April 22, 2015
If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Ray Peat, he is a biologist that most notably writes in support of sugar. The tricky part about sugar is that both alternative medicine practitioners and western medical doctors are united on the same front of considering it unhealthy. People may be inclined to think, well if both sides of the coin agree on this one thing, then it has to be right. Sort of like when many republicans and democrats both agreed that Iraq was a threat to America after 9/11 because of weapons of mass destruction. We went to war with Iraq and a war has also been waged against sugar by health authorities.
Although one of the most powerful forces on the planet is human denial, you can only power through sugar cravings for so long before you are forced to ask if there is more to the propagated sugar story, and if so, who knows it. Many recovering low-carbers will readily acknowledge Ray Peat’s work in helping them to understand why they were having difficulties while being on a low carb diet
Dr. Peat has something else unique about him besides his writings on sugar, he is readily accessible to contact through emails. His writings are numerous and are also freely accessible. At the same time that he is approachable, his work can be elusive. People often debate his intended meanings much like you would hear the writings on Jesus debated. This is a good thing because it means Dr. Peat has left enough room in his writings for personal interpretation.
If you are reading this and want to learn more about this intelligent man, you may come upon chat groups that are also dedicated to learning more. You’ll come across the term “Peating” and it means something like: you only drink milk, eat certain fruits, and you avoid polyunsaturated fats with the religious fervor of a nun who avoids relations. You may find it all a little scary actually.
However I would like to throw my hat into the ring and weigh in on this, not to hurt anyone’s feelings but for the sake of discussion. Maybe it could be of some help to people. If “Peating” really is your intended goal, in order to have the complete experience of “Peating” you would have to continually keep the big picture in mind like he does. You would be of service to your fellow humans asking for nothing in return. You would study first-hand other scientists and philosophers and make interesting connections that give you a comprehensive view of life. You would also write and paint and have a strong connection to nature as well as value humor. That would be truly Peating.
You may also hear the term “Peatarian” but remember this, Jesus was not a Christian, Buddha was not a Buddhist and Ray Peat is not a Peatarian. Ray Peat is someone who stands for an authentic life, and who does not want to reinforce the imposed system. He recognizes our dignity and thinks we are capable of greater freedoms and a much fuller experience of life.
We are speaking of someone who wrote the following, “For Pavlov, the study of psychology or physiology without consciousness was simply crazy. Pavlov said that he studied nutrition to understand consciousness and the nervous system, because eating is our closest interaction with the world. Our brain is part of our digestive system. But eating has become highly institutionalized and influenced by our cultural beliefs. If people begin to think about the meanings of eating, they are beginning a process of cultural and philosophical criticism.“
He also wrote, “When a person is allowed to function freely as a goal-directed, questioning system, the formation of patterns in the brain will be spontaneous and appropriate, and orderly.”
So why then would anyone think that Dr.Peat wants to take on our interactions with the world for us and direct our eating? Why would someone who has done so many self-experiments and learned in various ways what is the best way to eat for himself deny us our journey and have us just take his word for it?
Dr. Peat does give people a starting place because many people ask for one. In many emails he’ll specifically write, “Have you tried such and such?” He never writes, “Go try such and such.” This is also someone who has written about how the culture affects our health with his recent newsletter quoting Maslow, “Sick people are made by a sick culture.” And this type of focus is not a one-time thing. Dr. Peat has spoken about the culture and the big picture in various articles, books and interviews.
So why does someone who is “Peating” focus exclusively on nutrients while trying to heal themselves when there are so many other moving parts? To only place an emphasis on nutrition and the minutia of nutrients makes a mockery of life and erodes the dignity of the human experience. There is so much more to humans than nutrients.
I feel Dr. Peat is old school, like teachers of the past* who would give their students an answer they were looking for, but the answer was only a bread crumb, only part of the truth. The true seekers would come back for more when they found the answer wasn’t enough. This was like a test, or a form of initiation. A way of discovering those who realize there is always more to any story. And if we don’t know the crumb is not the whole loaf, it can make us suffer greatly. We have to be ready for the big picture. And the “crumb test” lets those who are ready discover more and those who aren’t feel accepted where they are at.
I can’t blame anyone for trying to copy the path of someone who has done so many inspiring things. But like Joseph Campbell says, “If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.” What any of the greatest thinkers and philosophers point you toward is yourself. Great men and women are not great because they are better than any of us. They are great because they point past themselves to the greatness that is in all of us.
Inspiration not imitation is the way. So take your last name and put an –ing after it and that is the only way we are all going to fit together as a whole. The only way we can move forward as a society is if we have authority over our own lives. Nutrition is a great starting place.
*As in India, centuries later, when a student approaches a teacher to ask the secret of immortal life, he is first put off with a description of the joys of the mortal. Only if he persists is he admitted to the next initiation. Hero With a Thousand Faces P.158
Graphic credited to Sean Bissell, who else.
