Endotoxin, Carrots, and Gut-Healing Diets
Nutrition Experiments
I enjoy staying open and changing my mind about nutrition.
With every dietary shift, I am finding new and sometimes controversial ways to nourish our cells, increase energy production, limit inflammation, and restore hormonal balance.
I have to test every theory on myself before I recommend any way of eating to a client. At this point, I delight in the experiments as I’ve reached a point of fine-tuning for my own individualized diet. I enjoy my food again, which says a lot after some quite restrictive protocols (e.g. carnivore diet and fruitarian).
The more I learn about nutrition, the more I see the fallacy of a one-size-fits-all approach.
Even within the framework of Ray Peat-inspired, pro-metabolic nutrition, details matter. Certain fibers might work for one individual, causing gas and constipation in another. One person might thrive while drinking a 1/2 gallon of milk each day, while another finds themselves with loose stools and pimples all along their hair line when they consume any kind of dairy. Details matter: the state of someone’s gut and metabolism matters and influences their reactions to foods.
Context matters, our history and trauma matters, our metabolic rate matters, the microbes within us matter. What we’ve eaten in the past matters, as do the prescriptions, SSRIs, and birth control pills we took even back in our teens.
I plan to keep changing my mind every time I learn something new, even if it contradicts what I previously thought I had pinned down. I will not claim to know what will work for you right from the start, especially when healing from severe gut dysbiosis or coming off of fasting, restrictive, paleo, or plant-based, or low-carb diets that may have caused some nutrient deficiencies and stress reactions after limiting so many valuable food sources and forcing the body to make it’s own glucose.
I will not pretend to have all the answers. However, I am committed to testing and finding answers and sharing what I find to work.
Healing & Rigid Diets:
At this point, I’ve checked off every possible diet, from raw fruitarian to strict carnivore.
Over many years of trying to heal from lyme disease, mold, hypothyroidism, and heavy metal toxicity, I (innocently) learned to ignore cues and cravings from my body to stick to highly restrictive “healing” diets, hoping they would lead to the cure or at least remission. (Oddly enough, the restrictive “gut-healing” diets most widely supported by even my functional doctors ended up causing the most problems.)
I now look back in gratitude and awe of what my body has endured.
It has acted as a dietary lab rat that will, hopefully, help others desiring an adaptive body and resilient mind sort through the chaos and the healing diet fads.
Over the last 11 years, I’ve found that there is a somewhat stable ground to stand on if you’re open to experiment and forget everything you’ve learned this far about nutrition. It requires listening to your body while also honoring it’s physiological context. It requires un-learning so much of what we “think” is healthy, and re-learning what foods actually boosts the metabolic rate, increasing our pulse, temperature, and energy production abilities in the process. (Hint, it’s not kale, chia seeds, and green smoothies, as I once thought.)
Questionable claims
As I continue swimming in the swampy realm of nutrition, the more I notice the absurdity of most nutritional claims, and the extreme corruption of the diet and supplement industry.
It is up to us to question any notions likely funded by companies with ulterior motives and heavy financial incentives, challenging these claims with logic, counter studies, self-experimentation, and even our body’s innate intuition.
Would your grandmother consider your sugar-free Keto-ice cream a real food?
Do you really believe that $58 fish oil supplement will increase your cognitive function, heal your back pain, and cure your erectile dysfunction, even when you feel sluggish and cranky after slurping it down?
How do YOU feel after eating your nut+SOY based protein bar vs. a bar of 70% chocolate with a glass of milk?
Curiosity, Experimentation, & The Carnivore Diet
After periods of thinking I’d found the perfect diet for all humankind, I have relaxed into a state of curiosity and experimentation. I digest any trendy research claims with an open mind and a willingness to test such theories on myself, always testing against how it impacts my metabolism and ability to relax.
If I feel better and it makes intuitive sense, I follow. If not, I put it on the back burner to come back to later.
When it came to life or death health complications in my mid-twenties, following a strict carnivore diet and shifting into ketosis served as a stabilizing, floatation device, enabling me to bypass debilitating gastroparesis, mast-cell activation to every food I ate, as well as mitochondrial dysfunction, autotoxemia, and insulin resistance as a result.
My body went from bed-ridden to functional in just a few weeks when I removed all plants—temporarily—allowing me to put on some much needed mass and regain a sense of vitality, and with it, a desire to live. The high amounts of fat–sometimes over 200 grams a day–even had a calming, sedating quality, leading to better emotional regulation and actually, quite wonderful sleep.
The critical component and possibly why the carnivore diet is so impactful in such a health crisis? Removing endotoxin production from all of the fermenting matter allowed my cells to heal while ketosis bypassed the problems resulting from my inability to utilize glucose efficiently due to my high levels of bacterial overgrowth and infection.
