of so-called “n-6″ polyunsaturated fatty acids (those with the final double bond at the sixth position) in the membranes was found to increase dramatically before the start of hibernation. Apparently, to prepare the body, particularly the heart, for operation at very low temperatures. Consistent with this idea, the transition to a higher content of n-6 fatty acids in membranes takes place extremely rapidly just before the animals enter their hibernation chambers. The changes are reversed again, over a short time, around the termination of hibernation in spring when the animals return to a life at high body temperatures.
The fatty acids incorporated in the membranes probably stem from the marmots’ white adipose tissue. Surprisingly, however, fatty acids are not simply taken from the fat stores at random but n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids are transported preferentially. The mechanism remains a mystery.
These new and unexpected findings show that mammals can make highly significant and rapid seasonal changes to the lipid composition of their cell membranes. But the results go far beyond this. During and immediately after hibernation, marmots are unable to eat anything — their food is under a thick layer of snow — so the changes cannot be related to immediate dietary influences.
Because the animals hibernate underground isolated from any external signals, the changes are probably controlled by an endogenous clock as part of an annual cycle.”
This article implies some more evidence for my theory on thermoplastic change. It is really not a theory, but an evolutionary dictum in all eutherian mammals. Let’s examine why evolution may allow mammals to do this.
The critical points for us to consider in this article are twofold: 1. the stimulus for hibernation in eutherian mammals and their descendants are tied to high dietary carbohydrate intake (proven fact already in science and not controversial) and high placement of omega six intake into their cell membrane prior to hiberantion begins. This was not known until this article came out. It did not escape my view, because it makes total sense of why mammals in particular would do this. The dietary stimulus of plentiful carbohydrate availability is a metabolic sign that they should soon den (fat and happy) and this seems to change what happens to the fatty acid synthetase enzyme in the mammalian gut lining. In this new research, scientists studied mice that are unable to make fatty acid synthase (FAS) in the intestine. FAS, an enzyme crucial for the production of lipids, is regulated by insulin, and people with diabetes or insulin resistance have defects in FAS. Mice without the enzyme in the intestines develop chronic inflammation in the gut, which is a powerful predictor of insulin resistance. This is how mammals used to signal their body that it was time to lay down under ground and avoid the harsh arctic winters. This biology is now coming to light in humans and you can read about it in my second cite. It appears all the biology is lining up quite well with my theory.
This signal is likely tied to signaling that the mammal should begin to replace its own cell membranes with PUFA’s. Why would evolution do that? Why should we pay attention to it? We should pay attention to it because it has major implications for modern humans who are direct descendents of these animals. Moreover, this evolutionary design feature allows for an interesting conundrum to potentially develop for us. It appears incorporation of PUFA’s into cell membranes are a “normal signal” in mammalian hibernation for them to den. I also found out from organic chemistry that high cell membrane concentrations of PUFA’s make the cell membrane of our cells very fluid in cold environments. This explains why mammals need this adaptation to sleep and not freeze their cells. It is a cellular anti freeze.
I also found out from Canadian frog biology that high glucose levels also act as antifreeze for animals in extreme environments. This information was nothing short of shocking. Maybe diabetes is an ancient epigenetic program for survival and not a disease at all? When I found this out I realized immediately why evolution needed to plan for this. In cold environments, if our cell membranes are filled with MUFA’s and saturated fats they become too stiff to work. All cellular functioning in organ systems depend upon proper cellular signaling. Mother Nature knew it so it designed a system to incorporate PUFA’s normally into all mammals cell membranes to get optimal functioning in cold environments. Any organic chemists can verify that this is a complete and factual statement. Here is another example of how biologic thermoplasticity occurs in nature.
So it appears that dietary carbohydrates, which are only present in long, light cycles in the summer in cold places, induce mammals to add PUFA’s to our cells to become fluid so we can function as we hibernate. This makes complete logical sense when viewed from an evolutionary stand point. I asked several mammalian vertebrate physiologists if this is how carbohydrates work for hibernating mammals and their answer was yes.
This implied to me that maybe if this is how mammalian physiology was designed to work to begin with. After all, they evolved in the polar environments on earth. This implied something even bigger to me. Why would we need diabetes to survive? Then the answer occurred to me. I called it Factor X. I checked my facts, and continued to connect more dots. Diabetes is required in mammals who are designed to work for optimal adaptation in cold environments.
Maybe, just maybe, it has become thought of as a neolithic disease in humans because we have simultaneously lost the ability to hibernate because we evolved the ability to control our environment completely? After all, we know evolution is moving faster today than our genome can adapt, Cordain and LaLonde have pointed out many times.
Remember, we still have our mammalian paleolithic genes that control our use of dietary carbohydrates and the up-regulation of PUFA’s in our cell membranes in us today. These biochemical pathways remain in us. This is another well known fact in the paleosphere. What is not so obvious to most, however, is that the rapidity of our brains’ evolution created the ultimate mismatch in this system. I believe some perceive this mismatch, but no one has explained this as yet. So it then follows that when we create a biologic mismatch with our neolithic thoughts we get something we have been socialized to believe is a disease. It is not at all. It is an evolutionary novelty created by our own rapid evolution secondary to our brain amazing development in the same time period?
This is how I view it from a 30,000 foot level today. The skeptics will immediately jump down my throat and point out that type one diabetics and CW that says it is a genetic disease! I don’t and never have. I think Type 1 and 1.5 diabetes are decidedly epigenetic phenomena of this mismatch that has been passed from every eutherian mammal to us today, and we remain unaware of this possibility either! Epigenetics has also speeded up if evolution has. This is why humans have no ability to stop diabetes once it starts unless they get in a cold environment. And this is why we assume that these two conditions are diseases, rather than consequences of a “relative time frame shift” in evolutionary time due to how fast our brains developed. This also explains why we have a paucity of hominid skeletons in the fossil record. This time disruption is part of levee one, which I called the “cellular theory of relativity.” Time is something we failed to consider in how our species maybe its own missing link to this puzzle!
Several of my friends have asked me, if this is not a disease then how does nature cure diabetes on its own? The answer should be intuitive now to you. When you began this post you might have thought that where I was headed was counter intuitive and frankly insane. Well, now you see how I think about it from a new perspective. The biology we know to be true today lines up completely with this theory. But how are IR and DM cured? Well, can you really cure a disease that is not a disease to begin with?
In IR, we get expansion of the fat mass to increase storage from carbohydrates we ate during long light cycles. That implies to reverse this process, there has to be a system. There is, it’s called hibernation in freezing cold. It means the cure is to live by your descendants biologic directs and in congruency with our evolved biology. Since we no longer hibernate maybe you need to consider how you eat carbohydrates within the circadian controls? Maybe what you thought was safe really is not?
