Dr. Jack Kruse - Neurosurgeon

Wow, this doctor writes some LONG articles, definitely needs some formatting and summary.

He seems to genuinely know what he's talking about though, will keep reading.
 
Here is his cold thermogenesis protocol which is a gradual transition by activating first the diving reflex which helps you slow down your heart rate through cold stimulation in your face, and then moving downwards to cold packs in the torso before trying cold showers and cold submersion. I'm not sure if I ever want to try this... :/

http://jackkruse.com/the-evolution-of-the-leptin-rx/

He synthesis his thermogenesis series pretty well in this post.
 
Psyche said:
Here is his cold thermogenesis protocol which is a gradual transition by activating first the diving reflex which helps you slow down your heart rate through cold stimulation in your face, and then moving downwards to cold packs in the torso before trying cold showers and cold submersion. I'm not sure if I ever want to try this... :/

http://jackkruse.com/the-evolution-of-the-leptin-rx/

He synthesis his thermogenesis series pretty well in this post.

Well I've been taking a slightly different approach and I don't know if it's contraindicated, but it seems to be working. I've been slowly decreasing the temperature of my showers. I'm still not at full-on cold water though. Yesterday I decided to fill the bathtub with cold water (just the cold tap) and submerge myself. That was an adventure.

The water only covered my back and buttocks; I had my legs out of the water, bent upwards and my feet submerged. Kruse is right about one thing - you body does work to heat up from the core the outer tissues. After aclimatizing myself to the water, it really wasn't that bad. Getting in was definitely difficult, though.

I ended up staying in there for half an hour, reading a book. It really wasn't too bad. I also ended up taking a walk last night in just a sweatshirt while everyone else around me was in a heavier coat (it was probably about 10 degrees C out, with a slight wind). But I was perfectly warm the whole time except for my hands which I stuck in my pockets. My cheeks were rosy when I got home, but other than that I felt fine.
 
Here is his Leptin FAQs - From some of the things I've read, apparently the Cryogenic Chamber Therapy resets the Leptin.

http://jackkruse.com/the-leptin-rx-faqs/

What should I do before I start the Leptin Reset? Before you start, take a picture of yourself from all angles. Don’t be bashful or you’ll be sorry in 18-24 months. Next, weigh yourself naked. Let your significant other or a family member take this picture. Go to the store and buy a piece of clothing that does not fit you now, but will when you have met your goal. Remember, calories are important when you’re LR (leptin resistant) and mean nothing once you are LS (leptin sensitive). Macronutirents count when you’re LR and mean nothing when you’re LS.

How do I determine if I am leptin resistant? Remember, you can be LR (leptin resistant) if you’re fat or skinny. If you’re overweight by more than 30lbs, it is a lock you have some degree of LR. If you’re underweight by 20 lbs, you are likely LR, too. If you had an eating disorder, you’re likely suffering from a serious leptin issue.

The easiest test is to look in the mirror. The mirror does not lie and it is really cheap. For those people who still can’t be sure after peeking in the mirror, you can order some blood tests. My favorite is the HS CRP (highly sensitive C-Reactive protein) and the reverse T3 tests (but there are others). They are accurate in over 90% of cases.

My next favorite test is the salivary cortisol test, along with at least two of the following: HDL level, serum ferritin, homocysteine, fasting triglycerides, fasting insulin, or post-prandial glucose readings done every 15 minutes for one hour after eating. (Read my Hormone 101 blog for details.)

How do I restore leptin sensitivity? If you’re overweight, eat a low carb version of the paleo or primal diet as outlined in The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf or Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. If you’re really obese, eat a ketogenic version of this diet. If you’re underweight, you need to eat a regular paleo or primal diet using leptin reset principles found in the Leptin Rx. (see The Leptin Reset Protocol)

How long does it take to restore leptin sensitivity? This step depends upon how badly damaged your metabolism is. It also depends upon how willing you are to adapt your diet and your exercise routine. My standard answer is 6-8 weeks for most people. “Most people” refers to those within one standard deviation on either side of the mean, and that includes about 68% of people.

How do I know when I am no longer leptin resistant?

Changes in appearance: Your hair and nails will improve in color and presentation. Your pedicurist will notice you have less dead skin on your feet. Your face will look a lot better, with softer skin and better color, especially if you use olive oil or coconut oil on your skin.

Changes in mood, personality, and thoughts: You will become more thoughtful, more mindful, and less explosive in explosive environments. If you decide to add mindfulness to your reset, (you should) you will notice tremendous changes in your thinking and your ability to learn and comprehend things. Your insight, intuition, and mental acuity will be sharper. Also, your sexual desires will change and your libido will awaken. Your spouse will begin to notice things and treat you differently.

Changes in appetite: Your carbohydrate cravings will go away. You’ll feel full and not really need to eat three meals a day. You’ll notice your taste and smell change.

Changes in energy and sleep: Over 6-12 months, expect your energy to gradually improve. You will feel warmer and exude body heat, but your body temperature will actually be lower. It will continue to trend lower over the next 18-24 months while you thyroid settles into its new biologic groove. Dramatic improvements will be made in your sleep. Both migraines and muscle soreness from exercise will decrease.

After leptin sensitivity is restored, what practices should I follow? Once you realize things have changed, you need to immediately begin HIIT (high intensity interval training) exercise. I am a huge believer in lifting heavy weights at low reps. At this stage, I want most people lifting at 85-95% of their maximum weight, 2-3 times a week. The exercise rotation can be simple. A good resource is the Body for Life workout found at the end of the book in the weight lifting section. You do not need anything but a good set of dumbbells. You should do this for about three weeks.

Women especially need to regularly lift weights. Women never listen to me about this, but they should! Ladies, you will never get huge muscles doing this, I promise. The reason that weight lifting is so important for women is because their pregnenolone level declines fast after the age of 30. This causes steep declines in the sex steroids (known asperimenopause), in growth hormone secretion, and in vitamin D status. The muscle strain from weight lifting is the best way to stimulate the pituitary gland to say, “We are not aging yet, and we need to continue to make these hormones.” Leptin sensitivity controls that switch. And ladies, your body composition is directly tied to this action! If you lift, your curves will be maintained until you’re ninety or greater.

Both men and women need to consider their HS CRP levels. High levels indicate a person you have entered perimenopause or andropause at a much faster pace than others. This means your time to a total reset and optimization will take longer. It does not mean it is not possible! Do not compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to how bad your own labs were when you began. The worse your labs were, the longer it will take you to get to optimal. Do not forget this biologic fact, you can’t run away from it!

After three weeks of lifting, you should add two days of running sprints. The sprints should be no longer than 40 yards and you should not exceed 20 sprints. If you can’t do twenty, work up slowly and steadily. Walking in the beginning is fine. Do not stress about this. If you do you, will raise your cortisol and the rest will take longer. Your thoughts will drive your cortisol.

As for your diet, you can begin to increase or decrease macronutrients slowly to see if it affects your cravings, weight, and your moods. If your symptoms start to return, return to your original diet.

Why should I avoid aerobic exercise during the reset? This will require some explanation. If you’re LR ,you are a sugar burner, not a fat burner. That means you can not do glycolytic exercise until your muscles and lever become completely LS as well. Your brain being LS is not enough. If your muscles are still LR, they can’t properly use the glucose or the fat delivered to them. This is detailed in the “Why is Oprah still Fat” post.