On the Back of a Tiger
That being said, I am swept away by the work of Dr. Ray Peat, a tiger of wisdom, critical thinking, and research that floats above corrupt claims.
I have fallen in love with his lack of agenda and his emphasis on biochemistry, bacteria, hormones, anti-aging, and most importantly: thinking for ourselves and finding joy in the process.
His extensive research exposes ideas so ridiculously counter to my previous views on what a “healthy” diet looks like. When I first heard about some of his work relating to white sugar, milk, and OJ for reversing osteoporosis, I quickly wrote him off as a quack. In my mind, white sugar was basically the devil, milk was a food for baby cows and definitely not suitable for humans, and OJ was just another form of liquid sugar that would rot my teeth if I drank even a sip.
Turning Point
However, my health had plateaued after 3-months on a carnivore diet.
I felt quite sluggish most days, and my brain fog was beginning to return. The romantic foodie forcefully buried inside me continued expressing cravings for color and texture. I still had profound bloating in response to even just animal meat, so experimentation beckoned.
When fellow tigers and ex-carnivores were noticing improvements by testing some of Ray Peat’s theories, eating ice cream and including raw carrots into their day, I eagerly joined in. With some tinkering and adding in previously blacklisted foods (fruit, sugar, dairy, and honey), I glided into a new territory of feeling quite fabulous, energized, and happier than I thought possible while on any “healing,” low-carb, plant-based, keto, low FODMAP, or “auto-immune” protocol.
I am thrilled & honored to be dissecting his research, testing his theories on myself, and to my disbelief, eating significant amounts of dairy, eggs, fruit and sugar (yes, sugar), and thriving because of it.
Thanks to the work of Ray Peat, I regained functionality I thought lyme disease had robbed me of permanently.
With robust energy, inspiration, and enthusiasm seeping out of me as I go about the day, I am happier than I thought possible and determined to spread the pro-metabolic gospel.
Functional Foods
Of all the functional foods I’ve experimented with, I am still VERY excited about raw carrots & ginger root, and horseradish for their anti-endotoxin properties. (1, 2)
I use them daily as a gut-sweeping tool, specifically for their indigestible fiber that binds to estrogen, bacterial waste-products, and speeds transit time through the system.
Thanks to these humble roots that avoid bacterial fermentation, I’ve noticed among myself and many others:
less brain fog and flu-like reactions upon awakening
decrease in bloating after high FODMAP foods or raw veggies
daily, sometimes multiple, bowel movements
greater sense of clarity, focus, and joy throughout the day
profoundly less afternoon fatigue
more balanced menstrual cycles
reduction or dissolution of acne
migraines disspearing
decreased intestinal inflammation
decreased liver + gallbladder tenderness
faster metabolism, as measured by temp + pulse readings
While I still question the necessity and even the safety of most above-ground vegetables for those with GI disorders (given their anti-nutrients, plant-toxins, and gut-irritating effects), the indigestible fiber in carrots and other roots restores necessary function to even the most injured guts.
Their indigestible fiber speeds transit time and has the unique ability to bind to estrogen and endotoxin to carry it out of the body, absorbing bacterial waste products, fermenting matter, and then pulling them out of the system with each bowel movement, sparing tissue damage and the resulting hormonal imbalances. As these roots must resist bacterial growths while growing under ground in moist environments, they are inherently anti-microbial and therefore a wonderful tool to use when balancing a gut under distress.
A Piece of My Journey
My journey began many years back when the petri-dish of my gut began causing such profound symptoms, but especially so when they worsened in my early 20’s after collecting some parasites overseas. As I’ve mentioned before in Becoming a Tiger, my gut dysbiosis had progressed so severely that literally any fiber I ingested would either feed my bacterial overgrowths or ferment, causing profound flu-like reactions, known as endotoxemia, sending me back to bed for the day with a swollen belly, drunk off of the by-products the critters released with wild abandon.
Endotoxins & Stress
Endotoxins are produced in the gut as a by-product of normal bacterial activity. They are inescapable.
While bacterial activity is expected in a normal, functioning body, the overgrowth of such bacteria can be problematic, especially when such bacteria has translocated to the small intestine (e.g. SIBO). The bacteria release by-products and toxins (which get absorbed through the intestines), increasing physiological stress, and then shifts the hormonal balance towards inflammation and therefore, increasing levels of stress hormones like cortisol, adrenalin, serotonin, prolactin, and TSH, further.
This deleterious shift towards stress-based physiology exacerbates cellular chaos, leading to systemic impairments in function. A vicious cycle, to say the least.
