Roadmap/02 - Diet

Diet

"Just eating what you consider to be the most delicious food can greatly help the intestine secrete more juices so things digest faster and move along more smoothly." - Ray Peat

Food as metabolic fuel

The goal: high oxidative metabolism

The idea is to focus on metabolically supportive foods: Avoid stressors (e.g., PUFAs, anti-nutrients); prioritize easy-to-digest, nutrient-dense options. Balance macros, eat mixed meals (protein + carbs + fat for more complete absorption). Balance macros (50% carbs, 25% protein/fat adjustable). Drink according to thirst, transition gradually, especially from restrictive diets.

Use recipeats.org for meal ideas and recipes.

Link to Food pyramid

Here's an example Grocery list

Ratios

Keep a positive Calcium to Phosphorus and Glycine to Tryptophan ratio

Frequency

Having smaller meals more frequently tends to keep the digestive system working well, thus raising the metabolic rate. Avoid fasting or skipping breakfast, which downregulates metabolism by raising the stress hormones.

Macros

“The proportion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fat - it probably should be something like a third of each, but I’m not sure what the ideal is. It depends so much on the quality of each of them. Avoid starch, and avoiding eating polyunsaturated fats, and avoiding the very high tryptophan-content proteins... then you could go very high on any one of the major nutrients without problem” - Ray Peat

Carbs	Protein	Fat
Start with 200-300 g carbs	When sedentary: 60 - 80 grams	When sedentary: 40-50 g
Increase incrementally if more calories are needed	When lifting or physically active: ~100g 20-30g of it from gelatin Carb to protein ratio: 6-10 to 1	When lifting or physically active: Increase according to satiety Limit PUFA intake to less than 3 grams/day

Tracking food intake with Cronometer is extremely useful in getting an overall picture of daily micro and macro intake, and sometimes tracking only for about a week is enough.

Eliminating starches, most fibers, and gluten can be useful to start with.

“For people with really sensitive intestines or bad bacteria, starch should be zero… Starch is less harmful when eaten with saturated fat, but it’s still more fattening than sugars.” - Ray Peat

Eating saturated fats, the carrot salad, coffee, carbonated beverages, prioritizing sunlight, eating a moderate protein (with gelatin intake being 20-30 grams) and a high carbohydrate diet that includes eggs (choline/vitamin A), shellfish/liver, reducing muscle meats consumption due to their high iron and tryptophan content, lowering starch intake and limiting PUFA, eating simple sugars, supplementing aspirin, baking soda, vitamin E and K2, thiamine, and limiting alcohol intake can all be helpful.

"Start with a raw carrot salad on an empty stomach. Even just eating a carrot will have an affect. .7-1g per lb. Prioritize protein from shellfish, dairy, liver, gelatinous meat, gelatin powder, eggs." - Ray Peat

If you're a vegetarian, right this way: Vegetarianism

Nutrients, their role, and food sources

Nutrient	Role and Effects	Food Sources
Calcium	Suppresses PTH and inflammation and supports metabolism.	Milk, cheese, eggshell calcium
Cholesterol	Raw material for sex hormones.	Egg yolks, liver, milk, cheese
Magnesium	Synergizes with calcium and reduces inflammation.	Coffee, milk, orange juice
Potassium	Facilitates glucose uptake and exhibits an insulin-like function.	Fresh orange juice, ripe fruits
Selenium	Required for thyroid hormone metabolism and immune function.	Eggs, beef liver, oysters
Sodium	Supports the metabolic rate and lowers the stress hormones like adrenaline.	Salt (canning/pickling salt preferred)
Vitamin A	Supports the production of pregnenolone and sex hormones; anti-estrogen; protein sparing.	Liver, egg yolks, milk
Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide)	Works with glucose and thyroid hormone to repair cells and tissues. When one of these energy-producing factors is lacking, the changes in cell functions – a sort of pre-inflammatory state – activate corrective processes.	Beef Liver
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)	Cofactor in glucose metabolism and brain/nerve protective.	Orange juice, pork.
Vitamin B6	Supports amino acid metabolism and serotonin regulation.	Liver, egg yolk, milk
Vitamin C	Major component for transforming cholesterol into bile acids.	Pulp-Free Orange Juice
Vitamin D3	Enhances calcium absorption, modulates serotonin, and prolactin.	Sunlight (UVB rays), supplementation, Beef liver/Egg Yolk/Goat's Milk
Vitamin E	Antagonizes estrogen and prolactin, protects against iron and PUFA overload.	Egg yolks, liver
Vitamin K2	Anti-estrogenic, activates vitamins A and D, improves calcium utilization and bone strength.	Liver, egg yolks, /Gouda 13 weeks+, Edam/Maasdam 5 weeks+, Raw Milk Cheese, etc./Natto.
Zinc & Copper	Essential for thyroid hormone conversion and activation of mitochondrial enzymes.	Oysters, liver, shrimp

