Also see:
Ray Peat, PhD on the Benefits of the Raw Carrot
Estrogen, Serotonin, and Aggression
Endotoxin: Poisoning from the Inside Out
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of plant cell microparticles in urine sediment
THE PHENOMENON OF PERSORPTION: PERSORPTION, DISSEMINATION, AND ELIMINATION OF MICROPARTICLES
“The food industry is promoting the use of various gums and starches, which are convenient thickeners and stabilizers for increasing self-life, with the argument that the butyric acid produced when they are fermented by intestinal bacteria is protective. However, intestinal fermentation increases systemic and brain serotonin, and the short-chain fatty acids can produce a variety of inflammatory and cytotoxic effect. Considering the longevity and stress-resistance of germ-free animals, choosing foods (such as raw carrots or cooked bamboo shoots or cooked mushrooms) which accelerate peristalsis and speed transit through the bowel, which suppressing bacterial growth, seems like a convenient approach to increasing longevity.” -Ray Peat, PhD
Physiol Behav. 2004 Sep 15;82(2-3):357-68.
Anxiety and aggression associated with the fermentation of carbohydrates in the hindgut of rats.
Hanstock TL, Clayton EH, Li KM, Mallet PE.
Lactic acid accumulation in the caecum and colon resulting from the fermentation of carbohydrates can lead to deleterious effects in ruminant and monogastric animals, including humans. In the present study, we examined the behavioural effects of two types of commonly consumed foods: soluble and fermentable carbohydrates (FCs). Thirty-six male Wistar rats were fed either a commercial rat and mouse chow, a soluble carbohydrate (SC)-based diet or an FC-based diet. Social interaction, anxiety, aggression and locomotor activity were examined by employing a social interaction test and a light/dark emergence test, while physical parameters of hindgut fermentation were examined after sacrifice, either 3 or 21 h after feeding. Results showed that anxiety (spending less time in the light compartment during the light/dark emergence test) and aggression (increased fighting during the social interaction test) were increased following raised concentrations of fermentation end products, such as lactic acid and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the caecum of rats. These associations occurred regardless of dopamine and 5-HT concentrations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and provide evidence supporting a general effect of FCs on behaviour. Possible mechanisms of action along with similarities between a rat and human model of acidosis are discussed.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2003;12 Suppl:S12.
Anxiety following increased hind-gut fermentation.
Hanstock TL, Claytons EH, Mallet PE.
Background – Previous investigations into the effects of carbohydrate on behaviour have focussed on behavioural changes 2-4 hrs after consumption of the diet and have not considered the effect of site of digestion. Fermentation and lactic acid production in the caecum and colon can lead to detrimental effects in several animal models, including adverse behaviour in horses. Objective – To determine changes in anxiety promoted by the consumption of fermentable carbohydrate and increased fermentation in the hind-gut of rats. Design – Randomised control trial with 3 iso-energetic dietary treatment groups, a soluble carbohydrate diet containing wheat (n=12), a fermentable carbohydrate diet based on cooked and cooled rice (n=12) and a basal control rat and mouse Chow diet (n= 12). Behaviour was assessed 3 and 21 hrs after dietary consumption by the light dark emergence test. Outcomes – The 3 diets promoted different fermentation patterns in terms of pH and lactic acid concentrations in the caecum of rats 3 or 21 hrs after consumption. The length of time spent in the dark compartment of the light dark emergence test, indicating increased anxiety, was associated with increased concentrations of D- and L-lactic acid in the caecum (r(2)= 0.97 and 0.96 respectively; P <0.01) irrespective of dietary group. Conclusions – Fermentation of carbohydrate leading to increased concentrations of lactic acid in the caecum of rats was associated with increased anxiety in rats. This has important implications in terms of those diets promoting increased fermentation (eg. with a high intake of resistant starch) without considering any possible detrimental effects.
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Fermentable fibers raise ammonia.
J Nutr. 1989 Feb;119(2):235-41.
Independent effects of fiber and protein on colonic luminal ammonia concentration.
Lupton JR, Marchant LJ.
The potential interactive effects of protein and fiber on cecal and colonic surface areas, colonic luminal ammonia concentrations, luminal pH and blood indices of nitrogen metabolism were tested using two levels of protein (8% and 24%) and two types of fiber (8% pectin or cellulose). Pectin supplementation resulted in larger cecal surface areas and longer large intestines than those of rats fed fiber-free or cellulose-supplemented diets. All high protein diets resulted in total large bowel luminal ammonia (NH3 + NH4+) concentrations that were twice as high as their low protein counterparts (P less than 0.05). The effect of fiber on ammonia concentration depended on the fiber type. In the distal colon, pectin-fed animals had three times the ammonia concentration of the fiber-free animals, and 4-5 times the ammonia concentration of the cellulose-fed animals (P less than 0.001). Blood urea nitrogen values were higher in the high protein than in the low protein groups (P less than 0.05), and highest in the high protein/pectin animals (P less than 0.01). This study clearly demonstrates that luminal ammonia concentration is dependent upon both protein level and fiber type, and that a fermentable fiber (pectin), rather than decreasing colonic ammonia concentrations, actually increases them several-fold.
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Dietary fats protect against anxiety from bacterial fermentation.
Physiol Behav. 1996 Sep;60(3):1039-42.
Short-term consumption of a diet rich in fat decreases anxiety response in adult male rats.
Prasad A, Prasad C.
Short- and long-term changes in the composition of dietary macronutrients [protein (P), carbohydrate (C), and fat (F)] alter neurochemistry and behavior in animals. We examined whether short-term intake of a diet rich in P, C, or F affected their anxiety response (AR). AR of Sprague-Dawley rats was measured in an elevated plus maze. Rats were placed in the black compartment facing the wall opposite the aperture, and the time (max. 360 s) it took to enter the white compartment with all four paws was noted. Rats were fed Purina chow and tap water unless otherwise indicated. On repeated testing (three times on the same day) AR increased and, consequently, most rats spent the entire 360 s in the dark. Whereas most rats exhibited low anxiety response in trial 1, which increased during successive trials (low-high group), some exhibited high initial anxiety that remained unchanged (high-high group). To determine whether macronutrients may alter AR, groups of low-high and high-high rats were tested three times on the same day and then put on a P, C, or F diet for 7 days. On day 8, they were again tested for AR in a single trial and the results compared with those of the third trial of the previous test (preC: 302 +/- 39, post-C: 294 +/- 42, p > 0.05; pre-P: 305 +/- 35, post-P: 297 +/- 43, p > 0.05; pre-F: 321 +/- 17, post-F: 241 +/- 24sec, p = 0.009; n = 30; mean +/- SEM). The results show that a diet rich in F, but not P or C, decreases AR in rats.
