Ray Peat

Ray Peat on Multiple Sclerosis

By OxidativeState · · 41 articles · 30 studies

Short answer: Ray Peat wrote two articles on multiple sclerosis. He treated it as a hormone-related brain syndrome tied to low thyroid function, estrogen, darkness and unsaturated fats, and described the myelin-forming cells as makers of the protective steroid pregnenolone.

What Ray Peat wrote about multiple sclerosis

He describes people diagnosed with MS who clearly had multiple symptoms of hypothyroidism. When they tried a thyroid supplement, their symptoms disappeared, including the ones behind the diagnosis. Source: Multiple Sclerosis and other hormone related brain syndromes

The incidence of MS rises with distance from the equator, which fits his view of darkness as a stress that suppresses the thyroid. Source: Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone, Multiple Sclerosis and other hormone related brain syndromes

The cells that form myelin are steroid-producing cells. They make pregnenolone, and that production depends on thyroid hormone. Source: Multiple Sclerosis and other hormone related brain syndromes

MS plaques usually sit in the territory of a single small blood vessel, and similar lesions can be produced by carbon monoxide or cyanide, which block respiration. Source: Multiple Sclerosis and other hormone related brain syndromes

Mast cells are more numerous in the brain in MS. Estrogen makes them release histamine and serotonin, which make blood vessels leaky. Source: Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone

Without enough dietary protein, cortisol must break down tissue continuously. He also notes reports that MS patients digest meat poorly and that unsaturated fats inhibit protein-digesting enzymes. Source: Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone

People with MS regulate body temperature poorly, a trait he also found in aging and menopause. Source: Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone

He thought aspirin deserved study in MS, because it is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and limits platelet clumping. Source: Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone

What he suggested in practice

  • His supplement list for these brain syndromes: vitamin E and coconut oil, vitamin A, magnesium and sodium, a thyroid supplement containing T3, plenty of animal protein especially eggs, pregnenolone, and progesterone if needed.
  • Bright light, weak in blue and protected from ultraviolet.
  • Sugar together with fats and minerals, as in milk, to lower cortisol.
  • This is his published view. MS needs a neurologist.

Where he wrote about it

This topic comes up in 41 of the articles on his site. These are the most relevant ones:

Quick answers

What did Ray Peat say about multiple sclerosis?

That it is a hormone-related brain syndrome linked to low thyroid function, estrogen, lack of light and unsaturated fats, and that the myelin-forming cells produce the protective steroid pregnenolone.

What did Ray Peat suggest for MS?

He lists vitamin E, coconut oil, vitamin A, magnesium, sodium, thyroid containing T3, animal protein, pregnenolone, progesterone if needed, and bright light.