Another to avoid aerobic exercise at this stage is because the AMPk pathways are not working well yet. (This will be the focus of an upcoming blog post.) AMPk is stimulated by re-teaching your muscles and liver how to deplete glycogen and metabolically respond to hypoxia and cellular stressors. Any time metabolism is stressed, AMPk should respond in kind with big results. In LR, it does not work well at all. This is why body composition is trashed in LR states. If you do aerobic exercise when you are still leptin resistant, you send signals to the mitochondria that conditions are really bad. Instead of making new mitochondria to help out, you wind up killing your cells via apoptosis. New stems cells are recruited to replace the suicidal cells. Sounds good? The problem is those stem cells were going to help extend your life span, and, well, you just shortened it! This is why NFL players, bodybuilders, and marathoners don’t live long as group, and why they get many disease early, such as heart attacks, Alzheimers, and cancer. Not good. Longevity always mandates we protect our stem cells. We only want to use them when we really need them. If you use them early in life, you’re subtracting years from the end of your life.

Why do you need to eat within 30 minutes of waking? When you’re LR, your diurnal clocks in the brain, the liver, and muscles are all disordered. This is how we will reset those organs to once again act in unison, like an orchestra. If you break this rule, you can still find success, but it will make your reset take longer.

What exercise can I do during the LR Protocol? My personal advice it to do none. If you must, swim, walk, or have a lot of sex right before bed. Yes, timing of sex is important, too, in the reset. Oxytocin is released at climax and it is the best chemical a brain can have prior to sleep. It jump-starts the conversion of serotonin to melatonin without the four hours of complete darkness it usually takes. This is why orgasm can make you sleepy, and why moms and babies fall asleep in a rocking chair after breastfeeding.

Does everybody need 50 grams of protein at breakfast during the LR Protocol, regardless of size or sex? My answer is yes, 50 grams is the minimum for success. If you’re bigger, you can go even past 70 grams. If you can’t eat that much protein, add fat to make up the rest.

If you are obese, add coconut oil to your coffee or tea, or eat a tablespoon of it. I use Nutiva brand and love it. If you’re underweight, eat more hashbrowns cooked in pastured butter. Eat breakfast until you’re stuffed. If you don’t get to 50 grams of protein, don’t sweat it – I don’t want the stress to raise your cortisol! Just make sure your hunger is killed. If you get hungry before, during, or after lunch, you need to eat more protein or fat at breakfast.

What are examples of a 50 gram protein breakfast? If you can’t figure this out, you have bigger problems than the reset can fix. Use the internet or any primal or paleo website. Talk to Diane Sanfillippo or grassfedgirl – they’ll tell you to just eat a shit-load of bacon. They have my stamp of approval. Both of these girls rock and they can help teach you to cook paleoliciously. (And they are both smart and cute!)

Does breakfast need to be just protein, or can there be vegetables or fruit? What about fat? If you are overweight, avoid fruit. Veggies are fine as long as they are not nightshades and have a low glycemic index. If you are underweight, you can eat fruit, and I suggest blueberrries, blackberries, and grapes over all others.

Fat is great. The obese can use coconut oil as their “number one diesel.” Google “Nutiva Coconut Manna” and then send me a donation for that recommendation – you will soon be addicted! If you don’t like coconut oil or Nutiva coconut manna, you can use heavy cream, but you won’t lose weight as quickly.

For the thinner LR crowd, I recommend pastured raw heavy cream. Get some saturated fat raw cheeses from France. If you must use pasteurized stuff, go ahead, but it’s not my top choice.

What if I can’t eat a big breakfast?
Don’t complain about your leptin problems then. To get where you want to be, you must do things you have not done before.

How strict is the 50 grams of carbohydrates per day limit? It is strict for the overweight and not strict for the underweight. How should they be spread out over the day? The most carbs should be eaten when cortisol is the highest, in the morning. Dinner should be the meal with the least amount of carbs. Eat the most food in the morning, with decreasing amounts as the day goes on. As you progress, you will notice yourself naturally falling into this pattern.

Can I use whey as a protein source during the LR Protocol? Can you? Sure, but you should have asked, “Should I?” The answer is no. It is too insulinogenic and raises NPY. (If you are underweight, however, you can do so without any restriction.)

Can I have coffee or tea between meals, with cream?
You can have them plain, without cream. But again, should you? Nope. No snacks are allowed at all, just three meals a day. Drinks without calories don’t count as a snack and don’t even ask me about artificial sweeteners because the answer is “no freaking way.” (Stevia is allowed as long as it doesn’t have any fillers such as maltodextrin. Generally the liquid forms are fine.) The really obese or metabolically broken (such as people with fibromyalgia) may need four meals a day, but most people who eat a BAB (Big Ass Breakfast) will do fine with three meals.

Can I skip lunch during the LR Protocol if I’m not hungry?
Yes, it is good if you can make it until dinner without being hungry. Then, you can eat more at dinner if need be.

Can you do IF (Intermittent Fasting) in conjunction with the LR Protocol? No way. I love IFing, but don’t try it until you are leptin sensitive again. IFing requires the AMPk pathways to be working optimally.

What if we can’t eat dinner before 7 p.m.? Drink water, have sex, and go to bed early. Turn the lights off early, too.

What if my family isn’t participating in the reset? You’re not here to save them yet. Focus on you. You are worthless to them and the world if you’re not working optimally. Trust me, when they see where you are going, they will all change. Just ask my wife how that road goes.

What should I do about meal timing if I work night shift? This one will piss you off. You will never be optimal until you quit your job and work normal hours. I have no answer for you here. Do your best, but you’re screwed. You can’t fight circadian rhythm biology.

If I fall off the wagon on the LR Protocol do I need to restart the clock? Yes…and kick yourself in the ass. If you’re not ready to change your life, keep doing what you’ve been doing. During the initial reset period, there is a 10-14 day setback each time you fall off the wagon.

Will the Leptin Reset fix insulin resistance? It is designed to eradicate it completely, if you do it correctly.

Will the Leptin Reset fix thyroid problems? If you read the Hormone 101 blog, you’d know this answer already. Shame on you! Anyone with a leptin problem has a thyroid problem by definition. So if you fix leptin, you can easily fix the thyroid. If you have an extreme case, you may need a doctor to help guide you back to optimal.

Will the Leptin Reset fix adrenal problems? It depends on the severity of the condition, as most are tied to cortisol issues. High cortisol levels are harder to treat than low cortisol levels. If they are really bad, I treat both the same time. Most often though, with adaptogenic support and some good doctoring, you can fix most adrenal problems.

How do you handle cravings and headaches from the initial carb withdrawal, or the urge to snack?
Magnesium is the answer, and lots of it, but avoid supplements with magnesium oxide. Start with doses of 400 mg and then increase the dose.

Your cravings will go away in a few weeks, if you don’t give in. If you read the Leptin Reset thread at the Mark’s Daily Apple forum, you’ll see that some people who gave in to their cravings had to start the process over. It takes two weeks to regain what you lost from breaking the rules. (If it’s a minor issue like only eating 49 grams of protein or eating 55 grams of carbs, you’re fine.)

If you drink a twelve pack of beer or soda and eat Domino’s, you’re cooked. Family gatherings or Chinese dinners should just be handled with beef jerky and nuts in your pocket, and tell them you have a virus. If your spouse rolls their eyes…no happy ending for week. And make sure you announce that – the public embarrassment will alter their behavior going forward.

Can I drink alcohol or wine on the reset? Norcal Margaritas? Can you? Sure. Would I? Nope, not even Malbec!

