I want to talk about a special recipe that can help you to:
Lower estrogen
Combat bacterial growth
Reduce inflammation
Promote weight loss
Help excrete bacterial poisons called endotoxins
This is something that is not a special diet. It’s not exercise or meditation. And no, it’s not coconut oil. But it does take less than ten minutes to do, and it costs far less than the latest synthetic supplement trends.
What if a simple daily carrot salad can help lower inflammation and improve your overall health?
Dr. Ray Peat, one of my favorite mentors, suggests the raw insoluble fiber of the carrot can achieve all this! Surprisingly, carrots are a very unique vegetable with many health-promoting properties, none of which have anything to do with vitamin A.
Here are just some of the possibilities that can be expected when reducing estrogen, inflammation and endotoxins, which can have many far-reaching downstream effects:
Improved digestion
Better skin
Less oxidative stress
I don't believe in quick fixes, but it really is the closest thing to a "quick fix" I've ever seen.
For example, many toxic effects of the estrogens are known, and more are being discovered. All the unpleasant consequences of estrogen excess happen to resemble some of the events of aging. Estrogen steals oxygen from mitochondria, shifting patterns of growth and adaptation.
A carrot salad can prevent all this, it trumps just about all the superfoods we come across. Everybody can afford it and it fits just about any food trend you do follow. Be it vegan, vegetarian, or carnivore. We all can add a little raw carrot salad to our lunch plate.
To me, the real superfood has been hiding in plain sight all along, and you don’t have to shell out $50 at a specialty store to get it. You can even grow them in your backyard!
Why are carrots so special?
Raw carrot is a unique vegetable because it is made from mostly indigestible fiber.
Some benefits explained.
1. Lower Estrogen
This indigestible fiber can bind to estrogen in the digestive tract. It also helps you to improve bowel moments which are important to prevent bile from reabsorbing the estrogen that was meant for excretion.
One study showed a 50% increase in fecal bile acid and fat excretion among subjects who consumed raw carrots at breakfast. These findings suggest a change in metabolic or bacterial flora.
Estrogen reduction is especially important nowadays, given the level of estrogen-like chemicals (xenoestrogens) in our environment. We simply cannot escape being exposed to these xenoestrogens.
By clearing estrogen, you also reduce inflammation, and Dr Ray Peat found the daily consumption of raw carrots to decrease the incidence of migraines, headaches, PMS symptoms, and allergies. These results were purportedly accomplished by lowering estrogen.
2. Antibacterial action
Root vegetables, including raw carrots, are naturally resistant to bacteria and fungus. They have inherent antifungal and antibacterial properties that protect them from soil pathogens. There are even studies suggesting carrots may inhibit the growth of E.Coli and I am going to link another study that found populations of listeria monocytogenes to be decreased upon contact with whole and shredded raw carrot, but not cooked ones. These actions can be especially useful for conditions with a bacterial component, such as IBS and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).
And though carrots are powerful on their own, their germicidal action can be intensified by eating them with other antibacterial agents such as vinegar and coconut oil. The skin gut connection is well documented. Improving the gut microbiota can lead to fewer skin issues such as acne and eczema as well.
From Dr Ray Peat:
"Endotoxin or other material absorbed from intestinal bacteria contributes to a variety of autoimmune problems, including thyroiditis (Penhale and Young, 1988). Combining an indigestible fiber, such as raw carrot, with mild germicides, such as vinegar and coconut oil, can improve the hormonal environment, while reducing the immunological burden."
"Endotoxin formed in the bowel can block respiration and cause hormone imbalances … so it is helpful to optimize bowel flora, for example with a carrot salad; a dressing of vinegar, coconut oil and olive oil, carried into the intestine by the carrot fiber, suppresses bacterial growth while stimulating healing of the wall of the intestine."
3. Reduce Endotoxins and inflammation
Not all bacteria in our digestive systems are beneficial or worth feeding. In fact, many bacteria produce toxic byproducts as a part of their normal physiological processes, called lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or bacterial endotoxins.
Since Endotoxins can cause systemic inflammation, place extra burden on the liver, and can increase estrogen concentration of the blood and cause estrogen dominance, we want to make sure to have something to bind to the endotoxins in our system on a daily basis.
Raw carrots are very helpful in this regard. Their unique fiber helps decrease the absorption of bacterial poisons. Carrots also help facilitate the excretion of these toxins, reducing your body’s endotoxin burden. This, in turn, can help decrease systemic inflammation.
4. Weight Loss
And now to the most exciting part, raw carrots can help with weight loss too! Yay!
A frequent side effect of better endocrine health is an improvement in body composition. This can potentially mean weight loss, if that is what the body requires.
Properly balanced hormones make it much easier for the body to settle at its natural, healthy weight. Hormonal imbalance can cause the body to hold onto weight. This is activated by an increase in fecal fat excretion. Less fat absorption = potential weight loss.
Dr. Ray Peat:
"The intestine is a potential source of reabsorbed estrogen, and a daily raw carrot (grated or shredded, with a little olive oil, vinegar, salt) helps to lower excess estrogen (and endotoxin produced by bacteria). While lowering estrogen, it is likely to lower cortisol and increase progesterone."
The Best Way to Consume Carrots.
Ideally raw with the peel, but peeled carrots are still beneficial.
Baby carrots are soaked in bleach or other harmful chemicals and should not be used for carrot salads.
Organic is preferable, but for non-organic peel carrots first.
You can snack on plain raw carrots but for optimal results it is best to prepare carrot in a way recommended by Dr Ray Peat.
Dr. Ray Peat’s Shredded Raw Carrot Detox Salad Recipe:
Shred, grate, or use a veggie peeler to make ribbons out of a few whole carrots.
Use a splash of vinegar, melted coconut oil, and a dash of salt to season the carrots.
Dressing the salad with coconut mayonnaise is also particularly delicious.
You can also use extra-virgin olive oil instead of coconut oil, but please don’t use any polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, or soybean, as these are detrimental to health and can raise estrogens.
PS:
Cooking the carrots renders their fiber digestible, meaning that they will encourage bacterial growth instead of suppress it.
Juicing the carrots removes the fiber completely and is not recommended.
References:
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