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The foundational foods

Milk and dairy: the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio

The obesity epidemic that began about 40 years ago in the US has paralleled the decreasing milk consumption. Studies in both animals and humans have shown that a moderate increase in calcium and vitamin D reduces obesity and increases the metabolic rate.

Adele Davis talked about that in the 1950s, that people think of calcifying kidneys and arteries and such and are afraid of the calcium in milk, but she already pointed out the research showing that the people who drink the least milk or have the least calcium in their diet have the most kidney stones and the most calcified arteries.

See: Calcium-to-phosphorus ratio

The carbohydrate question

Sugar vs. starch:

"Fructose inhibits the stimulation of insulin by glucose, so this means that eating ordinary sugar, sucrose, in place of starch, will reduce the tendency to store fat. Eating complex carbohydrates, rather than sugars, is a reasonable way to promote obesity."- Ray Peat, Glycemia

This may sound counter-intuitive, but starch and glucose efficiently stimulate insulin secretion, and that accelerates the disposition of glucose, activating its conversion to glycogen and fat, as well as its oxidation. Fructose inhibits the stimulation of insulin by glucose.

Research shows that in the regulation of dietary fat intake the fact should not be neglected that a low fat diet is usually a high carbohydrate diet, and that the interaction of carbohydrate and fat metabolism is subject to adaptive changes.

Protein strategy

The tryptophan-serotonin problem

The fatigue produced by over-training is probably produced by a tryptophan and serotonin overload, resulting from catabolism of muscle proteins and stress-induced increases in serotonin.

On a tryptophan-poor diet, the amount of serotonin in the brain decreased. When brain serotonin decreases, the level of testosterone in male animals increases.

Balancing muscle meat with gelatin

The glycine-to-tryptophan ratio

"When only the muscle meats are eaten, the amino acid balance entering our blood stream is the same as that produced by extreme stress, when cortisol excess causes our muscles to be broken down." — Ray Peat, Gelatin

When we eat animal proteins in the traditional ways (for example, eating fish head soup, as well as the muscles, or head-cheese as well as pork chops, and chicken-foot soup as well as drumsticks), we assimilate a large amount of glycine and gelatin.

When only the muscle meats are eaten, the amino acid balance entering our blood stream is the same as that produced by extreme stress, when cortisol excess causes our muscles to be broken down to provide energy and material for repair.

Practical application from Haidut: The dose that worked best was 15g 3 daily (45g total daily dose) for just 3 days. However, one of the groups consumed 5g 3 daily for 3 days and also experienced beneficial effect.

See: Glycine to Tryptophan ratio

Understanding fats

Saturated fats and thyroid function

The short chain saturated fats... can compete against the polyunsaturated fats for producing oxygen in the mitochondria. The short chain saturated fats are anti-inflammatory and have many indirect helpful functions, but they provide energy so quickly that they block many of the actions of the polyunsaturated fats.

Coconut oil gives you a temporary reprieve while it's being digested for a couple hours after eating it. It interferes with that blocking system of the polyunsaturated fats.