30 studies Ray Peat cited on multiple sclerosis

  1. Melanin, melatonin, melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and the susceptibility to autoimmune demyelination: a rationale for light therapy in multiple sclerosisMed Hypotheses · 1995 · PMID 8748085 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  2. A longitudinal study of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and intact parathyroid hormone levels indicate the importance of vitamin D and calcium homeostasis regulation in multiple sclerosisJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry · 2008 · PMID 17578859 · cited in Milk in context: allergies, ecology, and some myths
  3. Emodin inhibits dietary induced atherosclerosis by antioxidation and regulation of the sphingomyelin pathway in rabbitsChin Med J (Engl) · 2006 · PMID 16732991 · cited in Cascara, energy, cancer and the FDA's laxative abuse
  4. A possible role of cholesterol-sphingomyelin/phosphatidylcholine in nuclear matrix during rat liver regenerationJ Hepatol · 2003 · PMID 12713873 · cited in Cholesterol, longevity, intelligence, and health
  5. Ondansetron in multiple sclerosisJ Pain Symptom Manage · 2000 · PMID 11068160 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  6. Prolactin secretion is increased in patients with multiple sclerosisEndocr Res · 1999 · PMID 10382682 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  7. Correlation between sex hormones and magnetic resonance imaging lesions in multiple sclerosisActa Neurol Scand · 1999 · PMID 10071166 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  8. Essential fatty acids and related molecular and cellular mechanisms in multiple sclerosis: new looks at old conceptsFolia Biol (Praha) · 1999 · PMID 10732726 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  9. Elevated plasma level of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisTohoku J Exp Med · 1999 · PMID 10739162 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  10. The role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosisJ Physiol Biochem · 1998 · PMID 10225414 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  11. Clinical significance of reduced cerebral metabolism in multiple sclerosis: a combined PET and MRI studyAnn Nucl Med · 1998 · PMID 9637279 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  12. Iron deposits in multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease brainsBrain Res · 1997 · PMID 9237552 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  13. The role of nitric oxide in multiple sclerosisJ Mol Med (Berl) · 1997 · PMID 9106074 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  14. Circulating antibodies directed against conjugated fatty acids in sera of patients with multiple sclerosisJ Neuroimmunol · 1996 · PMID 8642067 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  15. Premenstrual exacerbation of symptoms in multiple sclerosis is attenuated by treatment with weak electromagnetic fieldsInt J Neurosci · 1995 · PMID 8869427 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  16. Progesterone synthesis and myelin formation by Schwann cellsScience · 1995 · PMID 7770777 · cited in Alzheimer's: The problem of Alzheimer's disease as a clue to immortality — part 2
  17. Three different thyroid hormone receptor isoforms are detected in a pure culture of ovine oligodendrocytesGlia · 1995 · PMID 8530188 · cited in Alzheimer's: The problem of Alzheimer's disease as a clue to immortality — part 2
  18. Multiple sclerosis is associated with alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functionJ Clin Endocrinol Metab · 1994 · PMID 8077372 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  19. Serum sex hormone and gonadotropin concentrations in premenopausal women with multiple sclerosisJ Intern Med · 1989 · PMID 2809499 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  20. Perivascular iron deposition and other vascular damage in multiple sclerosisJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry · 1988 · PMID 3346691 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  21. Neurosteroids: oligodendrocyte mitochondria convert cholesterol to pregnenoloneProc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 1987 · PMID 3479785 · cited in Multiple Sclerosis and other hormone related brain syndromes
  22. Chronic periphlebitis retinae in multiple sclerosis. A histopathological studyJ Neurol Sci · 1987 · PMID 3819765 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  23. [Role of disorders of the hemostatic system in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and ways of correcting them]Zh Nevropatol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova · 1985 · PMID 3984606 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  24. Platelet aggregation and multiple sclerosisActa Neurol Scand · 1982 · PMID 7148392 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  25. Rheological and fibrinolytic findings in multiple sclerosisJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry · 1981 · PMID 6972439 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  26. Cerebrospinal fluid lipids in demyelinating disease. II. Linoleic acid as an index of impaired blood-CSF barrierJ Neurol · 1980 · PMID 6153705 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  27. Multiple sclerosis and malabsorptionAm J Gastroenterol · 1977 · PMID 612212 · cited in Multiple sclerosis, protein, fats, and progesterone
  28. Cellular sensitization in kuru, Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease and multiple sclerosis: with a note on the biohazards of slow infection workActa Neurol Scand · 1975 · PMID 766554 · cited in BSE ("mad cow"), scrapie, etc.: Stimulated amyloid degeneration and the toxic fats
  29. Preservation of myelin lamellar structure in the absence of lipid. A correlated chemical and morphological studyJ Cell Biol · 1967 · PMID 4167505 · cited in Membranes, plasma membranes, and surfaces
  30. THE INITIAL HEAT PRODUCTION ASSOCIATED WITH THE NERVE IMPULSE IN CRUSTACEAN AND MAMMALIAN NON-MYELINATED NERVE FIBRESJ Physiol · 1965 · PMID 14298125 · cited in Phosphate, activation, and aging

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Not affiliated with raypeat.com. This page describes Ray Peat's published articles in our own words and links to the originals. Educational content, not medical advice.

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