Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum
Raw Paleo Diet Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: Python on September 15, 2009, 12:53:15 am
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Does a raw food diet lead to better cysteine absorption?
It seems to me that the healthier skin and hair, improved immune function, better mood and mental stability, as well as the change in eye color that many report experiencing on a RAF diet could be due at least in part to the better absorption of cysteine from our diet.
It is a precursor of Glutathione, which is an antioxidant and is used to inhibit melanin production(which would produce lighter eyes).
Alpha-keratin, which is in human hair and skin, has a high percentage of cysteine.
NAC(N-acetyl-L-cysteine) has been shown to cause "marked increase in immunological functions" and reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylcysteine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cysteine#Biological_functions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutathione
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I'm sure cysteine absorbtion is better as well as every other nutrient.
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Well yes but it would go a long way towards explaining some of the specific effects that commonly occur on an RAF diet.
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Interesting hypothesis. I had always assumed that darkening of eyes (such as from blue to brown) and hair (such as from blond to brown) was a normal part of aging unrelated to diet, but now you've got me wondering.
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So my hair might go blonde again on this diet??
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There seems to be a change in eye color reported among many people who follow the RAF diet which seems to describe eyes becoming lighter than before. My eyes appear to be much bluer and lighter than before so I put some stock in these claims.
It seems plausible to me that, considering at least these affects noticed by people who have followed the diet, that a better absorption or metabolization of cysteine into glutathione in a RAF diet could be at least partially responsible for many of the health benefits and directly responsible for some of them.
I don't know of any reports of a change in hair color. I would love it if I went back to my childhood blond but I would be very surprised as well.
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There seems to be a change in eye color reported among many people who follow the RAF diet which seems to describe eyes becoming lighter than before. My eyes appear to be much bluer and lighter than before so I put some stock in these claims.
It seems plausible to me that, considering at least these affects noticed by people who have followed the diet, that a better absorption or metabolization of cysteine into glutathione in a RAF diet could be at least partially responsible for many of the health benefits and directly responsible for some of them.
I don't know of any reports of a change in hair color. I would love it if I went back to my childhood blond but I would be very surprised as well.
It is quite true that many RPDers have reported a change in eye-colour to the lighter side of the spectrum. Usually, Caucasians get green or blue eyes while nonwhites get amber-coloured eyes. For my own part, I've noticed an extremely slow change in my (brown) eyes as the outer part of the iris is now more or less green. I'm not sure if I can describe it as purely as a sign of increasing health as the colour of my irises did not always alter slightly at the same time I got a spurt in increased health after going rawpalaeo. I've aslo heard claims that people change eye-colour more quickly if dairy is consumed, though I can't verify that - in my own case, consuming raw dairy via experiments actually quickly darkened my irises more(with my irises being almost coal-black over decades of dairy-consumption up till pre-rawpalaeodiet)
I seriously doubt the cysteine theory given the unclear connection between eye-colour and state of health, but I think it's clear that it would be better absorbed into the body via raw foods than cooked foods.
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Part of the cysteine metabolism interferes with melanin production. Lower levels of melanin are responsible for lighter eyes.
Another thing that I notice that may be related to cysteine and the cysteine metabolism is that my nose and sinuses suddenly clear up after eating raw protein. Acetylcysteine is a mucus thinning agent.
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I guess the reason I'm kind of pushing this point is that it does seem like, based on the effects of the diet, that there is better cysteine absorption in the diet and clearly the benefits of the diet are not coming from any sort of a metaphysical or spiritual quality of the food. If we could identify some specific reasons that explain some of the diet's benefits beyond just saying that it's "more natural" then maybe we could provide some incentive for scientific research into the diet to prove what people have been saying about it.
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Part of the cysteine metabolism interferes with melanin production. Lower levels of melanin are responsible for lighter eyes.
Would that interfere with your skins radiation absorption mechanism?
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Would that interfere with your skins radiation absorption mechanism?
Hmmm, good question. Most RPD and Paleo dieters seem to report easier tanning and less burning, suggesting no decrease in skin melanin and possible increase. Why would people experience decrease in melanin in the eyes and easier tanning at the same time?
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Hmmm, good question. Most RPD and Paleo dieters seem to report easier tanning and less burning, suggesting no decrease in skin melanin and possible increase. Why would people experience decrease in melanin in the eyes and easier tanning at the same time?
Really? Because I went out into the world of sunshine, got seriously burnt, and am still pale as heck.
If your eyes do literally get lighter in color, that is almost certain to be a drop in melanin.
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Well, it may not apply to all Paleo dieters, but I'm as pale as they come and I burn much less easily than I used to and started being able to get a light tan again for the first time in decades after going Paleo. Other RPD and Paleo dieters have mentioned that they burn less on Paleo-type diets.