Will this have any affect on my pee or poop? Yes it will. With time, your pee may smell like cat pee. If this occurs, increase your B complex vitamins to 2-4 a day, and your vitamin C intake to 2000 mg a day. Your poop should be followed using the Bristol stool chart. Yes, I even evaluate poop.

What’s Dr. Kruse’s personal story? You can listen to my podcast on Jimmy Moore’s site (episode 474) or read my story here. Here is an edited version of post #206 from the monster Leptin Reset thread from Mark’s Daily Apple.

I have had a lot of requests for my personal story and how I lost weight and improved my health. You need to understand that this was my game plan and it can’t be used as a “plug and play” game plan. As I evolved, I adapted my eating and my exercise plan.

I began as a “fat ass” at 6 feet 2 inches and 351 lbs. Most of you need to hear how bad I was – I was B. A. D., bad. I was dying ever so slowly, but I could still lie to myself about my condition. As I stood in Orlando, FL, in a mall, I knew a change was coming to me; no one around me did, however. As a neurosurgeon, I knew I was a bright guy, but I also realized I was not too bright to get this fat and ruin my health and my life.

So I started to listen to people who had already overcome this health trap. I also began to read about both basic science and the latest scientific discoveries. As I read, I found out that everything I had learned in medical school was based upon “faulty opinion-based science”. I then took a leap of faith and did what the real science told me to do. I ate a high fat, high protein diet. I ate very few carbs and loaded up on saturated fats.

A funny thing happened after three months – my fat began to melt away! The more I lost, the more I experimented with this new diet, changing it as my blood test results changed. (I am a big tester. Sometimes I run labs every few weeks.) I began to take more supplements and do more exercise that was complementary to my new way of eating. I shunned aerobics for heavy weight lifting and running sprints. If I worked out too hard, my cortisol levels went up and fried my sleep and my weight loss. I began to monitor my blood levels for general biochemistry and lipids. I also began to include hormone levels. I checked vitamin D, HS CRP, reverse T3, and salivary cortisol levels.

I fired my primary care doctor three times back then. I had a torn knee meniscus and I needed surgery, but none of the surgeons I saw really understood why my meniscus had torn. None of them understood why I shunned what I had learned in medical school in favor of what I had found by reading about my injury.

I distinctly remember one orthopedic surgeon I saw in consultation. I told him that my plan was to eat a ton of saturated fat and protein, get my knee repaired, and never see another doctor for the rest of my life. He laughed, and I left him. I was dead serious and I still feel this way.

Next, I went to see a guy who was an old acquaintance. He remarked about my early transformation and he never critiqued me. He listened, even though he was a skeptic. I was fine with that. He told me regardless of my new way of living, I needed surgery on my knee. As a surgeon myself, I knew he was correct. I decided to let him do it because he was non-judgmental.

I had my surgery in May 2009. I operated on my own patients the next day. I never filled the Rx I was given for Percocet. I never, to this day, even went back to my surgeon for any follow up. I took my own sutures out and have never looked back. I optimized my labs and retooled my supplements and my meds based upon my N=1 and my own medical theories.

I lost a total of 133 lbs during my surgical recovery. I discovered leptin resistance and how to treat it. I discovered that the timing of when I eat is more important than what I eat . I found out that I can’t get away with snacking. At the time, I ate a fairly low-carb diet, with most days below 50 or even 25 grams of carbs.

These days, I can eat anything I want. After I became leptin sensitive again, I also began IF (intermittent fasting). When I had previously tried it, when I was still leptin resistant, it caused plateaus in my weight.

I found that many things changed about me. The first change was my mind. Every morning at wakefulness I jumped in the hot tub and thought about three things to make my life better that day. I posted the best thought to my Facebook wall. I still do this, even today. (I also make it a personal task to view every sunrise and sunset.) I then got out of the tub and made a monster breakfast (BAB) with 50-70 grams of protein to start my day. Next, I did yoga or stretching, before heading off to work.

I usually was able to skip lunch (IF) or eat nothing but rabbit food at lunch. I came home and loaded protein and fat again, and I worked out with HIIT and sprints. I did everything consistently and my family and wife kept commenting on my dedication. I went from a 48” waist to a 32” waist in 11 months. Everyone asked “How? What? Why?” and I remained silent. I would only say, “I am not close to done yet. Talk to me when I get there.”

Later, I told people about the speedo bet. I told them about the Thanksgiving dinner speech to my family. I told them about buying new wardrobes when I was fat – 6 different wardrobes. I told them what I told the salespeople when I shopped. For example, I distinctly remember going into a Nordstrom Brioni store and buying a size 42 R royal blue blazer for $5,000 when I was currently wearing a 50 L sports coat. The person I bought it from thought I was out of my mind that day. Her name was Sara and she was from Croatia. I told her what I told everyone else. It is not crazy when you know what is coming.

Eleven months later, I flew to Orlando and took my kids to Disney World. I walked into the Nordstrom’s where I bought the Brioni jacket. It was still in the plastic when I purchased it. I walked up to the salesman and asked to see Sara. I was told she was busy. I said I’d wait for her. I had a very big smile inside of me. Sara approached me from behind. I asked her if she remembered me as I handed them a picture of me as a fat ass buying the jacket for 5K on my iPhone. She stood there with her mouth open wide and could not believe her eyes. I was now 6’2” and 197 lbs.

I dropped my jeans, pulled off my sweat shirt, and pulled the plastic off the Brioni jacket I had bought from Sara. I stood there in my Speedo underwear as I asked Sara to get me a pair of Brioni pants to match my current attire. She quickly obliged. I distinctly remember Seal was playing in the background, and acoustic version of “Crazy.”

I put the pants and put the jacket on over my bare chest. I saw about 35 people watching the whole miracle unfold for Sara. I put my shoes on, threw Sara my AMEX card, and left her a tip. After I checked out, I left all my clothes on the floor, right there. Sara called to me and asked my if I wanted my old clothes. I told her, “No, this new guy thinks a new way on this brand new day.”

I walked out of there and knew my thoughts of eleven months earlier had dictated every move I made that day in Nordstrom’s. I hope you go get yourself some of what you know you can have, if you want it badly enough.
 
Dr. Kruse says that "In winter, mammals prefer animal fats like ghee, tallow, lard, bacon grease, and pastured butter as the best choices. This is wired into our brain by the CD 36 receptor and the floor of the fourth ventricle in humans too. Seafood is always a good choice no matter what season we are in. Pastured meats and offal are ideal too. Evolution is dictating what we should eat not Dr. Kruse."

Then he goes on to say that coconut oil and other Medium-chain triglycerides oils are best for summer and in hot tropical regions where people tend to eat more carbs. But he adds that coconut oil is bad for a lot of people because it is meant to be eaten by warm adapted mammals who eat a ton of carbs. Just to clarify, he doesn't advocate high carb consumption in summer anymore because it doesn't help to reset your longevity and evolutionary switches.