Final point in part two of this series. “Doc, how does evolution eliminate these fat cells normally? What is the biologic process?” The reason diabetic researchers can’t find a cure is because their manner of looking at the problem is skewed and dead wrong. When you put on your evolutionary glasses, you see a different view of a perplexing issue. Cold environments are found as mammals hibernate in normal circadian biology. This completely reverses IR in mammals and wakes them up when conditions are better for life. Humans extinguished this ability rapidly in our evolutionary history because we are fully capable of controlling our environment. There is no need to den any longer, because we control our environment regardless of the temperature but we still have the machinery that acts within us. If we eat outside that directive, we get modern day diabetes. We can forage and succeed all the time. We can obtain Chilean bananas on Dec 31 in the Arctic Circle. Do you think evolution has a plan for this set of circumstances yet? Nope.
The modern result is that we have created a world where carbohydrates and PUFA’s are available 24/7 while we no longer can access to evolutions solution for Insulin resistance. It also makes sense why we have no built in hard wired metabolic pathways for fat removal. But cold thermogenesis does it and does it remarkably well. That implies that our ancestors paleo genes remain dominant as we evolved out of the Savana. Or it could even mean that maybe other assumptions we have made are also wrong? Realize that because our brains development was so rapid, it allowed evolution to extinguish the ability to hibernate. But there is a lot more to this story yet to be told so added biologic plausibility and maybe ultimate proof as to what is the optimal diet and what is just good enough.
Radical Rule #4: Evolution speeds up as time progresses on. This is a known biologic fact. The faster this evolution occurs, the greater the dietary mismatch becomes, and then we begin to see the real causes of why diabetes might happen.
Radical Rule #5: Epidemics are not caused by genetics. This is also a medical clinical fact that gets lost in the scientific literature, but you would never get that from reading the literature on diabetes.
Are you connecting any dots yet? Are you beginning to see how the QUILT was built? We are just getting started. Next up, the mind bending biochemistry that backs up all I have said here. Prepare for some cranial work out.
Your Shopping List for this Post
Additional Resources
Cites
- Walter Arnold, Thomas Ruf, Fredy Frey-Roos, Ute Bruns.Diet-Independent Remodeling of Cellular Membranes Precedes Seasonally Changing Body Temperature in a Hibernator. PLoS ONE, 2011; 6 (4): e18641 DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.00186412.
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215123352.htm
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110413171323.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed{a7b724a0454d92c70890dedf5ec22a026af4df067c7b55aa6009b4d34d5da3c6}3A+sciencedaily+{a7b724a0454d92c70890dedf5ec22a026af4df067c7b55aa6009b4d34d5da3c6}28ScienceDaily{a7b724a0454d92c70890dedf5ec22a026af4df067c7b55aa6009b4d34d5da3c6}3A+Latest+Science+News{a7b724a0454d92c70890dedf5ec22a026af4df067c7b55aa6009b4d34d5da3c6}293
So Ideally, the "cure" is to lock yourself in a dark wal-mart freezer and eat an Inuit diet..
@Ben G……..great idea. You might be shocked to know……..I tested that too after I read how Phelps, Armstrong, NASA, and the Sherpa's used it. And when I found out great white shark's used it and emperor penguins, arctic tern's, NFL football players, geothermal scientists, and Bacterian camels in Mongolia………I thought maybe evolution knew a little bit more about optimal than a strict paleolithic 1.0 or 2.0 template……..see I had to test my own dogma too Ben. I have to be congruent to my roots as a revolutionary thinker.
So I did just that.
@BenG I think Art DeVany said it best when he made a comment on another blogger's theory of the fat set point………I quote, "At what age do you hit your set point? The concept is vacuous. It confuses negative and positive feedback loops with an attempt to attain a steady-state outcome.
In a non-linear system, there may be no equilibria or there may be many. I think the 900 pound plus people have gone into a zone of the non-linear dynamics where the feedback ceases to limit fat mass."
Maybe we are all just looking at the problem wrong. The cure might come in a perspective change?
Putting a 900lb man in a dark freezer might raise some eyebrows.
@Ben G 900 lbs guy yes……..but I came up with two other ways to do it to keep it to myself until I knew it worked. It is hard to see what you don't know is even there, (doubly true for a neurosurgeon like myself). Find out these things made me aware of my own blind spots. This is how i came up with three specific thought experiments to test CT theory out. So far the Leptin Rx is making my case………pretty well. That was the one that cured me. The second and third one…….well they confirmed to theory to me as true. I think Osler, the great MD here it is "The eye cannot see what the mind does not know"
This is the essence of this post.
Reaction norms allow us to be plastic. That's what I was referring to when I mentioned "learning" in humans. We are the most adaptive creatures, and it's reflected in our frontal cortex (40% brain mass), movement, and creations of industry, societies, and clans.
But the fact remains, in light of "evolution acceleration", human DNA today is still 99% identical to past humans. Many of our genes are very well-preserved….most of us will still be born with 2 arms, and 2 legs….
The difference is only phenotype plasticity in reaction norms.
@Dr. John Marry that concept with evolutions speed with our old genes and ……….take the thought experiment to its biologic end in your head……… OK then you know where I am headed. If you connect the dots.
Dr. Kruse,
Been following this topic since the first one, and I am fascinated.
Let me know if my connect the dots is coming close.
1- You are saying that we can effect our own evolutionary changes through manipulation of our environment.
2- These changes occur much faster than evolution past (i.e., thousands/millions of years).
3- Thus we can effect our own changes, and rather than having them occur over monthly or seasonal cycles (in other words responses to natural changes in temperature), we can manipulate our temperatures and have the same effects on our bodies over hours, or even minutes.
Is that coming close? If I am even remotely approaching where you are headed, I feel like I am becoming living proof of your hypothesis. 🙂
Thanks.
@Steve…….you just proved that a thought could change your DNA. And you thought it, without me telling you……..FACTOR X is how I proved it. Consider this biologic fact……..levels of UCP1 mRNA are increased three to four fold after just 4 hours of exposure! Why would evolution preserve that function Steve? Always ask why. When someone tells you carbs are always safe……..you must begin to see if that is true all the time or just some of the time…….or maybe none of the time?
I used a physicist, a biologist, an organic chemist and a bottle of french wine and we created a scenario……..and I brought that reality to life.
FACTOR X.
It also explains to me that time my marketing professor in my undergrad day, who was an avid hiker, got his friend to lose over 100lbs on the cold Appalachian trail, despite eating a lot of calories..
I believe exercise physiologists call it the SAID principle (Specific adaption to imposed demands)
I had surmised that staying cold might be better than getting colder. I had contemplated three a days but opted to up my time to 32 min from 24.
So while CT your carbs must be low else you gum up the works.
@jon…….yep and there are more problems……..look at the comment made by Dr. John and my response. Think about it…….I did 8 yrs ago and I came up with a thought experiment that became the Leptin Rx. The next two train stops on that thought experiment were further down the pike……..If you go back to my Jimmy Moore podcast this Jan and listen to how I responded about safe starches and Dr. Rosedale……..i said this is all on continuum…….they are at different train stations then I am because they have not pondered the implications I have brought to your attn today. When one does you can see how to prove what is the optimal diet. Figuring out why evolution did this is a pretty neat story too…………That will be done in May.