Meal timing and blood sugar

The nocturnal cortisol spike

Blood sugar falls at night, and the body relies on the glucose stored in the liver as glycogen for energy, and hypothyroid people store very little sugar. As a result, adrenalin and cortisol begin to rise almost as soon as a person goes to bed, and in hypothyroid people, they rise very high, with the adrenalin usually peaking around 1 or 2 A.M., and the cortisol peaking around dawn.

Why breakfast matters

After eating breakfast, the cortisol (and adrenalin, if it stayed high despite the increased cortisol) will start returning to a more normal, lower level, as the blood sugar is sustained by food, instead of by the stress hormones.

Digestive health

The carrot salad: mechanism and method

Insoluble fiber diet such as a raw carrot, if you shred a carrot fairly fine and add maybe olive oil and a little vinegar and salt... the carrot contains a germicidal but harmless substance. Root vegetables growing underground have to resist mold and bacteria attacks and that material has the same disinfectant effect in the intestine.

We've seen people who had the typical high estrogen, high cortisol, premenstrual syndrome, in just three or four days of the carrot salad have another blood test, and everything is normal because the carrot is preventing the reabsorption of estrogen, which is blocking your liver function and your thyroid function.

Ray Peat's carrot salad recipe

Substitutes

Not Peaty (avoid / limit)	Peaty (prefer / substitute)
Seed oils (canola, soy, corn, safflower, sunflower)	Butter, ghee, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, beef tallow
Margarine / shortening	Heavy cream
Soy milk, oat milk, nut milks	Whole, low-fat or skim milk (cow, goat, sheep, and camel)
Industrial cheese (additives, colors, microbial or vegetarian rennet)	Animal rennet DOP cheeses, cottage cheese, ricotta, farmer’s cheese
Whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat, oats, bran)	Masa harina, sourdough white bread, potatoes (peeled & well cooked with fat)
Beans, lentils, chickpeas (high in antinutrients, poor protein quality)	Gelatin, bone broth, dairy, fruits, shellfish
Leafy greens (raw kale, spinach, chard – oxalates, goitrogens)	Cooked zucchini, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, raw carrots
Cruciferous (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage – goitrogens)	Cooked squash, pumpkin, well-cooked root vegetables
Nuts/seeds (walnuts, almonds, flax, chia, peanut butter)	Fruits, dried fruits, fruit juice, gelatin snacks, macadamia nuts (have the fat composition of olive oil)
Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel – high in PUFA)	Lean fish, white and warmwater fish, oysters, shrimp, scallops, octopus.
Industrially raised pork / chicken fat (high in PUFA)	Ruminant fat: beef, lamb, bison
Soy products (tofu, soy protein, soy sauce)	Dairy protein (milk, cheese), gelatin, shellfish
Coffee on empty stomach	Coffee with milk + sugar (or honey)
Raw onions/garlic (gut irritating)	Cooked mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrot salad
Commercial desserts (PUFA oils, gums, starch thickeners)	Homemade custards, ice cream (milk, sugar, yolk), fruit + gelatin
Soda with HFCS	Mexican coke, Orange juice, cane-sugar soda, fruit juice
Energy drinks (artificial sweeteners) (Monster, Bang..)	Redbull, Coffee with milk + sugar, honey water, juice + salt
Processed snacks (chips, crackers, PUFA fried foods)	Homemade potato chips (coconut oil), fruit + cheese
Starch	Gelatin
Baking powder	Baking soda + vinegar
Mayonnaise	Yogurt or coconut/olive oil mayo

What to watch out as a newbie (Don't get fat)