More info on this CD 36 receptor, which is related to the vagus nerve:

http://jackkruse.com/cold-thermogenesis-6-the-ancient-pathway/

As the temperature falls further as winter solstice comes, the mammal will then have constructed their cell membranes to further increase flexibility (more omega 3) as the cold increases as the winter deepens. Cell membranes loaded with AGE’s [caramelized proteins] do not work well in the cold. This is a biologic fact. So evolution makes sure we do not use carbs in the winter. I think some of my cell membrane biology friends at Johns Hopkins University might drop their two cents here in the comments, soon enough. Dr. Patricia Kane’s life long work confirms what I am saying here. In fact, there is a neural pathway that shuts off all carbohydrate cravings to bolster this evolutionary dictum. Moreover, Mother Nature has selected for a special taste receptor to fluorish in cold called CD36. In cold, we need fat not carbs. In fact, we saw in CT five [his previous blog post] that it requires a more fluid membrane to get proper signaling to work. When signaling is broken disruptions continue further in the chemical clocks of organs. This is why diabetics have so many unusual organ diseases (eye, nerve, kidney, brain) tied to their diagnosis as the process worsens.

This process is controlled by surface skin cold receptors and wiring from the mouth, gut, Peripheral Nervous System and to the Central Nervous System via the spinal cord and then to the brain. The brain gets inputs of this tract from the vagus nerve, and from a CD 36 receptor in the mouth which relays sensory inputs to the spinal cord and from the surface cold receptors.

What does CD 36 do for mammals? CD36 is an oral receptor in the lingual papillae of taste buds that mediated perception of long-chain fatty acids. It involves the gustatory neural pathways in cranial nerve 9 and 10 (glossophayrngeal nerve and the vagus nerve). These inputs head to the floor of the fourth ventricle (area postrema) of the hind brain to synapse in the nucleus of the solitary tract. Here they interact with the somatic sensory cold receptor system of the face and of the body.

The mere presence of the CD36 receptor in all mammals suggests that mammals are built by evolutionary design to have a “taste” for fatty foods in cold. [...] This evolutionary designed system constitutes a physiological advantage under conditions of food scarcity (in winter’s cold environments) by leading the mammal to select and absorb fatty foods when cold is the predominate sensory afferent delivered to the area postrema. This sensory neural processing is far more efficient in water based mammals because water transmits cold afferents more effectively. These mammals, also have a huge dietary source of omega three’s in the deep polar seas to allow for them to do this.
 
Laura said:
Here is his Leptin FAQs - From some of the things I've read, apparently the Cryogenic Chamber Therapy resets the Leptin.

A cryotherapy paper supports what Dr. Kruse is saying, certain brain circuits are regulated by cold temperatures which then helps reset the leptin circuit. The key is ketogenic paleo diet and cold thermogenesis.

http://jackkruse.com/cold-thermogenesis-6-the-ancient-pathway/

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the circadian pacemaker that monitors this dance between darkness and light and the seasonal cold and hot temperatures in our environment. Cold temperatures reverses all the normal biology that is used when the SCN is entrained to light. This metabolic trap door is huge for mammalian biochemistry. This is the only way to naturally way to enter this brain pathway now that we know of. When temperature becomes the dominant environmental trigger and not light cycles, the leptin receptor induces endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS) formation. This really should a dagger to any safe starch belief you still hold. Mother Nature is telling you this and not me. Are we clear?

NS: There is no safe starches in winter period because Mother Nature said so, not Dr. Kruse.

eNOS is very good indeed. I stumbled upon a good synthesis today:

http://thyroidbook.com/blog/nitric-oxide-modulation-for-autoimmune-disease/

Endothelial nitric oxide

Endothelial nitric oxide is found in the lining of blood vessels. It aids in tissue recovery and regeneration, enhances blood flow, dissolves plaques, and dilates blood vessels. One thing that dramatically activates endothelial nitric oxide is exercise [and cold!]. When you exercise, the increase in blood flow turns on the endothelial nitric oxide system, which helps dissolve plaque in the arteries.

Unfortunately, autoimmune disease often compromises this system, thus hindering the delivery of blood to body tissue.[8] This not only makes body tissue, such as the thyroid gland, more vulnerable to inflammation and destruction, but it also makes it more difficult for these tissues to recover and heal.

A weak endothelial nitric oxide system helps explain cold hands and feet, the loss of hair, weak nails prone to fungal infections, and other symptoms frequently found in conjunction with autoimmune diseases.

Poor blood flow robs the brain of blood, and hence oxygen and nutrients, and brain function deteriorates.

Poor blood flow to the digestive tract is one cause of leaky gut and poor gut function. Coupled with inflammation and poor glutathione activity, the person with a chronically activated autoimmune disease can never seem to repair her gut. This is why a strict autoimmune diet to protect the gut is necessary in these cases.

Overall, the research shows endothelial nitric oxide plays a big role in preventing and taming autoimmune disease, due to its inhibition of over activity of both the TH-1 and TH-2 systems.

Back to Dr. Kruse:

Remember, endothelial NOS (eNOS) are expressed in BAT [brown adipose tissue, the fat tissue that is rich in iron and is good]. Remember, step one, activation of eNOS by cold actually blocks the SCN from reacting to photic stimuli to entrain our circadian rhythms! So the cold turns off control of all circadian rhythms to light and uses temperature instead! This is another shocking surprise of cold thermogenesis! Can you say bye bye to safe starches now? If you are scientist, yes you can, and you will say no if you are a paleo dogmatist that enjoys your feelings, more than your health. The activation of eNOS seems to be tied to the cold environment and replace light as the entrainment molecule for biological rhythms in cold.

STEP 4: When cold is perceived by skin cold receptors over two weeks leptin is liberated from fat cells in massive quantities. Cold empties fats stores like like a fire empties a movie theater. It can occur even faster if the method of adaptation is controlled with metal. The modern Zeltiq procedure does this in 45 minutes in a medical office. The cold liberates leptin directly from white adipose tissue (WAT). Cold environments induce a long buried epigenetic program in all mammals that allows for WAT to convert to brown adipose tissues (BAT) to burn calories as free heat and not generate ATP or to increase ROS simultaneously. This allows us to age more slowly, while increasing our metabolism and ability to work on less calories all while burning fat to make heat to stay warm. We also lower our body fat while improving our body composition too! The cold temperatures also raises IGF-1 mRNA to increase Growth Hormone release tremendously. This increases autophagic efficiency and improves muscular and cardiac function quickly. It does this all without exercise!

Notice how he says that it is over 2 weeks of cold adaptation, but that technologies that use metal can do it in 45'. He hasn't looked into cryotherapy yet, but I think that 10 or 20 sessions of cryotherapy can be an equivalent, and who knows, perhaps better.
 
I keep thinking even more now, after discovering some of Dr. Kruse's ideas, that when the very high likelihood of the next ice age arrives soon, all of us who are already keto adapted and thriving on this diet will really be optimally positioned to survive the carb based food shortages and unaccustomed cold -- at least in the Northern Hemisphere and as long as we can obtain fatty animal derived food.
 
SeekinTruth said:
I keep thinking even more now, after discovering some of Dr. Kruse's ideas, that when the very high likelihood of the next ice age arrives soon, all of us who are already keto adapted and thriving on this diet will really be optimally positioned to survive the carb based food shortages and unaccustomed cold -- at least in the Northern Hemisphere and as long as we can obtain fatty animal derived food.

Indeed. I'm reminded of the C's remark that Noah built the ark because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Between this thread and the Cryogenic Chamber Therapy thread I'm finding this new data about the body's reactions to cold, and cryotherapy, profoundly interesting. All my life I've preferred cold weather, but I never considered a connection between my preference and a possible genetic basis for this. It seems to me from the data so far that the optimum environment for some humans is a cold one, and not the tropical hideaway so often promoted in the mainstream media. Since we evolved in ice age conditions, the body itself may be carrying genes that are 'preset' for ice age conditions and thus actually prefers a cold environment. I find hot weather to be quite debilitating and I would live in a cold country with lots of snow!
 