Dr. Kruse–fascinating stuff. As a newly diagnoised T2D, I am all over this. I am local to you so if you have interest in overseeing my human trial let me know how to contact you…
@joseph…….you need to read on……….because the rest of the story is better
Hi Dr. Kruse
The more I read, the more I am thankful that I am placing blue ice gel packs on my back and front each night – in addition I reduced my food to coconut oil and fatty grassfed beef and marrow except when a few social occasions call
if you get a chance, would be curious as to your take on raw foods – specifically the benefit of raw protein and fats during this process
@golooraam Not as glad as you will be by the end of 2012, me thinks.
Would be interested to see if people in warm climates adjust better to daylight changes…Wouldn't in theory if you keep it warm, year round–living in the tropics you can eat more carbs but you MUST live by the light cycles. i.e. in the Tropics, in bed by 8am–double sleep cycle, up at 6am to be optimal?
Sorry, meant in bed by 8pm…
Loving this, Doc! If I could cure my diabetes through CT, it would be AMAZING. But, be prepared for the ADA, the FDA, and the AMA to join forces, kidnap you, and throw you in GITMO because damn, if you are right, you crush a big chunk of their livelihoods AND CONTROL over the people!
Can't wait for the next installment!
@JDW Curing it? Nope…….evolutionary Primal Rx is what you're applying. The answer has always been under our nose and we just have not recognized it. I have been helping lots of people use this pathway for 6 yrs now……..they come to me with osteoporosis which is basically a bad LR state and I apply my knowledge and experience. I was the first person to test this. I then did it on my family members and my patients are applying it. Now people all over the world are trying it and guess what it works…..Well the Leptin Rx reset is the first stop on the train. We have two more stops coming………….and they are bigger than diabetes in my view. When the world realizes what I am saying……….well I think the paleolithic diet will become standard Rx written by every physician in the world. One version of it is best and the rest are ok……..based upon the thermoplastic nature of your surroundings.
We are only supposed to incorporate PUFA's when its cold into our cell membranes…….when you eat the combination of carbs and PUFA's long enough it cause an imbalance in at the Mg/ATPase for energy production……..this I believe is the signal that tells mammalian biochemistry to begin to incorporate PUFA;s into the cells. I think when you eat enough of them constantly regardless of the circadian cycle………you get the modern day epidemic. This is where I lost Dr. Lustig after I spoke to him at AHS. His version of reality and mine are radically different. His understanding of leptin in all this not broad. Mg depletion is the signal to put PUFA's in the cell membranes…this corresponds with a weather change. When light goes low and temp drops we activate an ancient eutherian mammalian system…………and then the fun begins.
@JDW I'd worry more about big pharma, but of course, you may be able to start a new lobby in congress for arctic tourism and the refrigeration industry..
@Ben – Big Pharma is rolled up in the AMA and FDA. And, congress wouldn't want the arctic lobby if it meant people getting well. A sick population is easily controlled and manipulated! They make us sick and then offer "free" healthcare… great system, huh?
@Dr A. Since you are paleobiologist you clearly get where I am headed. To answer your email the answer is yes. this theory completely accounts for why we have found so few hominid skeletons and missing links…………great, great email. I am glad your department is reading this.
@Dr. Hightower Yes, this is why T2D have problems with the cold initially. I will get into that aspect deeper. The cold nose, fingers, and extremities are critical aspects for clinical discussion. Catch me in Austin and we will talk more.
Ok so i got a cramp last night and I figured that the CT was messing with my levels of Sodium Potassium and Magnesium. I know that sodium will take care of itself and that Potassium will get used for energy production so i supplemented with 2500mg og Magnesium last night…. Now I am woondering if that was the wrong thing to do?
Theres a reason that tropical fats are mostly saturated. Temperate fats are
w6 and the highest w3 is in polar regions
@BenG See what thinking like the Quilt can do………..This means my counterintuitive blog style………works too. You are learning in 8 months what took me 35 years of hardcore schooling to figure out. This is brain surgery without a scalpel.
Have you ever wondered why people are intrigued by the written work of DaVinci, Michaelangelo, and Einstein? All three wrote in ciphers and where ridiculously hard to understand because it made people work harder to get the true meaning they were saying. You lose 90% of people this way, but when those ten percent connect the dots guess what happen?
The network becomes electric and the it generates faster learning and adaptation and makes a tipping point inflection occur faster than one could imagine. It is called a Pareto distribution or Bradford power laws. The reason why people learn faster is because they become more attentive to detail and complexity to increase their understanding. Once the first few "survivors" get it………the rest follow by standard power laws. Biology works on the same laws. Evolution used this design in our DNA for survival. Ultimate survival is an epigenetic phenomena of this biologic power law. If a few initially survive…….once the program works…….the growth with be explosive after it. This is precisely why evolution has sped up the development of our neolithic cortex at the expense of our paleolithic genes. We are in the dark about these mathematical laws and their implications for us. I think I stumbled into the Rosetta Stone of this biologic cipher.
What is my ultimate goal here on the blog? That is spelled out crystal clear in the Chasing Change blog.
Change is the answer.
I have a plan to achieve it.
My plan is not based on the obvious…….its is based upon the thinking of science and the mathematics of change.
hint…freezing point
Jack,
It seems to me there must be trigger areas on the body that report light and temperature variations on the body to the brain. As I understand what you are laying out then, part of the primal reset would include cold applications and also light or lack of it to parts of the body. Thinking about the fetal position, there must be places on the back or spinal area suited to report such changes?
@Eric let me get it all out………many people have been calling for my ass. In the end this will be like Rudolph the red nose reindeer's story. They just do not see what I saw and I found. I been testing this theory for 6.5 yrs. the Leptin Rx is the first train stop. People are finding out I am correct with that even while remaining a skeptic. that is good. What they do not like now is that I am going to prove their paleo dogma wrong and it scares them. It should make them happy because on the other side of their fear is the freedom of a new way of life and optimal living. George Eliot said it best, "Science is properly more scrupulous than dogma. Dogma gives a charter to mistake, but the very breath of science is a contest with mistake, and must keep the conscience alive."
They are now talking about me because they do not know where I am headed, I know it and I am OK with it. Just let me get it all out. Then tear me a new one.
Jack, I'm reading this as a method to allow our ancestral genes to work as designed. That would be the perfect life form. Able to repair itself from any condition. Since we have evolved past the need to hibernate and now control our environment, perhaps we can discover how to expand our mental capabilities and unlock those functions of creativity.
