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DiscussionLet's talk about it: Diets and foodsCacao Butter: Safe to eat?

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Cacao Butter: Safe to eat?

#11 · October 6, 2021, 9:56 pm

Thank you so much! I ordered some, hopefully it will work better for me.

By the way, do you have any idea where you could buy processed white gelatin? Most gelatin has kind of a yellow tint to it.

#12 · October 7, 2021, 4:57 am

@salt

I'm glad you've found the product useful. I've ordered some too after you raised concerns about carotenoids in cacao butter which I wasn't aware of. I've assumed it to be a safe food.

Hm, I've bought the Great Lakes Gelatin in the past but I don't think that's white. That was the one that's been recommended on the Ray Peat forum. I like the serotonin lowering effects of gelatin very much but after ingestion, I would generally experience weird stomach issues.

#13 · October 7, 2021, 5:09 am

Quote from Hermes on October 7, 2021, 4:57 am

@salt

I'm glad you've found the product useful. I've ordered some too after you raised concerns about carotenoids in cacao butter which I wasn't aware of. I've assumed it to be a safe food.

Hm, I've bought the Great Lakes Gelatin in the past but I don't think that's white. That was the one that's been recommended on the Ray Peat forum. I like the serotonin lowering effects of gelatin very much but after ingestion, I would generally experience weird stomach issues.

Collagen was hard to digest for me as well, but gelatin was easier on my system.

#14 · October 10, 2021, 10:02 am

Quote from Hermes on September 30, 2021, 2:46 pm

Quote from Audrey on September 29, 2021, 12:12 pm

Cocoa butter does not agree with me, I believe it's bc of the stearic acid. But that is me. Same with coconut butter... before I began a low A die,t 28 months ago, cocoa butter and coconut butter relieved my dizziness but it didn't last long... I felt like it was binding to excess A and shoving it into my tissues... I gained a lot of weight before I started this diet. That excess weight I have since lost.

So you're saying cocoa butter is actually hindering the excretion vitamin A? That seems concerning.

I believe it was the case for me. I used to eat a lot of cocoa butter daily for years before I started this diet and I believe it was binding to vitamin A and storing it in my liver/tissues. But I don't understand all the mechanisms at play.

#15 · October 11, 2021, 4:21 am

@audrey

Do you think this might be an issue with CBD too? I'm conflicted about it and have read some positive experiences on here when I searched for it.

#16 · October 11, 2021, 7:25 am

Dear @christian, CBD is what got me started on the low A diet in the first place... I used to take it quite regularly for years with positive results but I believe it contributed to my liver toxicity somehow, or simply eventually overwhelmed my liver where I was experiencing chronic dizziness and panic attacks for a couple of years, and what felt like being on a boat. I think maybe occasional use could be ok but in my case I will never take it again. It could be that the CBD was detoxing 'something' and I was stuck in a chronic loop of not being able to excrete whatever 'it' was fast enough... I just don't know for sure. But after being on a low A diet for 29 months I do feel generally a lot better. Audrey

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#17 · October 11, 2021, 2:29 pm

Quote from Hermes on October 11, 2021, 2:29 pm

Quote from Audrey on October 11, 2021, 7:25 am

Dear @christian, CBD is what got me started on the low A diet in the first place... I used to take it quite regularly for years with positive results but I believe it contributed to my liver toxicity somehow, or simply eventually overwhelmed my liver where I was experiencing chronic dizziness and panic attacks for a couple of years, and what felt like being on a boat. I think maybe occasional use could be ok but in my case I will never take it again. It could be that the CBD was detoxing 'something' and I was stuck in a chronic loop of not being able to excrete whatever 'it' was fast enough... I just don't know for sure. But after being on a low A diet for 29 months I do feel generally a lot better. Audrey

Dear @audrey, really, you got started on this low vitamin A journey by starting to supplement with CBD? How so? I'd be interested in hearing the story how once thin lead to another if you cared to share it.