Here are a couple more studies on cold exposure and fat loss:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002604959090097V

Recent human studies have shown that cold exposure increases lipid oxidation, even when the oxidation of circulating free fatty acid (FFA) is markedly reduced by the ingestion of nicotinic acid, thus seriously questioning the importance of FFA for lipid oxidation in the cold-exposed humans. It was therefore hypothesized that similarly to prolonged exercise, fatty acids from plasma triglycerides (TG) are important energy substrates for oxidation during prolonged cold exposure in man. The goal of this study was to determine the influence of cold exposure on an index of plasma TG utilization, the intravenous fat tolerance test (IVFTT). To evaluate the possibility of a delayed increase in fat tolerance, a second cold exposure and an IVFTT were also performed 24 hours after the first cold exposure. Seven healthy males (fasting, seminude) were subjected to an IVFTT (1 mL/kg 10% Intralipid) on three occasions while resting for 160 minutes: (1) at 29°C, (2) in the cold (10°C, 1 m/s wind), and (3) at 10°C 24 hours after the first cold test. One week separated the warm test from the cold tests. Cold exposure reduced mean body temperature by 3.4 ± 0.1°C and increased energy expenditure 2.5 times in comparison to warm values (P < .01). It also increased fat oxidation by 70% (P < .05) and plasma glycerol levels (P < .05), but did not alter fat tolerance. Although the second cold test entailed essentially the same changes in body temperatures and heat production as the first one, the second cold test was accompanied by a further increase in fat utilization (132% above warm values, P < .01), slightly higher plasma glycerol levels, and an unchanged fat tolerance. The results of the present study demonstrate that cold exposure in humans significantly increases the oxidation of lipid, and that plasma TG do not appear to be an important energy substrate in the cold, even when lipid metabolism is further increased by the second cold test. It is suggested that white adipose tissue TG and intramuscular TG, not plasma TG, are the preferred sources of fatty acids for oxidation in cold-exposed humans.

and

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9895020

Cold stress increases lipolysis, FFA Ra and TG/FFA cycling in humans.
Vallerand AL, Zamecnik J, Jones PJ, Jacobs I.
SourceDefence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, Human Protection and Performance Sector, North York, Canada.

Abstract
BACKGROUND: To characterize the important changes in the selection and mobilization of metabolic fuel during cold stress, six males rested for 3 h at 29 degrees C and at 5 degrees C dressed only in shorts while 2H5 glycerol, 1-13C palmitate and 6,6 2H2 glucose were continuously infused for 3 h in each condition to determine their rate of turnover (Ra).

METHODS: Metabolic rate (M) as well as rates of carbohydrate (CHOox) and lipid oxidation (FATox) were assessed by indirect calorimetry whereas all isotopic enrichments were determined by mass spectrometry.

RESULTS: Cold exposure decreased rectal and mean skin temperatures and increased M, FATox and CHOox compared with the same test at thermal neutrality (p<0.05). As expected, cold increased plasma glucose Ra and plasma FFA Ra (from 4.58+/-0.19 to 14.69+/-1.07 micromol kg(-1) x min(-1); p < 0.05). However, in absolute terms, plasma FFA Ra in the cold remained more than twice greater than FATox (FATox only increased up to 6.9 +/-0.85 micromol kg(-1) x min(-1)), suggesting an enhanced non-oxidative disposal of fatty acids (i.e., TG/FFA cycling) to account for all FFA Ra. Indeed, cold increased extracellular TG/FFA recycling rate (2.23+/-0.40 vs 7.77+/-1.19 micromol kg(-1) x min(-1); p<0.05) whereas intracellular cycling was unaffected.

CONCLUSION: Even though lipolysis and FFA Ra are greatly increased by cold stress in humans, the present results demonstrate that only about half the rate of FFA Ra is ultimately oxidized, suggesting that under the present cold conditions: 1) non-oxidative FFA disposal or TG/FFA cycling is significantly enhanced; 2) white adipose tissue-derived fatty acids could easily account for most of FATox. The results further emphasize the importance of the TG/FFA cycle in amplifying the ability of stored TG to react quickly to major changes in energy expenditure induced by a sustained cold stress.

So here are my experiences thus far after doing the LR and CT. I started the LR on 2/21 and CT on 2/23:

Weight loss: 6lbs. Not a huge amount but my clothes are fitting looser. I took before pics and measurements but haven't done any additional ones yet.

I skipped the face dunks and cold showers (not advised but there you go) and started by easing myself into a small amount of cold water. My tap puts out water about 52-56F. The next one I believe I just went for it. I made the mistake of submerging my feet and they were like blocks of ice for half the night. I'm just now to the point where I'm putting about half my feet in the water. I keep my hands out. At first with the baths, the shivering was very high intensity and it took me several hours to warm up after. I upped my seafood intake and starting taking krill and fish oil to get my omega 6/3 ratio in a better range. (I haven't tested yet.) So now after 20 cold baths I've finally stopped shivering in the tub (3rd day of no, or very little low intensity in-tub shivering) and find it quite bearable and even pleasant in some sense. I've been staying in for an hour lately but the thing that gets me out is just wanting to do other things. I spend about half the time sitting on my butt but the water only goes to my lower stomach so I spend the other half flipped over on my belly. I've also iced my belly as well. My skin used to get very cherry red at first but not as red now, more of a pinkish hue. My post tub shivering is now mostly low intensity and I'm warmed up in about a little over an hour. Once I warm up quickly I'll move the baths to right before bedtime.

Side effects (mostly transient and mild):
headaches
left nasal soreness and scabbing (this only happened during my dairy eating days -- must've detoxed old casein?)
increase in libido followed by a drop in libido
itchy backside
small amounts of diarrhea
foul flatulence
increased hunger (now decreasing)

Also:
feelings on heat on my body, head and ear area and various times of the day and after eating (this is increasing as the days go by)
feeling hot at night and taking off the covers (not nightly yet but enough to notice)
really good sleep
improved mood almost to the point of giddyness at times

I'm still not too keen on blasting the AC in the car and walking about without a coat but I've done it and it's not that terrible.
Dr. Kruse wrote in one of his blogs that smokers cold adapt slower. I haven't found anything scientific to support this claim. I briefly thought about quitting but quickly nixed that idea. :cool2: I've smoked while in the tub, of course. I did read that smoking blocks NPY in the hypothalamus in mice: http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/content/173/11/1248.full

There's also this study in humans using a nicotine patch. This was only short term cold air exposure and didn't make much of a difference in rectal (core?) temp: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15267080

One last article on shivering in the cold:
http://jap.physiology.org/content/100/5/1702.full
 
This reminds me of Gurdjieff's Meetings with Remarkable Men, where he wrote his father made him take showers in cold water in winter when he was small. Apart from getting accustomed to hardship, maybe this is another reason?
 
Here are some highlights of Dr. Kruse's last post on thermogenesis. It is clearer bit than the last one even though still a bit dense. But it is still interesting to read all the changes going in your body that explains the beneficial changes of cold adaptation AND a paleo diet. He describes the hormonal cycle of a warm adapted person and its relation to leptin and then he also explains the rationale of cold adapting.

Epigenetics major signal transducer is found in the cellular signaling found in our cell membranes that interact with the environment and our inner hormones that signal our epigenetic switches that sit on our genes inside the nucleus. Since it is clear that our cold adapted pathways use sensory afferents to signal to open the Ancient Pathway, I think it is time we just have a blog in the CT series that discusses what a normal 24 hour day is like in a human circadian biology.