@Eric You have just found the essence of your Primal instinct. I suggest you read all I write with that in your heart, mind, and soul from this point on. I am smiling inside just reading this because you are really seeing the light. When you stop seeing the light you'll know……..because you will be in the light yourself seeing what I see. And that reality will open so many doors to you you cant fathom today. The tipping point is coming.
@Eric, Frank Herbert already opined on how. So all we need to do now is to set up a Bene Gesserit School
One more thought…temperate light patterns should match temperate climate…I'd think cold exposure would then be more effective near awakening and bedtime than the middle of the day…
I remember sleep specialists telling people to take a warm shower at night to signal the body to a temperature drop to induce sleep. If you go fron a hot shower to a freezing shower before bed and turn down. the lights it. might send stronger signals to yoke sleep to leptin
what I REALLY need from you is… a blog on how to get to your level of day to day efficiency. I would love to get as much done in a day as you appear to be able to! Still catching up on blogs…
I have a suspicion that all of what you write might help get me there, though.
@Souldanzer This blog has that answer. DId you not listen to what the sleep researcher said about humans who went in a dark cold space? What do you think I have been doing for say the last 3 years? I am altering my environment to optimize my biochemistry to activate an epigenetic program that is inside each one of us. That should be intuitive at this point. Where I am taking it however may shock you.
I've read in several places that the half-life of O6 in the human body is approximately 400 days. This means that on a diet low in O6's, it can take several years to clear them from your cells.
Did you find a back-door into clearing them faster?
@akman Go back and look at everyone of those studies that our cited on my blogs and by a lot of people…….none were conducted in a thermoplastic environment and temperature was not a controlled variable of the experiment. The reason it was not studied is that no one, until recently has studied it. Now organic chemists have found out something about life in the Mariana's Trench we did not know 5 years ago. Temperature induces biologic changes and the chemistry also adapts to suit it. Pufa's are required in cold and high pressure environments to stabilize living cell's membranes for fluidity and signal transduction. It becomes a requirement for life. This means that mammals have to have a system hardwired into our DNA that does this. We do. And I mentioned it in this blog. We are finding out that in lower mammals they all control this system endogenously. There is a reason for it.
This means for the purpose of life in extreme conditions those studies have zero value to the biological equation. I just told you in this blog that mammals have a mechanism built in to their systems where they can incorporate higher levels of omega 6's into their cell membranes that is independent of dietary omega 6's. This implies that mammals adapted this way for an evolutionary design. When cold is introduced into these experiments my bet is the turnover of omega 6's will be shown to occur in days to weeks and not 400 days. I believe the experiments done in the lab are true results but they represent in vitro testing. In vitro testing is worthless in this case because biology is using this in a special condition. Biology uses it in vivo when the environment is freezing cold. This is why you see mRNA induction of UCP 1 in the hypothalamus in 4 hours in cold environment. The response in mammalian physiology is a lot different in a warm environment than it is in a colder one and that is why they missed it experimentally. Why do I believe this now? Because I know why we they need to have that adaptation built in. I learned it from Frank Lloyd Wright. It is where optimal form meets optimal function.
Our current landscape is influencing a sub-linear progression of adaptation; mutations will continue to accrue, but sadly our adaptions (obesity, CVD, T2D, cancers), ie. our phenotypes are environmentally mismatched. This signals our genes to encode for wrong chromosomal proteins, and worse, aberrant neuropeptides.
These are signaling terrible adaptations, and thus our fitness levels are declining.
Our ancient human genes are very well-preserved up to now, and creating your optimal environment will be an external trigger to express an optimal phenotype. This is optimal reaction norms. At any point on the graph, you can witness the environmental effect upon the genome. (for you calculus fans, find the derivative at that pt. for instantaneous rate of change!)
Dr. Jack, you are finding "genetic environmental triggers" for optimal human expression?
@Dr John I think when I am done you will see I think I have found something more than that. My physicists buddy calculated several things for me mathematically based upon the theory before we got started to see if this was even plausible. And he said the math worked out. So testing was the ultimate step.
you missed the part where I said " still catching up on blogs" 😉
so nope, I haven't read anything about the sleep researcher… yet. But I'm onto it today and hopefully will be caught up 2night…
*back to making my brain hurt*
Dr. K – did you put wifi in your cold and dark root cellar and now you do all your work from there?! :)LOL
@JDW I'm in it now. Kevin Cotrell of Paleo Fx came to my house last night after he came to my clinic. I laid out my entire theory to him. He saw just how I do it. I have recreated the optimal environment for my paleo genes. He also saw what I ate and heard how I think. I actually bio hacked his wife and did him for the hell of it. I hope he posts here and gives his two cents. I practice what I preach.
I Love It!!! I'm mad now that I moved from Chicago to sunny SW Florida. No basements… no cellars… no cold! Phooey! I'll have to stick to ice baths and an eye cover.
@JDW I thought BenG passing comment about how the omega fats also follow a temperate distribution was beautiful. Carbs follow it and so do fats. There is a damn good reason. This riddle is like watching the DaVinci code unfold except this one is real and ties to each one of our biology and our optimal life.
Jack, so how dark/cold do you need to be in? Do you have any pictures of your "optimal environment" that you can share with us?
If you are trying to avoid artificial light I think that would include laptops and phones would it not?
@Michael I post a lot of them on my FB wall. I have not posted them here. I keep my man room at 55 degrees. The water temp varies. When its colder out the water temps can be higher and vice versa. It includes all artificial light. On the computer I use f. lux screens. It is pitch black in my room now.
Do you mean it excludes all artificial light?
@Michael it give off the same lumens as a camp fire……..sounds primal, no?
Yes it does. How long do you normally spend in your man room a day?
@Michael depends on my schedule…….but id say at least three to four hours per day on avg
Off-topic question- feel free to ignore it. I'm 38 yo, 6' tall male, 85kg at 15% bf. I'd like to increase my muscle mass to around 94kg (this is for weightlifting competitions). Besides sleeping and lifting, what do you think I should be doing?
@Dave L……lifting in the cold increases your power and strength more than steroids……….so get to it. As the series roles out I will show you why.
I will try it. I have usually worked out very warm for the sake of keeping joints greased. BTW I am loving the blog and your posts at MDA. I don't really have the mental horsepower to keep up with you (especially after a hard day's work), but I love the new consciousness you are bringing to paleo. The BAB has improved my life. Keep it up!
@Dave L……my own results show massive strength improvements and power. Moreover, the people at MDA thread have begin already in 12 days to see the same thing. They are reporting it there. Pretty cool that a blog could change our behavior huh? Check it out.
Dr. K. – I went back and looked at Ben G.'s comment about temperate fats and I can't wrap my brain around it just yet. Damnit… when will this brain fog leave?! I'm so early in my reset and add in the gastroperesis… uggh. Maybe if I had a girl cave I could get my brain humming along more quickly!
@Dr. FIne Thank you for your email. My response would be simple…….A new theory is something nobody tends to believe, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the person who made it, ironically.