• Many new "Peaters" make the mistake of assuming that eating lots of carbs and calcium will immediately speed up metabolism and allow weight loss, especially if they start with classic hypothyroidism symptoms (poor appetite, easy weight gain).
• If you have accumulated polyunsaturated body fat, you likely can't oxidize carbs efficiently, the initial priority is restoring oxidative (mitochondrial) capacity rather than immediately increasing calories or sugar.
• Most vitamins and minerals support glucose metabolism, so the focus should be on increasing nutrient density (plus sunlight) rather than just eating more calories/sugar.
• If starting out skinny-fat or chunky, stick to your current minimum maintenance calories and emphasize nutrient-dense foods only; do not calorie-max or sugar-max.
• Temporary thyroid or vitamin supplementation may be needed if fatigue prevents sticking to the approach.
• Example starting point: If your maintenance is ~1,200 calories/day, keep calories there but make every calorie nutrient-purposeful.
• Recommended foods/elements:
  • Lots of cooked leafy greens (for magnesium)
  • Charcoal, mushrooms, carrots (for gut health)
  • Low-fat foods, gelatinous proteins, mineral-rich organ meats
  • Avoid sugar-maxxing; instead, sip orange juice (OJ) between meals, it provides minerals, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory flavonoids beyond just sugar.
• Simple daily example for busy/lethargic people:
  • 1 quart/liter OJ + 1 liter low-fat milk (spread throughout day) ≈ 950 calories, high in nourishment/protein/carbs
  • Add e.g. 100g beef liver + mushrooms ≈ 250 calories, very nutrient-dense
  • Total ≈ 1,200 calories, now packed with Peaty elements to improve mitochondrial glucose processing
• This nutrient-focused approach (better Ca:P ratio, shorter insulin spikes, fructose, safety/abundance signals) promotes weight loss over time.
• End day with activated charcoal.
• Signs of progress: waking up with real hunger and more energy for the first time.
• Use real hunger and actual weight loss as cues to increase calories, not appetite alone.
• Early on, the same calories may leave you hungry (instead of full/bloated/weak), curb extra hunger with small additions like hard cheddar, a carrot, or more sodium; don't overeat.
• Weight loss depends on calorie restriction relative to metabolic rate ,your old maintenance becomes your new deficit (ideal starting place if overweight); hold calories steady until weight loss occurs.
• As insulin sensitivity improves over time, very gradually increase calories.
• Long-term potential (6–12 months): tolerate 2,500–3,500 calories/day easily, with more muscle, less fat, higher energy, and better mental stability.
• Use coffee for regular bowel movements and to speed up bodily processes, but avoid heavy use until key nutrients are replenished (after years of hypothyroid "coldbrain" state).

Low effort

Eating ingredients and things you don't have to cook/prepare

Milk and OJ

"A daily diet that includes two quarts of milk and a quart of orange juice provides enough fructose and other sugars for general resistance to stress, but larger amounts of sugars can protect against increased stress, and can reverse some of the established degenerative conditions." - Ray Peat

2 quarts of skim milk and 1 quart of OJ can sustain you if you can't source proper food or don't have the time.

Eating two eggs per day covers 10% to 30% of the vitamin requirements for humans.

Peating while traveling

restaurant

Family

Gas station

Keeping it safe hubbly - sick

Work/school

Make your own Tupperware so you don't have to eat slop at school/work

**List of prep foods**

https://twitter.com/gyxk4/status/1688310605239795712

Meal plan example

Day 1: classic & simple

Morning

• Coffee with milk and a splash of cream
• Glass of fresh orange juice

Breakfast

• Milk powder pancakes with butter
• Small glass of OJ

Mid-morning

• Coffee with cream, sipped slowly

Lunch

• Scrambled eggs (2-3) in butter with melted mozzarella
• Raw carrot salad with olive oil, vinegar, salt

Afternoon snack

• Ripe watermelon or grapes
• Piece of aged parmesan

Dinner

• Oxtail soup (gelatinous broth)
• Cooked mushrooms sautéed in butter

Bedtime

• Warm milk with honey

Day 2: Seafood Day

Morning

• Orange juice
• Coffee con leche

Breakfast

• Greek yogurt with honey and ripe banana

Mid-morning

• Coffee with cream
• Few sips of OJ

Lunch

• Cottage cheese (rinsed if needed) with sliced ripe mango
• Salty cheese on the side (feta or pecorino)