[...]

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN STEP 20 [the surge of prolactin] IS BROKEN IN MODERN HUMANS?

This commonly happens in diabetics, but it is now becoming a very common finding in modern humans because of the excessive use of technology after sunset. These artificial lights also tend to be quite bright and completely un-yoke the normal circadian signals from the hormone response. Light after sunset reduces the prolactin surge we normally see in humans. When we see chronic lowered prolactin surges we also see lower growth hormone secretion during the anabolic phases of sleep. Lowered chronic GH secretion directly affects cardiac and skeletal muscle function because the process of autophagy is made less efficient as our life continues. Lowered GH and the sex steroid hormones at sleep lead to loss of cardiac function. This is why heart failure is strongly associated with low IGF-1 and sex steroid hormone levels. When growth hormone is not released in normal amounts, it also decreases our lean muscle mass and increases our fat percentage in all our organs and in our body. This leads to slowly declining organ dysfunction and poor body composition. We can measure this process clinically by looking for falling DHEA and GH levels levels as we age.

WHAT HAPPENS IN NORMAL AGING IN STEP 21 [the large circadian prolactin surge]?

Aging is among the most common features found in studies on modern humans when DHEA and GH craters on hormone panels. The loss of the prolactin surge is especially prominent in post menopausal women. Most women begin to suffer from falling DHEA and GH levels around age 35-40 while they are still in peri-menopause. The higher their HS-CRP levels, the faster they enter peri-menopause and the quicker they enter menopause. They also age faster on a cellular level because thei circadian chemical clocks are sped up. As a consequence, their telomeres shorten faster as well. Women have higher levels of leptin for child bearing, so they are more prone to leptin resistant issues then men. Leptin is sexually dimorphic hormone. This helps explain why older women struggle with cognitive haze, loss of body composition, poor sleep, and increased levels of heart disease after menopause. Many physicians think the losses they suffer are due to the loss of estrogen from ovarian failure, but the loss of growth hormone and progesterone production are far more significant on their physiology. Progesterone is the off switch to anything that is pro growth. Modern women are usually estrogen dominant even after menopause because of mismatches in circadian biology. Cognitive loss is especially common in post menopausal women. They also lose on average 1% of their bone mineral density per year from menopause in large part due to the loss of progesterone, not estrogen. Loss of progesterone also corresponds to poor sleep in these women too. Replacing progesterone in women has a major affect on their sleep and bone stock. It also dramatically improves their memories and cognitive function as well.

SNACKING AFTER DINNER: EFFECT ON CIRCADIAN CYCLES:

If you choose to eat within 4 hours of sleep you will never see the prolactin surge you need, because any spike in insulin turns off this critical sleep time release that corresponds to the cellular maximums of the autophagic process for humans. Something also happens. Agouti, the incretin gut hormone also rises in the blood to higher than normal levels to block leptin from entering the brain. Diurnal cycles for agouti are coupled to NPY and have major affects on leptin. Agouti is a gene product that normally increases the release of leptin from fat cells at night to signal the brain of what the energy status is of the body. This is great when it is working well. When it is elevated due to heavy carbohydrate use in our diet it creates a massive problem. This is why late night carbohydrate snacking is a real bad thing to do.

It appears 12-3 AM are the critical hours at night are where the remnants of mammalian hibernation lies for our species. These are the anabolic times for sleep when we are re building our proteins and recycling our cellular contents. They are three of the most important hours in all human biology. If you miss them, you can bet you have several neolithic diseases for sure. Why you ask? If these three hours are not reached enough during our sleep cycle, autophagy is never optimized and cellular repair does not occur for our cells. This means we are using old broken down parts in our cells as the next day arrives at 6AM and cortisol rises again to wake us up.

[...]

PROLACTIN, DOC?

You must be asking, why is this prolactin hormone so important in a warm adapted human? Prolactin is not just a hormone that secretes human milk. That is the best known action of prolactin, but not the most important. Immediately after prolactin is released during sleep, another signal is sent to the anterior pituitary to release the largest amount of Growth Hormone as we sleep (GH). GH is stimulated only during autophagic sleep cycles in stage 3 and 4…..to increase protein synthesis for muscle growth……all while you’re dissipating heat via the uncoupling proteins. This is where the major release of GH occurs in humans post puberty when they are warm adapted. 99.9% reading this blog are warm adapted. If you chose to become cold adapted the GH story radically changes, as laid out in CT-6 [his last blog post]

The implications here are huge for the warm adapted human, if this prolactin surge is not adequate to allow us to enter the anabolic stages of sleep. Prolactin surge is diminished by both artificial light at night and by foods that stimulate NPY, (namely carbs and protein) when they are eaten in fall and winter when biology says they should not be available.

If you are leptin resistant for any reason, have sleep apnea, you will always have an altered body composition because of a low GH level and an altered sex steroid profiles on testing. The reason is because DHEA is the immediate precursor for those hormones and is always low in people with bad sleep efficiency. Most VLCers who are warm adapted face this very problem today. VLC diet is best used in the cold adapted mammal and not the modern warm adapted lifestyle. In essence, this diet is a mismatch for our modern lifestyle. This is why so many bloggers think ketosis is a dirty word for performance and body composition.

This all implies as you age you will have higher body fat %, lower muscle mass %, if autophagy is not optimized by great sleep. This is precisely what we see today in most modern humans as they age. Invariably, their sleep cycles and sleep durations are poor and decreased from their childhood levels. As they age, there is a chronic insidious erosion of circadian biology by decisions made by modern humans over and over again.

WHAT ABOUT TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS IN WARM ADAPTED HUMANS?

Where does temperature enter the picture? In warm-blooded animals, homeotherms such as humans, can change their metabolism in order to keep their heat production equal to the heat loss. Such animals have a temperature control system and thereby maintain a rather constant core temperature. Warm-blooded animals live with the advantage of an unchanged cell activity and temperature in their core. However, the human core temperature falls during the estrogen phase of the menstrual cycle (pro-growth) and during sleep (circadian rhythm by melatonin).

The lowest temperature of the day for modern humans is usually between 2 AM and 6 AM. The temperature cycle is part of the normal circadian periodicity. Our biological clock seems to be synchronized with the rotation of the globe daily. Meal composition and timing, light cycles and temperature plays a role in altering normal cycles and autophagic optimization.
Ovulation releases a sharp rise in morning temperature with its estrogen surge. Progesterone effects seem to explain the higher temperature in the last phase of the menstrual cycle where it calms the the pro growth effects of estrogen. In post menopausal women, this balance is usually not ideal, and it leads to many menopausal complaints these women face today.

The reduced temperature induced by melatonin in sleep is needed for Central Nervous System autophagic repair, for another, less well known reason. The lowered temperature sets the stage for the biologic quantum effects to be optimal on our neurons microtubules that facilitate learning and neuronal spouting that occur brain wide.

This is why if you don’t sleep well you feel badly the next AM, and your mental performance suffers the next few days on cognitive tasks. Research also shows your learning is severely impaired because of lowered BDNF and changes in diurnal cortisol due to the sleep deficit. This is why we monitor truck drivers and airline pilots sleep and wake cycles by law!