Jack, Dave L,
All workouts conducted at Ultimate Exercise (my personal training studio) are done at 61 degrees max with fans blowing on high. It is astounding how much this improves results.
@Doug You might want to go lower……..maybe we'll talk soon.
@JDW – See http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/inuit-parado…
"Our meat was seal and walrus, marine mammals that live in cold water and have lots of fat. We used seal oil for our cooking and as a dipping sauce for food. We had moose, caribou, and reindeer. We hunted ducks, geese, and little land birds like quail, called ptarmigan. We caught crab and lots of fish—salmon, whitefish, tomcod, pike, and char. Our fish were cooked, dried, smoked, or frozen. We ate frozen raw whitefish, sliced thin. The elders liked stinkfish, fish buried in seal bags or cans in the tundra and left to ferment. And fermented seal flipper, they liked that too."
Dr. K:
Here's an idea to tie in: 'night owls' might be unconsciously self-medicating.
JS
As the video suggests, and Dr Kruse has said, it is normal to wake ca. midnight or 2 am and spend some time in a reverie before falling back to sleep–this leads to a prolactin surge.
Is it ok to read or listen to an mp3 in this period? I have noticed that sometimes when I do so I am overstimulated and can't fall back to sleep.
@ cu i would not do this
This a bit off this topic but related. I had a breakthrough in my fasting blood sugar and day sugar readings!!! After six month of LC and 3 month of reset, my sugar is finally going DOWN. My FBS readings are in between 84-89 this week. That is huge since I was before usually in the range of 99-110. Thank you, Dr. Kruse.
@ Mart awesome!
Just wanted to say thanks. This really is great stuff and I can't wait to read more, but I definitely agree that the underpinnings have to be laid out for it all to make sense in the end. Plus, what's a couple more months lol.
By the way, I've been riding to and from work (45-75 minutes each way) with 5 1-gallon bags that contain a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water (1:7 ratio). I put on a shell-like jacket and after putting on my seat belt, I put the bags (fresh from the freezer on the way in and out of the cooler on the way home) inside my jacket on top of my dress shirt. The combination of the seat belt, the jacket, and the slushy mixture gets most of the front half of my torso covered. It feels pretty good and no white skin, just pink/red.
While I still aspire to take ice baths and cold showers one day, I'm hoping that this will still help somewhat in the meantime.
Thanks again.
@Mark you won't have to wait for the biochemistry cause that will come soon enough …….just for the hard core proof that the pathway exists and it is inducible and that it does everything i am going to tell you I found. Because at every biochemical step……..i tested for it. And not one step was my theory disproven. When I let her go………you all will be able to test this N-1 from your own home. And we can change a lot of minds.
@JDW Do not forget this gem of an article………Aging of Eyes Is Blamed for Range of Health Woes
By LAURIE TARKAN
THE HYPOTHESIS
The aging eye filters out blue light, affecting circadian rhythm and health in older adults.
THE INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Martin Mainster and Dr. Patricia Turner, University of Kansas School of Medicine.
For decades, scientists have looked for explanations as to why certain conditions occur with age, among them memory loss, slower reaction time, insomnia and even depression. They have scrupulously investigated such suspects as high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and an inactive lifestyle.
Now a fascinating body of research supports a largely unrecognized culprit: the aging of the eye.
The gradual yellowing of the lens and the narrowing of the pupil that occur with age disturb the body's circadian rhythm, contributing to a range of health problems, these studies suggest. As the eyes age, less and less sunlight gets through the lens to reach key cells in the retina that regulate the body's circadian rhythm, its internal clock.
"We believe the effect is huge and that it's just beginning to be recognized as a problem," said Dr. Patricia Turner, an ophthalmologist in Leawood, Kan., who with her husband, Dr. Martin Mainster, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Kansas Medical School, has written extensively about the effects of the aging eye on health.
Circadian rhythms are the cyclical hormonal and physiological processes that rally the body in the morning to tackle the day's demands and slow it down at night, allowing the body to rest and repair. This internal clock relies on light to function properly, and studies have found that people whose circadian rhythms are out of sync, like shift workers, are at greater risk for a number of ailments, including insomnia, heart disease and cancer.
"Evolution has built this beautiful timekeeping mechanism, but the clock is not absolutely perfect and needs to be nudged every day," said Dr. David Berson, whose lab at Brown University studies how the eye communicates with the brain.
So-called photoreceptive cells in the retina absorb sunlight and transmit messages to a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (S.C.N.), which governs the internal clock. The S.C.N. adjusts the body to the environment by initiating the release of the hormone melatonin in the evening and cortisol in the morning.
Melatonin is thought to have many health-promoting functions, and studies have shown that people with low melatonin secretion, a marker for a dysfunctional S.C.N., have a higher incidence of many illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
It was not until 2002 that the eye's role in synchronizing the circadian rhythm became clear. It was always believed that the well-known rods and cones, which provide conscious vision, were the eye's only photoreceptors. But Dr. Berson's team discovered that cells in the inner retina, called retinal ganglion cells, also had photoreceptors and that these cells communicated more directly with the brain.
These vital cells, it turns out, are especially responsive to the blue part of the light spectrum. Among other implications, that discovery has raised questions about our exposure to energy-efficient light bulbs and electronic gadgets, which largely emit blue light.
( big clue for CT theory)
But blue light also is the part of the spectrum filtered by the eye's aging lens. In a study published in The British Journal of Ophthalmology, Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner estimated that by age 45, the photoreceptors of the average adult receive just 50 percent of the light needed to fully stimulate the circadian system. By age 55, it dips to 37 percent, and by age 75, to a mere 17 percent.
"Anything that affects the intensity of light or the wavelength can have important consequences for the synchronization of the circadian rhythm, and that can have effects on all types of physiological processes," Dr. Berson said.
Several studies, most in European countries, have shown that the effects are not just theoretical. One study, published in the journal Experimental Gerontology, compared how quickly exposure to bright light suppresses melatonin in women in their 20s versus in women in their 50s. The amount of blue light that significantly suppressed melatonin in the younger women had absolutely no effect on melatonin in the older women. "What that shows us is that the same amount of light that makes a young person sit up in the morning, feel awake, have better memory retention and be in a better mood has no effect on older people," Dr. Turner said.
Another study, published in The Journal of Biological Rhythms, found that after exposure to blue light, younger subjects had increased alertness, decreased sleepiness and improved mood, whereas older subjects felt none of these effects.
Researchers in Sweden studied patients who had cataract surgery to remove their clouded lenses and implant clear intraocular lenses. They found that the incidence of insomnia and daytime sleepiness was significantly reduced. Another study found improved reaction time after cataract surgery.
"We believe that it will eventually be shown that cataract surgery results in higher levels of melatonin, and those people will be less likely to have health problems like cancer and heart disease," Dr. Turner said.