Afternoon snack

• Chicharrones (prepared in coconut oil, drained)
• Glass of grape juice

Dinner

• Oysters (2-3) or shrimp
• Well-cooked white potato with butter and salt
• Cooked bamboo shoots

Bedtime

• Orange juice by the bed

Day 3: liver day

Morning

• Coffee with milk
• Orange juice

Breakfast

• Crepes (thin milk powder pancakes) with orange marmalade

Mid-morning

• Coffee with cream

Lunch

• Soft-boiled eggs
• Tillamook aged cheddar or parmesan
• Carrot salad

Afternoon snack

• Cooked apple (peeled) with a drizzle of honey
• Small glass of milk

Dinner

• Beef liver (~3 oz) pan-fried in butter - with coffee to reduce iron absorption
• Cooked leafy greens (chard or kale, drink the broth for magnesium)

Evening snack

• Häagen-Dazs ice cream (small serving)

Bedtime

• Warm milk with pinch of salt

Broke Peating

"When a person has limited money for food, potatoes are a better staple than beans or oats. Starches associated with saponins, alkaloids, and other potentially pro-inflammatory things make them a less than ideal food, if you have digestion-related health problems, and if you can afford to choose. New potatoes are tastier, less starchy, and probably less likely to cause digestive irritation." - Ray Peat

Budget "Peaty" foods

Forget ideal, let's start with realistic.

Food	Key nutrients/benefits	Est. $/Serving	$/100 cal
Whole milk (1 cup)	Calcium, protein, B12, potassium; supports glycogen storage, lowers stress hormones, UHT if you can't afford fresh.	$0.25-0.35	~$0.20
Sweetened condensed milk
Eggs (2 large)	Complete protein, choline, B12, vitamin A; "safe for rebuilding tissues"	$0.40-0.60	~$0.30
Orange juice (8 oz)	Potassium (handles blood sugar without needing much insulin), vitamin C, flavonoids; anti-inflammatory, cheaper if you squeeze your own	$0.30-0.50	~$0.35
White sugar	Quick glucose for brain/liver glycogen; prevents stress from hypoglycemia	$0.02-0.05	~$0.01
Cheese (1 oz cheddar)	Calcium, protein, saturated fat; high calcium:phosphate ratio	$0.30-0.50	~$0.35
Cottage cheese (1/2 cup)	High calcium, protein, low fat option; anti-inflammatory	$0.40-0.60	~$0.45
Potatoes (1 medium)	Potassium, safe starch when well-cooked; "among safer foods" in restricted situations	$0.15-0.25	~$0.15
Chicken liver (3 oz)	Vitamin A, copper, B vitamins; only need 1-2x/month	$0.30-0.50	~$0.25
Gelatin/bone broth	Glycine (balances methionine); supports gut healing	$0.20-0.40	~$0.80
Coffee (1 cup)	Magnesium, niacin (dark roast); boosts metabolic rate	$0.10-0.20	~$0.05
White rice (1 cup cooked)	Low-allergen carbohydrate; better than most grains	$0.08-0.15	~$0.05
Canned oysters (drained, 2-3)	Zinc, selenium, copper; 1-2x/week max	$1.00-1.50	~$1.50
Frozen OJ concentrate	Same benefits as fresh; "good fruit is scarce" in winter, this is practical	$0.20-0.30	~$0.25
Carrots	Antibacterial fiber; binds endotoxin (raw carrot salad)	$0.10-0.20	~$0.40
Well-cooked mushrooms	B vitamins, antibiotic/anti-inflammatory; "rich source of nutrients harder to find elsewhere"	$0.30-0.50	~$0.80

If you're European Lidl Freeway Cola is cheap and has real sugar.