Moreover, in hospitalized ICU patients or the elderly when this occurs, it sets the stage for the appearance of acute onset delirium. This is exacerbated when they also have a simultaneous cytokine storm from sepsis or obesity. We see this often in hospitalized patients who can not sleep well in ICU’s. Acute delirium states very much look the same as chronic sleep deprivation patients we see clinically as well. Inducing cold, using progesterone and using hypnotics helps manage these conditions. I mentioned this in my hour long Paleo fx talk last week.

Read this link in 3/11/2012 NYT: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/really-the-claim-your-body-clock-can-determine-when-you-get-sick/

[...]

VIP regulates the circadian rhythm in humans and most mammals. VIP is a gut hormone and is found in our taste receptors too! So if we taste sweetness from carbs in our diet when its warm and they are growing in the environment, our brain is expecting us to be in a warm season…….not a cold one. So sweet means warm not cold to the brain. If you mismatch that and eat carbs at the wrong seasonal time you create inflammation in the brain and it throws off our chemical clocks in our cells and ages us faster. That means our telomeres get shorter. This is not good.

[...]

The circadian clock not only can generate its own rhythms but can also be entrained by the environmental light-dark (LD) cycle. Multiple single cell circadian oscillators that are present in the clock can, when synchronized, generate coordinated circadian outputs which ultimately regulate the overt rhythms.

VIP is a gut polypeptide, has been identified as one of the main neurotransmitters of SCN [suprachiasmatic nucleus, the nervous system responsible for most circadian behavior can be localized to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)] neurons and participates in SCN function. These SCN neurons are retino-recipient and are found in the core of the SCN. They are activated by light, and exogenous application of VIP can reset the circadian clock in a manner similar to that of light application, both in vitro and in vivo. It is estimated that 9%–24 % of SCN neurons express VIP.

[...]

One of the main chemical constituents of SCN neurons is vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). Such neurons are retino-recipient and activated by light. Exogenous application of VIP resets the SCN circadian clock in a light-like manner both in vivo and in vitro. These resetting actions appear to be mediated through the VPAC2 receptor (a type of receptor for VIP). Unexpectedly, genetically ablating expression of the VPAC2 receptor renders the circadian clock arrhythmic at the molecular, neurophysiological and behavioral levels. These findings indicate that this intrinsic neuropeptide acting through the VPAC2 receptor participates in both resetting to light and maintenance of ongoing rhythmicity of the SCN.

[...]

VIP (along with GRP and AVP) show circadian variations in the level of mRNA in constant contact with environmental conditions from our tongue and our gut. When light becomes long lasting in summer, NPY dominates the SCN in mammals……when light becomes low and temperature falls to 50-55 degrees constantly at our surface cold receptors, and eNOS rises and blocks all photic [penetrated by or receiving ligh] input to SCN and circadian rhythms are maintained by a new program. Alpha MSH [melanocyte-stimulating hormone] induces and potentiates that seasonal change within the hypothalamus as laid out in CT-6 blog.

{More info here: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,26988.msg330007.html#msg330007 and http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,27112.msg329806.html#msg329806}

THE MORAL: So the brain is wired for foods when they grow naturally, not when we “feel or think” we can/should eat them regardless of their availability in modern times.

Leptin sensitivity directly regulates VIP production. VIP regulates the circadian rhythm and entrains the SCN to light. When it is cold, leptin is released from fat cells in large amounts, and we begin to use eNOS to entrain our SCN to cold cycles and we should avoid carbs like the plague then. Remember from CT-6, cold empties fat cells like a screaming fire would empties a crowded cinema. In cold, the pituitary-hypothalamic portal is involved in the production of lots of alpha MSH and ACTH. When MSH rises, you are allowing the brain to control everything to get you to optimal. This should make it abundantly clear that cold and warm adapted mammals are not sharing the same circadian biology. Cold selects for supreme LS and superior hormone optimization as laid out in the CT 6 blog.

[...]

THE COLD LINK: WHY CT SIMPLY ROCKS

Cold temperatures sensitize us to leptin by causing it to be released from fat cells over time leading to a lower level in the blood chronically. Low temperatures also cause us to increase our RER, while eating a low calorie diet and still maintaining our lean skeletal muscle mass. These findings show that during very low-calorie diets, and low temperatures , are a stimulant of a FAS [fatty acid synthetase] inhibitor, like leptin, and would raise malonyl-CoA levels, while decreasing the expression of NPY and AgRP. Clinically this results in sustained satiation for longer periods of time with less food. Remember that NPY is also the neuropeptide that is high in the SCN during high light levels when carbohydrates are highest. This peptide is directly regulated by leptin function. So if one is leptin resistant it appears to the SCN that winter has become summer. This is a circadian mismatch and a source of inflammation in the brain. When cold comes and light drops eNOS is induced and shuts the SCN off to photic entrainment of the circadian clock. The reason for this is not only annual seasonality, but for periodic ice ages mammals have faced on earth, and appears to be our primordial situation for life.

This is clearly a survival mechanism that is hardwired into all mammals by evolution, but the ancient pathway has another more important role that we have failed to uncover yet. (FACTOR X)

The environment required for the cold pathway expression is under cold, low light, and low calorie conditions. All must all be met at once. This is precisely what all cold adapted eutherian mammals are ideally adapted to. These are modern human ancestors, and their biochemistry is foundational to our current paleolithic Ferrari engines. Many believe this pathway represents a starvation response (not), but its real biologic value is of even more interesting. We will talk about this later this year.

This temperature gradient gradually reduces all hunger, pain, thirst, and facilitate sleep in humans and all mammals. These functions were all selected for by evolution via natural selection pressures faced by eutherian mammalian evolution. Moreover, these effects of leptin cause specific epigenetic modification effects on the other hypothalamic hormones or peptides derived from POMC [pro-opiomelanocortin] protein cleavage. Those changes are linked via the biology of the POMC neurons in the arcuate nucleus. Leptin and its receptor is especially sensitive to changes in temperature and to the light cycles that humans and all mammals face. Leptin is intimately tied to hunger, it is linked to thyroid function and directly tied to fat metabolism in all mammals. [...]

EVERYONE REUNITE FOR SLEEP AND IMMUNITY: In the warm adapted human

Simultaneously, while sleep is rebuilding our cellular terroir (think levee one), the immune system is also undergoing autophagic repair as well. That is another reason why the temperature has to fall in our bodies. Usually, temperature rises and this causes immune function to rise and more easily activate in response and duration in fever, stress and infections. This activation depletes our immune system of its reserves during high light waking hours. Dropping our temperature as we sleep allows us to repair it. During sleep this is when the body re-tools our immunity to function optimally the next day. What controls this entire orchestra of hormonal regulation? Its all leptin mediated……..and the brain is the master receptive organ to its function.

Sleep is a time for recycling and rebuilding to get us ready for the next day. It is also a time when our immune system is retooled to fight the battle the next day.
[...]

It has now been shown that sleep increases telomere lengths on leukocytes in humans. Sleep has also been theorized to effectively combat the accumulation of free radicals in the brain, by increasing the efficiency of endogeneous antioxidant mechanisms. These mechanisms are mediated by the hormone DHEA which is the major antioxident in the brain and correlates directly with effective sleep by lowering IL-6 levels. Progesterone is another critical hormone for brain homeostasis and learning as well. Sleep is vital to mammals, but it is supremely vital to humans, because they have shrunk the benefits of hibernation into 2 short critical hours of their sleep cycle because of the massive growth of their brains extinguished the need to sleep through the winter months.

Since man can directly control his environment, therefore, being awake during winter was naturally selected for in his direct ancestors before the primates species because they have the same adaptations. The programs that control our fat mass (leptin) however still remain tied to our ability to sleep well.