That is why Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner question a practice common in cataract surgery. About one-third of the intraocular lenses implanted worldwide are blue-blocking lenses, intended to reduce the risk of macular degeneration by limiting exposure to potentially damaging light.
But there is no good evidence showing that people who have cataract surgery are at greater risk of macular degeneration. And evidence of the body's need for blue light is increasing, some experts say.
"You can always wear sunglasses if you're in a brilliant environment that's uncomfortable. You can remove those sunglasses for optimal circadian function, but you can't take out the filters if they're permanently implanted in your eyes," Dr. Mainster said.
Because of these light-filtering changes, Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner believe that with age, people should make an effort to expose themselves to bright sunlight or bright indoor lighting when they cannot get outdoors. Older adults are at particular risk, because they spend more time indoors.
"In modern society, most of the time we live in a controlled environment under artificial lights, which are 1,000 to 10,000 times dimmer than sunlight and the wrong part of the spectrum," Dr. Turner said.
In their own offices, Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner have installed skylights and extra fluorescent lights to help offset the aging of their own eyes.
Sounds good, can't wait. In the meantime, would you say that my ice rides are a good idea?
@ JT Dr. Turner said,"We believe that it will eventually be shown that cataract surgery results in higher levels of melatonin, and those people will be less likely to have health problems like cancer and heart disease," …….
I know this is already true because when one eats safe starches in long light cycles 24/7, which all modern humans (100%) live within because of technology and poor choices for diet………..cataracts are the norm. Its the number one Medicare ICD9 code today paid for outpatient surgery. It also has its highest incidence in diabetics……..not surprise. All diabetics get them eventually. Most diabetics have sleep cycle disorders of some kind……..apnea restless legs etc……….this blog just connected the dots of sleep to autophagy………autophagy in humans is only a sleep event. efficient autophagy is a a function of cold in the absence of carbs………….to work at its peak efficiency……..sleep is best induced in cold in humans and this is why melatonin is released only when our body temp falls………….why? do you see it? melatonin is released in humans during our ancestral remnant of hibernation. Melatonin is stimulated from the human pineal gland after 4 hours of darks and in reduced temperatures…………are you seeing it. All this has happened as our brain underwent explosive growth due to power laws after a a biologic event (FACTOR X) that caused a relative acceleration of evolution but a faster one of epigenetic control. this time frame shift with the simultaneous increase of primate evolution created the perfect storm for humans……..it is also why we find so few missing links……..its not we can't find any, there are going to be very few……….because no one understands what the theory of time relativity has done to biology because of Factor X. I think I do and it is chronicled in the last chapter of my book
The brains growth from chimps was explosive ……….so much growth that we are destroying our endogenous remain hibernation window constantly…………..how does this all start? small amounts of carbs eaten chronically and constantly to slowly erode your metabolism……….and it induces aging earlier. there are no safe starches or carbs or anything else. This is why carbs have all these special connection in our brain and our eye………just wait till you see . I have found them all and connected every last one of them for you to consider if starches are really safe or not to your mind.
@mark they are a great idea……..just make sure yo darken your environment post sunrise. don't forget what I just posted in comment 73………this is where starches begin to get french fried. Carbohydrates have no safe level and there is no fat set point in humans……metabolism is on a sliding scale of natural selection. Its boundaries are limited only by the how we account for the electrons from food. Set points are creations of concrete reductive minds. That is not the work of evolutionary biology my friends.
Also, at this stage, it seems like Factor-X will improve just about everything: fat mass, muscle mass, intensity and endurance of cognition (very important to me*), immunity, energy….
If this is true, how much is due to cold thermogenesis and how much would be due to an Optimal Paleo Diet? Sorry for all the questions, just very excited about this topic.
*My primary job is to write about the market and I like to try and present a different view by tying everything together, instead of just reporting what happened. In the ever-changing world of the market, this can be hard to do (for me at least) and usually has my brain exhausted by the end of the day. So any improvement in my ability to not only do this, but do it over the long-term (everyday for years to come) would be great.
Thanks for the reply Dr. Kruse. I don't have much control over my exposure to light at work (trading floor), but I have been trying to use less light at home before bed. Given your comment to JT, if I am interpreting it right, I should shoot for a low amount to no carbs before my ice rides. So just some eggs and coconut oil for breakfast and maybe a moderate fast (4-5 hours) before my ride home? And also to sleep with little clothing/covers to induce the melatonin release?
Jack,
fascinating thoughts, as usual.
What I do not understand (and this is important for your theory): Isn't it consensus among paleologist that the human race evolved from the tropical climate in Africa?? Lots of fossil records back this up. That would mean that we are best adapted to WARM, not cold environments???
Puzzled.
@Werner it is and I still believe they did…….i have an answer for that question too……..its buried in the answer I gave to JT above. On the contrary Werner…….we have very few intact human or hominid fossils for a reason. I think I know why. Biology used power laws with Cold thermogenesis…………as the fuel for FACTOR X.
Our hominid species may have adapted during a warming trend in Africa, but the DNA we inherited came from animals that were cold adapted. Evolution simultaneously was using power laws to guarantee survival of our ancestors from which we came. Remember the currency of that biologic transaction is called epigenetics. This is controlled 100% by environment. So as epigenetics sped up it created the perfect situation for the development of a large human brain rapidly. 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? Nope. its based on firm science.
Evolution uses epigenetics to determine adaptation to environments. We have discarded the strict definition of genetic determinism. 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 has to make 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 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 is one. The results speak for themselves. So I proved biologic plausibility. Now the last two are tougher. The last two are steps in this ancient pathway that guaranteed success for survival. I have completed both the other two. I did not disprove my theory. But I do think I destroyed lots of modern day dogma.
Completely in accordance with what I've believed for some time. We may not yet understand the mechanism, but disease is an evolutionary adaptation – a means of responding to environmental stimuli. I've been contemplating the adaptation of diabetes, myself, albeit in a more esoteric manner. I grimly wondered if the point was human extinction!
@Chrystin You will love todays post then CT 3
Dr. Kruse
Have you figured out yet, how much cold exposure is necessary to get gene expression to shred fat, get rid of diabetes, etc? No one wants to work out in the gym longer than necessary to get good results, and I'd think that would carry over to ice baths and cold showers as well.
Thanks.
@Ben G yes I have
I have decided completely that I am a fat burning mammal. I did some things differently yesterday. I did the pool twice. I increased my K2/D3 and added glycine and proline (some countries tell you to take it for schizophrenia and stroke, this country takes it for wrinkles. I figure if my face is wrinkling my brain is stealing and I hope I have more brain than face. Either way, I'm in trouble.) I traveled to my other home in the high desert and the altitude is roughly 2500 versus sea level. I should've slept like a baby. I ate a salad with not enough meat even though I wasn't hungry and slept till about 3 again. I woke up and it became apparent it wasn't meditative because my belly was growling great guns. Even though it was dark I got up and nuked some coffee with lots of coconut on top and started the bacon. While I was gathering my breakfast things I got so sleepy from the fat I had to turn of the bacon and go back to bed. I never felt the urge to go to the restroom. I woke up at sun up and my feet were toasty. Its about the fat and I know it. So, is there an exlax moment or something when you have too much fat? What are the physical warning signs? Are there any?