So you are actually cautioning against the use of CBD. It sounds as if you intuited the connection between dizziness and panic attacks and CBD supplementation. Right now, I feel like it helps me with sleep. This is still some elusive mystery to me. Some days I sleep just fine, and at others I wake up way too early. When Grant writes about the great sleep and dreams he experiences, which as of lately have been in high gear, I think that's what I want. Good sleep is such an important factor for good health. I think the poor sleep is somehow gut-related but don't know really how to tackle it.

I'm glad to hear you feel better after sticking with the low vitamin A diet for more than two years. I'm in my third year too and have made some progress but still feel there is quite some room for improvement. So I tweak with supplements, try this and that. Not sure if this is helpful or more damaging.

Are there any supplements that you find really helpful right now? Or you've found helpful in the past other than CBD? I like to learn from other people's experience and find it inspirational.

Quote from Audrey on October 11, 2021, 7:25 am

Dear @christian, CBD is what got me started on the low A diet in the first place... I used to take it quite regularly for years with positive results but I believe it contributed to my liver toxicity somehow, or simply eventually overwhelmed my liver where I was experiencing chronic dizziness and panic attacks for a couple of years, and what felt like being on a boat. I think maybe occasional use could be ok but in my case I will never take it again. It could be that the CBD was detoxing 'something' and I was stuck in a chronic loop of not being able to excrete whatever 'it' was fast enough... I just don't know for sure. But after being on a low A diet for 29 months I do feel generally a lot better. Audrey

Dear @audrey, really, you got started on this low vitamin A journey by starting to supplement with CBD? How so? I'd be interested in hearing the story how once thin lead to another if you cared to share it.

So you are actually cautioning against the use of CBD. It sounds as if you intuited the connection between dizziness and panic attacks and CBD supplementation. Right now, I feel like it helps me with sleep. This is still some elusive mystery to me. Some days I sleep just fine, and at others I wake up way too early. When Grant writes about the great sleep and dreams he experiences, which as of lately have been in high gear, I think that's what I want. Good sleep is such an important factor for good health. I think the poor sleep is somehow gut-related but don't know really how to tackle it.

I'm glad to hear you feel better after sticking with the low vitamin A diet for more than two years. I'm in my third year too and have made some progress but still feel there is quite some room for improvement. So I tweak with supplements, try this and that. Not sure if this is helpful or more damaging.

Are there any supplements that you find really helpful right now? Or you've found helpful in the past other than CBD? I like to learn from other people's experience and find it inspirational.

Audrey has reacted to this post.

#18 · October 14, 2021, 8:07 am

Quote from Audrey on October 14, 2021, 8:07 am
Dear @christian,

The CBD definitely tipped me over the edge in 2016/2017 and was the catalyst for me eventually discovering and starting the low A diet… I had been a regular CBD user for a few years prior and I intuitively believe it made my liver toxic or put me in a detox loop that I had no idea how to get out of... I saw improvements immediately after starting a low A diet in 2019, a journey which has been up and very down at times, like many of us here, but I feel more balanced now, or better able to roll with the lousy days. I am not against CBD oil, I believe it can be therapeutically beneficial if taken every now and then… but not as an every day usage thing. My thoughts about taking anything ‘every day’, unless very temporary, has really shifted, unless it's something that is absolutely necessary.

As for your other question, are there any supplements that I find really helpful right now… I’d say I’ve learned the hard way about the importance of postassium and salt ratios… so I always try to get a lot of potassium, and sometimes magnesium too. Drinking enough water on this diet has also helped me greatlty! I supplement a B-complex (without B6) 3 times a week, and sometimes zinc… I took a lot of zinc last year but these days I mostly monitor symtoms, like dry eyes and dry sinuses which the zinc seems to help. My latest experiment has been with taking more vitamin C through food as I lost a lot of hair on my arms this last year, and I never had hairy arms to begin with. My arm hair has now grown back quite a bit and quickly, which has surprised me… I’m still uncertain about vitamin C and how much is needed at this stage and it's unclear to me if it triggers vitamin A dumping. But if my arm hair is growing it seems like a good thing for now! Supplements scare me though, so I do try to get what I need from food. I’ve also enjoyed medicinal mushrooms, like Reishi, Chaga and Turkey Tail, over the years, but anything that pushes my liver to detox/dump I try to avoid! One thing I loved about taking Reishi was my vivid dreams. I had the best dreams ever when I took Reishi, possibly related to B6? Eventually I will use it again and see how my body reacts. But I'm also not in any rush 😉 I used to love experimenting, but these days I am just grateful to not feel like I am on a boat and having major panic attacks... I still have a bit of daily anxiety. Learning how to breathe properly again has had an amazing impact. So I continue to look forward 🙂