[...]

SLEEP IMPLICATIONS:

A University of California, San Diego psychiatry study of more than one million adults found that people who live the longest self-report sleeping for six to seven hours each night. Another study of sleep duration and mortality risk in women showed similar results. Researchers at the University of Warwick and University College London have found that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but that too much sleep can also be associated with a doubling of the risk of death, though not primarily from cardiovascular disease. Professor Francesco Cappuccio said, “Short sleep has been shown to be a risk factor for weight gain, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes, sometimes leading to mortality.

These all tie to a failure of autophagy in sleep stages 3 and 4 mentioned above. Here, we see why poor sleep links to sleep apnea and the neolithic diseases that are associated with sleep apnea. Growth Hormone is released in pulsatile fashion from 12-3 AM during restorative sleep cycles 3 & 4, and this hormone facilitates autophagy and recycling of proteins. In essence GH keeps us younger and in great shape when we sleep like a rockstar. The problem is modern man does not sleep well because of his brain’s creations. (Modern Technology)

The metabolic phase during sleep at this time is anabolic which favors repair; anabolic hormones such as growth hormones (as mentioned above) are secreted preferentially during sleep. If things are working well things get repaired at night as we sleep, and if sleep is poor repair either absent or sub optimal. When this occurs chronically stem cells are used to replace cells instead of using cellular recycling processes that are normally used. Sleep is vital for all our organs rebuilding and retooling.

[...]

Using the cold adapted pathway described in CT 6, is the best way to protect from all circadian erosions, considering we no longer hibernate and have to rely on the two hours of anabolic sleep we get as a replacement. Cold lowers all inflammatory cytokines across the board.

In warm adapted humans, it becomes clear that inflammation is the single most destructive obstacle to human health. This implies that understanding how to control leptin becomes paramount for the warm adapted human.

[...]

Temperature and light have massive biological effects on our biochemistry. We need to be aware of this.
 
I say that Jack's "Factor X" is the golden ratio φ.

Wikipedia:
In 2003, Volkmar Weiss and Harald Weiss analyzed psychometric data and theoretical considerations and concluded that the golden ratio underlies the clock cycle of brain waves. In 2008 this was empirically confirmed by a group of neurobiologists.

Plugging φ into Jack's weird "mathematical equation for biology" gives:
S = 2

Is that an equation for oscillation? Biological oscillation?

More Wikipedia:
Norwegian researchers at the University of Tromsø have shown that some Arctic animals (ptarmigan, reindeer) show circadian rhythms only in the parts of the year that have daily sunrises and sunsets.
Free-running sleep is sleep which is not adjusted, entrained, to the 24-hour cycle in nature nor to any artificial cycle.
The classic phase markers for measuring the timing of a mammal's circadian rhythm are:
melatonin secretion by the pineal gland
core body temperature
plasma level of cortisol
More-or-less independent circadian rhythms are found in many organs and cells in the body outside the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the "master clock". These clocks, called peripheral oscillators, are found in the esophagus, lungs, liver, pancreas, spleen, thymus, and the skin. Though oscillators in the skin respond to light, a systemic influence has not been proven so far. There is also some evidence that the olfactory bulb and prostate may experience oscillations when cultured, suggesting that these structures may also be weak oscillators.

Furthermore, liver cells, for example, appear to respond to feeding rather than to light. Cells from many parts of the body appear to have free-running rhythms.

My guess of what's up Jack's sleeve... Something about not needing light? Which goes with winter and cold... And not needing regular sleep?
 
I think Jack applied the golden ratio to the 'van der Pol oscillator' and got the 'perfect' body clock. I could be wrong! Anyway...

[quote author=Daniel B. Forger and Richard E. Kronauer / Reconciling Mathematical Models of Biological Clocks by Averaging on Approximate Manifolds]Motivation. Circadian (24-hour period) clocks are essential to the survival of a wide range of organisms, from the unicellular mold Neurospora to man. Without a circadian clock, the fruit fly Drosophila could never reach adulthood. {Does this hint at "longevity" or what?!} Circadian clocks time the release of melatonin and many other hormones in man. Since the mechanism underlying these clocks is only partially understood, mathematical models have been used to help piece together diverse experimental data and guide future experimental research. Models of the human circadian clock can be used to develop jet lag countermeasures, design schedules of shift workers, treat circadian disorders, and study the effects of a non-24-hour day. {Which is what Jack did, I bet.}

The van der Pol model. Almost 30 years ago, Wever first used the van der Pol equation as a model of the human circadian clock. Since then, the van der Pol equation has often been used as an accurate model of the human circadian system. It was recently shown that the van der Pol oscillator can predict experimental data as well as or better than any other proposed mathematical model of the human circadian clock. {And I bet Jack used the van der Pol oscillator too.}[/quote]


[quote author=Michel Siffre / 1975]But I – a wildly displaced Frenchman – know none of this, for I am living “beyond time”, divorced from calendars and clocks, and from sun and moon, to help determine, among other things, the natural rhythms of life. {Rather esoteric or New Age-ish, but then, Jack himself has gone in that direction somewhat. Writing about a Holy Trinity, falling to his knees at Michelangelo's David, reading a book inspired by Tibetan wisdom, a book given to him by some undisclosed woman that I infer has connections to some big corporation...}[/quote][quote author=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Siffre]In 1972, Siffre went back underground for a six-month stay in a cave in Texas. He found that without time cues, several people including himself adjusted to a 48-hour rather than a 24-hour cycle.[/quote]


[quote author=Emery N. Brown, Yong Choe, Harry Luithardt, and Charles A. Czeisler / A Statistical Model of the Human Core-Temperature Circadian Rhythm]Because it is not precisely known how the human body produces the circadian oscillations in core temperature, [...][/quote][quote author=Emery N. Brown, Yong Choe, Harry Luithardt, and Charles A. Czeisler / A Statistical Model of the Human Core-Temperature Circadian Rhythm]We present a statistical model of the human core-temperature circadian rhythm in which the circadian signal is represented as a van der Pol oscillator, the thermoregulatory process is modeled as a continuous first-order autoregressive process, and the effect of activity on the observed temperature rhythm is modeled with a protocol-specific function. {I have no idea what this means but it looks relevant so I'm putting it here, lol. Entire paper available here: _http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/279/3/E669.full}[/quote]
 
Dr. Jack Kruse is doing a Ted Talk in Nashville today. You can catch the live stream here - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/drjackkruse#utm_campaign=unknown&utm_source=10773989&utm_medium=social

Poor quality, but still understandable. I think he goes on in about 10 minutes (it's 10 to 6 EST as I post this).

EDIT: Talk was only about 20 minutes long, but he revealed a bunch of new stuff (new to me, anyway). Apparently he had them do some cosmetic surgery on himself (liposuction, I think) without anaesthetic and also injected himself with MRSA so that he could prove the CT works for pain control and preventing infection. He says it worked on both counts!
 
Thanks dugdeep. I missed it, but 'MamaGrok' posted a transcript and summary on Jack's forum.

I'm a little creeped out, to be honest. He's some kind of cold vampire now... When summer hits, will the MRSA come back to life and bite him? Is he banking on keeping his torso numb forever?

The thing I don't like about Jack is, his theory screws all the people in hot environments. He doesn't say it, but it's obvious that the Equator is not a part of Jack's Holy Trinity. He wrote that warm-adapted people have to eat lots of carbs and walk around fat. What?
 
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