The Gut-Brain Connection
To add to the storm, both constipation and anxiety decreases blood circulation within the intestine, which then increase the liver’s exposure to endotoxins and prolongs the circulation of inflammatory hormones, allowing them to wreak havoc as they recirculate. The liver is forced to work over time, putting normal maintenance projects on hold to clean up the toxic mess.
As my gut slowed down and my hormones shifted towards those characteristic of stress (high cortisol and serotonin, specifically) my conditions worsened, the bacterial forest thickened, and my anxiety mounted greater. I experienced first hand the direct correlation between the state of the gut and the stability (or lack of) the mind.
Ironically, the more superfoods I ate (e.g. kale, broccoli, mangos, chia seeds, sprouted quinoa, almond butter, etc.) the more dismal I felt, the more hi-jacked and jittery I became. I later learned from Ray Peat how,
“endotoxin formed in the bowel can block respiration and cause hormone imbalances contributing to instability of the nerves.”
With my green smoothies and instragram-worthy power bowls, I was unknowingly feeding my bacteria and making myself sicker.
Specialty Carrots
According to Ray Peat, the indigestible fiber helps to decrease the formation and absorption of toxins, increasing one’s adaptive capacity so that the body can focus on the important tasks of cellular respiration and repair. The unique fibers in carrots do not feed bacterial overgrowths in the same way other fermentable plant fibers (FODMAPs) and even certain fruits do, as they are almost completely indigestible. Roughage.
“When endotoxin enters the bloodstream during any stress, a host of problems can result because of endotoxin’s systemic toxicity. Raw carrot (along with a good daily bowel movement, saturated fats in place of unsaturated, sufficient non-inflammatory protein, fresh fruits and other digestible foods) can help reduce your endotoxin burden.”
I also noticed that after three months of just meat, carrots were one of the first plant-foods I started craving. (Perhaps, my body knew what it needed, all along!) Most salad vegetables, though, are likely to produce intestinal irritation, directly or as a result of bacterial decomposition.
To contrast, the fiber in carrots accelerates peristalsis and increases transit speed through the bowel, which therefore gives less time for the bacteria to feed and grow. After helping to disinfect the small intestines, the fiber then stimulates the large intestines, absorbing excess estrogen, toxins, and stress hormones in the process. By preventing the absorption of excess estrogen, serotonin, histamines and other endotoxins in the intestine, it then allows the liver to more effectively regulate metabolism, resulting in a better functioning system over all.
Thus, the raw carrots can help balance conditions related to estrogen dominance, low thyroid function, auto-immune and inflammatory conditions, bacterial overgrowth, constipation, liver issues, and the low-level wear and tear of living a stressful life. Regardless of your health condition, or even if you consider yourself to be extremely healthy already, it seems the fiber in carrots could benefit your body by shifting it towards a more supportive hormonal profile. Your cells will thank you!
By adding in mild germicides, such such as vinegar and coconut oil, a simple carrot salad
“can improve the hormonal environment, while reducing the immunological burden.” -Ray Peat
I tend to eat carrot salad before lunch, in the afternoon, or even before bed if the craving strikes (and yes, I do crave this daily!) My clients notice massive improvements in their cycle, their bowel movements, and their mood after adding this salad in. According to Ray, the fiber delays digestion and reduces the absorption of other foods, so it is best to eat it between meals. However, I find that eating it with easily digestible meals helps mitigate the effects of any possible blood sugar swings.
I’m eager to hear your thoughts, reactions, and experiences to adding in a daily carrot salad. This gentle snack is like an antibiotic that you can safely take every day.
Carrot Salad
Ingredients
1 Medium/large carrot, grated or peeled
1-3 tsp coconut oil, melted
1-2 tsp vinegar
Salt to taste
Herbs, grated ginger, cheese, or even dried fruit
Mix in your favorite bowl, munch, enjoy the true gut & hormone healing effect. For those with migraine headaches, the pain might dissolve within 20 minutes of eating. Try it out and see.
(I prefer the soup when I have access to a blender, as the blender does the chewing for me)
3-Minute Carrot Ginger Soup
Ingredients
1 Medium/large carrot, washed and broken in half
1/2 cup water
1-2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp vinegar
small chunk of ginger
Salt to taste
Blend on high until thoroughly smooth. Add extra salt to taste, and garnish with cilantro, mint, or even a dollop of greek yogurt! Eat with a spoon from your favorite dish. Imagine the fiber mopping up endotoxin and excess estrogen and carrying it out of your system, revealing more radiant health in the process.
Feel free to share your experience below!
The variations are endless. The experiments await, your gut health now a metric of healing and progress.
References:
[1]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25892281/
[2]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1481986/