Dear @christian,

The CBD definitely tipped me over the edge in 2016/2017 and was the catalyst for me eventually discovering and starting the low A diet… I had been a regular CBD user for a few years prior and I intuitively believe it made my liver toxic or put me in a detox loop that I had no idea how to get out of... I saw improvements immediately after starting a low A diet in 2019, a journey which has been up and very down at times, like many of us here, but I feel more balanced now, or better able to roll with the lousy days. I am not against CBD oil, I believe it can be therapeutically beneficial if taken every now and then… but not as an every day usage thing. My thoughts about taking anything ‘every day’, unless very temporary, has really shifted, unless it's something that is absolutely necessary.

As for your other question, are there any supplements that I find really helpful right now… I’d say I’ve learned the hard way about the importance of postassium and salt ratios… so I always try to get a lot of potassium, and sometimes magnesium too. Drinking enough water on this diet has also helped me greatlty! I supplement a B-complex (without B6) 3 times a week, and sometimes zinc… I took a lot of zinc last year but these days I mostly monitor symtoms, like dry eyes and dry sinuses which the zinc seems to help. My latest experiment has been with taking more vitamin C through food as I lost a lot of hair on my arms this last year, and I never had hairy arms to begin with. My arm hair has now grown back quite a bit and quickly, which has surprised me… I’m still uncertain about vitamin C and how much is needed at this stage and it's unclear to me if it triggers vitamin A dumping. But if my arm hair is growing it seems like a good thing for now! Supplements scare me though, so I do try to get what I need from food. I’ve also enjoyed medicinal mushrooms, like Reishi, Chaga and Turkey Tail, over the years, but anything that pushes my liver to detox/dump I try to avoid! One thing I loved about taking Reishi was my vivid dreams. I had the best dreams ever when I took Reishi, possibly related to B6? Eventually I will use it again and see how my body reacts. But I'm also not in any rush 😉 I used to love experimenting, but these days I am just grateful to not feel like I am on a boat and having major panic attacks... I still have a bit of daily anxiety. Learning how to breathe properly again has had an amazing impact. So I continue to look forward 🙂

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#19 · October 14, 2021, 8:10 am

"but anything that pushes my liver to detox/dump I try to avoid"

By this I simply mean anything that pushes my liver to detox TOO HARD...

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#20 · October 15, 2021, 12:10 am

@Audrey thanks for your interesting input. I totally agree about not detoxing too hard. Nowadays I’m in favour of a gentle holistic approach.

Garrett Smith used to say that CBD just pushed vA back into the liver and this would fit with your observations. Helping symptoms initially but ultimately damaging liver health.

I’m interested that you are using a B supplement without B6. I know that some people experience B6 toxicity. However, I now think that B6 deficiency is one of my major problems. I have pyroluria and I also suspect too many aldehydes. These both deplete B6. I could be wrong of course! Not that these are necessarily issues for you but I think B6 is a really important vitamin. It’s key in methylation and trans sulphuration. Trans sulphuration has been of great interest to me recently. It produces the vital molecule sulphate. A lack of sulphate is thought by many (Stephanie Seneff, Greg Nigh, Anne Pemberton, Margaret Moss, Rosemary Waring) to underlie numerous health issues.

Audrey has reacted to this post.

Cacao Butter: Safe to eat?

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