Budget strategy

1. Milk + OJ as your caloric backbone - These two alone provide massive nutritional coverage at rock-bottom cost per calorie. A gallon of milk ($3-4) gives you ~2400 calories plus calcium, protein, and B vitamins.
2. Eggs are your protein workhorse - At $0.20-0.30 per egg, they're among the cheapest complete proteins. Pair with sugar/OJ to offset their blood-sugar lowering effect.
3. Skip the expensive "health foods" - White sugar, regular cheese, and conventional milk are fine. The priority is avoiding PUFA (vegetable oils, nuts, most processed foods) rather than buying premium everything.
4. Liver once or twice a month - Chicken livers are often under $2/lb and cover your vitamin A and copper needs. No need to overdo it.
5. Frozen OJ concentrate is legitimate - Don't feel bad about it. It's what Ray himself used when fresh fruit wasn't available.

"When you use refined sugar it's important to avoid the starchy foods, emphasizing milk, cheese, eggs, fruits, and occasional liver and seafood."

Fats

Fat	Approx $/lb	Saturation	Notes
Butter (store brand)	$3-5	~70%	Best ratio of price to quality
Beef tallow	$2-4	50-65%	Often free if you render it yourself from suet
Coconut oil (refined)	$5-8	~92%	Most saturated, but pricier
Ghee	$8-15	~70%	Good if dairy-sensitive, but expensive

Avoid even if cheap: lard and chicken/pork fat. They reflect the animal's corn/soy diet and end up high in PUFA, basically "corn oil in animal form."

Pro tip: Ask your butcher for beef suet (kidney fat), it's often dirt cheap or free, and when rendered into tallow, it's 60-65% saturated with high stearic acid content. Some butchers throw it away. Depends where you live, in some countries organ meats are cheap if they're unpopular.

Grass-fed isn't essential for beef fat specifically, since cows' rumen bacteria use vitamin E to saturate the fats regardless of feed. It's a bigger deal for pork/chicken where the fat directly mirrors the feed.

The cheapest daily template: milk, eggs, OJ, cheese, sugar in coffee – you could eat this way for $5-8/day and cover most nutritional bases while keeping your metabolism supported.

Free/nearly free habits

1. Save eggshells : Bake at 350°F for 10 min, grind to powder in a blender. Half a teaspoon in OJ or coffee = ~400mg calcium. Essentially free calcium supplementation. Recipe
2. Canned fish with bones: Sardines bones intact. The bones are soft and edible, direct calcium and collagen source. Often $1-2/can.
3. Coffee grounds twice: First brew hot, second brew cold overnight. Gets more of the magnesium and niacin out. Doubles your coffee supply.
4. Daily raw carrot: Shredded lengthwise (fiber length matters), splash of vinegar and a bit of your cooking fat. It's a gut antiseptic that binds estrogen and endotoxin in bile, preventing reabsorption. Carrots are often under $1/lb. People have normalized hormones in 3-4 days just adding this. Recipe
5. Greens water: When you boil kale, chard, or beet greens, save the water. That's where the magnesium went. Drink it or use it in cooking. Free magnesium supplement. Recipe
6. Save scraps for broth in the freezer: Cheese rind, butts from carrots, onions and garlic, carcasses, bones, skin, other connective tissues, it's not ideal, but segmenting your own chicken gets you far Recipe

Stretch your protein

1. Gelatin with every meat meal: The principle is roughly equal protein from collagen as from muscle meat. The bone broth habit already does this. Balances the methionine, lowers the effective "cost" of meat by needing less of it. See Tryptophan:Glycine ratio
2. Chicken skin separately: Render it crispy in a pan. The skin itself is mostly collagen.
3. Liver stretched thin: You only need 1-2oz once or twice a month for vitamin A and copper. If you have to, freeze it, grate it frozen into other ground meat dishes. Undetectable, lasts forever.

Caloric backbone

1. Sugared milk remains king for broke eating - Add a pinch of salt to help retain magnesium.
2. White rice cooked in bone broth: Poor man's broth + cheap starch = complete meal base. Add an egg, some cheese, you're set. Just make sure you rinse the rice enough times and let it soak
3. Potato water - Same principle as greens water. Potassium and minerals leach out. Use it as a base for soups, cook rice in it, or just drink it salted.

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