2015 年 4 月 22 日
如果您不知道雷皮，雷皮博士是一位生物学家，最着名的是支持吃糖的文章。糖的棘手之处在于，替代医学从业者和西医都认为不健康。人们可能倾向于认为， 如果硬币的双方都同意这一件事，那么一定是对的。有点像许多共和党人和民主党人都同意伊拉克在 9/11 之后有大规模杀伤性武器威胁。美国与伊拉克开战，美国卫生当局也对糖发动了战争。
虽然这个星球上最强大的力量之一是人类的否认，但你只能通过对糖的渴望来获得力量，然后你才会被迫询问传播的糖故事是否还有更多，如果还有，谁知道有多少呢。许多从低碳水饮食中来恢复的人会很容易承认雷皮的研究，可以帮助他们理解为什么他们在低碳水饮食时遇到了困难。
除了关于糖的著作之外，雷皮博士还有其他独特之处，很容易通过电子邮件与他联系。他的文章众多，可以免费阅读。在他平易近人的同时，他的研究可能难以捉摸。人们经常争论他的意图，就像听到关于耶稣的著作争论一样。这是一件好事，因为这意味着雷皮博士在他的著作中为个人解释留出了足够的空间。
如果您正在阅读本文并想更多地了解这位聪明人，您可能会遇到同样致力于了解更多信息的群组。你会遇到“雷皮方法”这个词，它的意思是这样的：喝牛奶，吃某些水果，避免普发，就像一个避免关系的修女的宗教热情。你可能会发现这一切实际上有点可怕。
然而，我想权衡一下，不是为了伤害任何人的感情，而是为了讨论。也许可以对人们有所帮助。如果“雷皮方法”确实是您的预期目标，那么为了获得“雷皮方法”的完整体验，您必须像雷皮一样不断地牢记大局。你要为全人类服务，不求回报。您要直接研究其他科学家和哲学家，并建立有趣的联系，让您对生活有一个全面的了解。你还要会写作和绘画，与自然有着密切的联系，并重视幽默。那才是真正的雷皮方法。
您可能还会听到“雷粉”这个词，但请记住，耶稣不是基督徒，佛陀不是佛教徒，雷皮也不是雷粉。雷皮是一个代表真实生活的人，他不想强化强加的系统。他承认我们的尊严，并认为我们有能力获得更大的自由和更丰富的生活体验。
我们正在谈论某人写道：“对巴甫洛夫来说，没有意识的心理学或生理学研究简直是疯了。巴甫洛夫说，他研究营养是为了了解意识和神经系统，因为饮食是我们与世界最密切的互动。我们的大脑是消化系统的一部分。但是饮食已经高度制度化，并受到我们文化信仰的影响。如果人们开始思考饮食的意义，就开始了文化和哲学批判的过程。”
他还写道，“当一个人被允许作为一个以目标为导向的提问系统自由运作时，大脑中模式的形成将是自发的、适当的、有序的。”
那么为什么有人会认为雷皮博士想要为我们承担我们与世界的互动并指导我们的饮食？为什么一个做了这么多自我实验并以各种方式学习什么是最好的饮食方式的人会拒绝我们的旅程，让我们相信他的话？
雷皮博士确实为人们提供了一个起点，因为很多人都要求这样做。在许多电子邮件中，他会专门写道：“你试过这样或那样的吗？” 他从不写道，“去试试这样或那样。” 这也是有人在最近的通讯中引用了马斯洛的话，写了文化如何影响我们的健康，“生病的人是由生病的文化造成的。” 而这种关注不是一次性的。雷皮博士在各种文章、书籍和采访中谈到了文化和大局。
那么，当有这么多其他活动部件时，为什么采用“雷皮方法”的人只专注于营养而试图治愈自己呢？只强调营养和营养的细枝末节是对生活的嘲弄，侵蚀了人类经验的尊严。对人类来说，营养远不止这些。
我觉得雷皮博士是老先生，就像过去的老师 * 会给学生一个他们正在寻找的答案，但答案只是面包屑，只是真相的一部分。当真正的寻求者发现答案还不够时，他们会回来寻求更多。这就像一个测试，或者一种启蒙形式。一种发现那些意识到任何故事总是有更多内容的人的方法。如果我们不知道面包屑并不是整个面包，会让我们痛苦不堪。我们必须为大局做好准备。而“面包屑测试”让那些准备好发现更多的人和那些感觉不被接受的人能明白他们所处的位置。
我不能责怪任何人试图复制一个做了这么多鼓舞人心的事情的人的道路。但正如约瑟夫·坎贝尔所说，“如果你面前的道路是清晰的，那么你很可能已经走上了别人的道路。” 任何最伟大的思想家和哲学家都指向你的方向是你自己。伟大的男人和女人并不是因为他们比我们任何人都优秀而伟大，他们之所以伟大，是因为他们指出了我们所有人的伟大。
灵感不是模仿而是方法。所以在姓氏后面加“方法”一词，这是我们所有人都可以作为一个整体融合在一起的唯一方式。作为一个社会，我们能够向前迈进的唯一方法是我们对自己的生活拥有权威。营养是一个很好的起点。
*就像公元几百年时在印度，当一个学生向老师询问永生的秘密时，老师首先描述那是凡人的快乐。只有坚持下去，他才能进入下一个醍醐灌顶。 （千面英雄 P.158）
图片来自肖恩·比塞尔。