@Lee interesting to say the least
Another question Dr. Kruse, within Factor X, do you lay out the path that one should take if they want to get very lean (say sub 10% for a male)? For while I think that you do not think this would be an optimal level of leanness in terms of longevity, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on what would be the best possible way to do it. Thanks again and sorry for all the questions today.
@Mark yes I do…….that is coming in the heavy biochemistry parts. I have broken them all down to smaller digestible pieces.
@Mark.. I am doing the ice rides also! 45 min each way to and from work. I made ice packs with rubbing alcohol and water in zip lock bags. I place one between my shoulder blades, one on my belly and one under each leg (upper portion, my problem area) Have you noticed any changes?
Hey ChimpChick. It's just so convenient and such an easy way to guarantee some cold exposure everyday (during the work week at least). I just started using the multi-bag approach yesterday, before I was just using a small gel ice pack on my stomach. But even with that, my waist measurement did come down about half an inch, though that could have also been due to other factors too, who knows. I'm hopeful that I'll notice a bigger difference after a month or so. We'll see.
The rubbing alcohol mix is so great by the way. Even after sitting in a cooler all day while I'm at work, there are still ice chunks in there when I get in my car for the ride home!
@Mark I think the rubbing alcohol is not a bad idea.
Jack..
Fascinating again..!
".. it becomes apparent that we may want to consider that maybe sleep is our primordial condition and not wakefulness. Maybe, just maybe, we evolved consciousness over time.."
These words are going to become a defining statement as the Quilt evolves…
Evolution has been unconscious. It is just nature. But once consciousness evolves, then it is a totally different matter. Once consciousness is there, evolution pauses. Then the whole responsibility falls upon consciousness itself. This has to be understood a little.
Consciousness is the peak of evolution, the last step, but it is not the last step of life. Consciousness is the last step of our animal heritage. But for further growth, it is to be the first step. And when I say evolution has paused, I mean that now an inner effort is needed, unless we do something, we will not evolve. Nature has brought us to a point which is the last for unconscious growth. Now we are aware, now we know, and When you know, you are responsible.
Thanks Jack for shining the light in the dark basements of our unconscious..
@Resurg…….not exactly. Todays post may fascinate you even more.
My body temp dips into the mid to low 96's on a regular basis, so obviously I'm freezing to begin with. How one earth does one bring themselves to do this when they're naturally ice cold?!?!
Is there much difference in terms of benefit between a cold bath in 50-55 degree temp water or placing ice packs on problem areas? If I'm going to bring myself to do this I want to get the most bang for my buck! LOL!
@Jean There is……..we want you peripheral nervous system to signal you brain that something has changed. We do not want your core temp down. We do not need that to activate the pathway.
Excellent. Thanks Dr. Kruse.
So you're saying there is just as much benefit from only using ice packs? I want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly.
@Jean the best way to to follow the protocol as listed.
@Mark……..i told you it was big and I could cash the check. I have worked on this 7 yrs. Did lots of thinking tinkering and experimenting. Now I think I have it all……….and I’m going to show you in 2012 what FACTOR X DID FOR ME AND I WILL let you imagine what it might also do for you.
"lifting in the cold increases your power and strength more than steroids"
This is what stumps me in hacking strength gains. Here in southern California, my best bet for lifting in the cold is at night in winter (though not even that is a guarantee), however I see the problem with strength training at night based on the energy expenditure window as discussed in Hardwired for Fitness.
So what is the best coordinate in the axes of results and longevity: go for cold environment over time of day, or time of day over cold environment? And presumably the hypothetical optimal would be to spend the $ on converting the garage to a large cooler to get both.
@joe I kno what you should do……find a meat market, restaurant depot, beer distributor or an ice house that would let you do KB workouts there. Here is the other thing about cold. The workouts need to be slow and cold with heavy weight and the strength and power gains are off the chain. Moreover, your sleep becomes rockstarish. You will see why when I get to the hard core biochemistry. I am being nice so far. LOL
If you were to design a temperature controlled environment to work out in, what would the temperature and humidity be? Also, what type of workout would be best in this environment? Hill climbing on a treadmill/elliptical, bodyweight (pushups, situps, pullups, squats), or lifting weights/kettlebells?
This is very do-able for me. I could guarantee a temp of below freezing Oct – Apr and in the 50's the rest of the year without mechanical cooling.
@polar just get to a point where you can get your skin temp to 50-55 degrees where you are. It sounds like you are in the arctic so this should be easy.
Hey Jack, I don't usually have the time to read thru all the comments but I am currently in an aluminum can hurling toward Salt Lake City to do some Cold Weather Thermogenesis for a few days. What do you think of Stephen J Gould's take on what he terms "punctual evolution?" Could this be related to factor X? PI is different than Darwin's classic model and was proposed to explain why the fossil record is lacking intermediates. You got me thinking here. You mention in passing as well as in part 3 how we evolved from "the chimp brain." That is not entirely correct, we share a common ancestor with Pan and then evolved independently. I could ask Ungar for the details if you want.
@John in my theory the only thing that matters in the math equations I worked out were the speed of epigentics is the main determinant of the biologic mismatches and disease. Punctuated equilibrium is Gould's revision if I am not mistaken and it does not fit…….but his idea is on
The theory that new species evolve suddenly over relatively short periods of time (a few hundred to a thousand years), followed by longer periods in which little genetic change occurs. Punctuated equilibrium is a revision of Darwin's theory that evolution takes place at a slow, constant rate over millions of years. Factor X requires an exponential growth pattern of epigenetics and it fits human evolution and all power laws. Gould fits not power laws………..the fossil record would be light because fast paced epigenetics would mandate it. Factor X is something else…….well known but not well appreciated to what I have found about CT and linking it all together. It fits all the parameters.
I am not a proponent of that theory. I believe Darwin was correct. I just thought there may be a connection or refinement. Read Darwin's On Origin of Species if you have not yet. I was amazed how little he actually talks about the Galapagos. I thought his evidence with sperm whales was more compelling.
@JS you my friend out of all the people I know………will like where I am going. The next post in this series you have some personal insight on. I think after you read it you might figure out what Factor X is if youre paying attention. Just PM me if you do. Darwin theory was incomplete but not that far off because he did not know a couple of things. FACTOR X was a biggie.
———
81- BenG Says:
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:53 am
Dr. Kruse
Have you figured out yet, how much cold exposure is necessary to get gene expression to shred fat, get rid of diabetes, etc?
93- Jack Says:
February 23rd, 2012 at 12:16 pm
@Ben G yes I have
—————
OK!!! How much? We are running out of winter. LOL.
🙂
@Cooling you never run out of anything if you are a human who can think. We can all recreate winter because we are humans to foster our paleolithic genes.
I was afraid you gonna say that. 😀
We do not have AC in summer here, let alone recreate winter. (Egypt 70°F now). Winter is our only shot at getting cold.
Than again you ve been amazing. I think you will get to it eventually. So far there has been a reason for the madness. We trust you Dr. K ..
I look forward to your speech @ paleosummit and the CT4 afterwards.
Cold Regards,
Coooling
Dr K,
aren't vegetables carbs? You seem to eat a lot of vegetables, but you are also saying that there is not such thing as safe carbs. Can you please clarify? thanks.
@AnnaK veggie are carbs…….but who says I eat them in winter? Did you assume that? I think you are mixing up safe starch theory with carbs. There is a difference according the Paul Jaminet. Veggie carbs do not equal safe starches. Maybe Kevin Cottrell of Paleo Fx will chime in here. But he came to my house this week with his wife to see me for a bio hack. I cooked for them and they saw me make lots of things for them including veggies. He will tell you I ate nothing but filet mignon…….soaked in butter. I can assure you I practice what I preach. My telomeres require that of me now.
yes, thanks, I think I got confused between safe starch and safe carb. There is so much information, it's hard to keep up.
And I assumed that you eat veggies now because I saw a picture on facebook of shrimp scampy with cabbage.
So is this correct from your point of view:
1. all starches are not required and actually are damaging for vast majority of people.
2. you do eat berries and vegetables but only during spring and summer -increasing and decreasing them with the light cycle?
3. But you do think veggies and fruit are beneficial for most people during correct light cycle?
thank you very much.
@Anna K as my series continues you will see my thoughts appear on this topic.
Found your blog yesterday, and spent most of the day reading it. I've long been puzzled as to why I could never lose the last 10 or so lbs of fat with general low carb/paleo… I wonder, now, if leptin resistance may be the reason. Once I read through your posts again, I'll have a better idea!
Fascinated by this whole CT thing and can't wait to read more!
also – you asked in a previous post for readers to chime in on how to make the blog a better read – I happen to be a Wordpress developer and I can suggest a few things. Better pagination (so ppl can easily go forward/back through posts) at the top and bottom of each post; related articles (there's several plugins that handle this), and DISQUS or similar for handling comment (DISQUS plugin allows for nested comments, so we can reply to each other's comments; comment thread subscription; sorting of comments by latest, most popular, etc; commenting using Facebook etc)
Love what you're doing here, and how active you are in the comments. You're definitely a new favorite read, and I'll be first in line for your book!
My first readings of you a few months ago had to do with K2, a link from freetheanimal.com. So glad I followed that link now. MY first question to you had to do with K2 and my friend with MS. If most, if not all, modern disease is tied in/related to a mismatch in our genes and the enviroment we now live in, I would have to assume that goes for, in theory, MS too. My friend has told me how much heat aggrivates the S/S of his MS, and other patients with the disease. He like to keep his house at 50. I would think this CT protocol could provide some big help to him. Do you have any theories on how much? Permenant remission possibly? I feel I can convince him to give this a go, and the sleep, he alredy has seen connections with those two and his S/S. Would that be usless without the dietary aspects, or still helpful, but not OPTIMAL. I would imagine helpful but not optimal. I am already considering a huge two person bio-hack, perhaps documented on a blog and video, for him, and myself, if I can work out all the finacial and logistical kinks of devoting 3 months to your protocols and little else. 3 months is a long time, but 3 months for a whole new life would be a great investment. I realize this kind of comitment is not nessecary to make the needed changes, but could be interesting and pay back big personal dividends. If I do this, you will be the first to know!
@ steveRN……how about reversal for all AI? Now you know why pregnant MS women feel better too…….HCG is raging in them to help. It is not useless without a ketogenic diet, but as effective…….when you have a disease that will kill you you need to do things optimally in my view
Thanks, I will keep reading, learning, and sharing. And maybe in a few months have a cool video or blog to share with you and the readers, or at least a good case study for your files! This is the first Paleo blog I have printed out posts and taken notes on, I think that says something about the cord this is striking with people, or at least with me.
I’m wondering if I can work your system without understanding all this. For the most part, I haven’t a clue what you are talking about.
@Sally Oh you can but you must invest in your health……if not you will never make the gains you need. You need to understand why you are doing what you are. And after you become a rockstar I want you to help all your older lady friends. This is how we change the world. Your skin needs to be in this game. That is the problem with modern man……..I m putting in the effort here answering everyone. I need you to step up your efforts too. Just a bit of reading and buying some books…….that is all. Your main investment is time to get to optimal.
So if I have a friend who has type I diabetes, can it be “cured” by paleo diet + CT? Because type I is an autoimmune attack of pancreatic cells that create insulin, correct, so how would a ketogenic diet solve the autoimmune destruction? Grain lectins and such are associated with autoimmune development, but would cutting carbs truly cure this seemingly more genetic type (or at least help), or is only type II (1.5 in your description) completely reversible?
@Whitefox They need to get on an AI paleo diet….that means no eggs or dairy and the use of CT. There are many testimonials on paleo sites of reversals for this condition.
(From your writing) She also mentioned in passing early in her talk that people who went deep into the ground have been found to be “very productive” while in a cold dark environment.
Hi Jack, I watched the video and the researcher does not mention the word "cold" or "dark". I believe she said that they were in a bunker deep underground. Not to say that conditions weren't cold and dark, she just does not mention it in the clip. Do you know the temperature conditions of the bunker and whether it varied through the the 24 hour cycle or was held constant. What about lighting conditions? Constant or seasonally variable?
Thanks
@Alex I spoke to her about this. The bunker was designed to be cold and dark because they used no ambiently heating due to CO risks and light was kept to a minimum on laptops and head lamps. That is all I asked about.
@Lyle You think BAT activation can not cure diabetes? Read this……It can but no one is testing it on humans……YET. http://www.springerlink.com/content/571l124t14261q31/
They will soon. Because cold is the cure for it.
One very important point, humans are mostly seasonal so no one does well hot or cold year round they will have different issues but we need a balance so people doing CT in summer are cheating and will pay a price long term if they don’t eventually sync with the seasons, even polar regions have seasons, weird ones but they still have them.
So everyone shopping for what sounds good you missed the point of seasonal moderation.
@Hockleyj I would go the opposite way……modern humans break the seasonality today more than ever. When you break the natural balance you must also adjust the response with CT and with the light cycles.
Seems like it should be possible to determine the signal the brain gets from surface cold receptors at 50F and then present that signal to the brain via auditory binaural hemispheric synchronization. Doctor Jack, does the cellular signalling improve if the brain’s hemispheres are communicating efficiently? My migraines stopped for a long period of time earlier in my life after I dabbled in hemispheric synchronization.
@Glen PDQ yes……it does.
TEST COMMENT