Re: High fat diet causes depression

Yes, it's a shame the studies didn't provide more information about the exact nature of the high fat and high protein diets. At least not in the abstracts. For example did the high fat diets also have high protein? Did the high protein diets also have high fats? What fats were used, PUFA or saturated fat?

A high omega-6:omega-3 PUFA ratio is widely deemed to be unhealthy. Omega-6 increases inflammation, while EPA, an omega-3 PUFA, reduces inflammation. EPA and DHA both reduce intestinal permeability. Supplementation with good quality fish oil is a healthy option, possibly with a high EPA content. Although I don't have any info to back it up, my gut instinct (pardon the pun) is that omega-6s probably increase intestinal permeability leading to increased endotoxaemia and inflammation. I think as a general rule, omega-6s should be reduced in the diet and omega3s increased.

Dr Peat has a vendatta against PUFAs. I'm not saying he's wrong, but I think it's fair to say he's more than a little biased. That said, I think a low fat diet, including PUFAs, will reduce endotoxaemia, improve dysbiosis and reduce inflammation. I know Peat is against fish oil as well. But I maintain that supplementing with a small amount of fish oil, say, 1g EPA, adds very little to overall fat and PUFA intake, yet has significant positive benefits.

With regards coconut oil, Dr Galland told me that it can increase intestinal permeablity. I could not find any research to back this up, but I value Dr Galland's opinions. He has a lot of experience with treating dysbiosis and bowel issues. You seem to think that PUFAs, and not coconut oil, cause leaky gut and endotoxaemia. Without any research to back this up I'm not sure this is a valid assumption.

I use extra virgin olive oil in low temperature cooking. Its ratio of omega6 to omega3 is 10:1, which isn't too bad. I think ghee might be a good saturated fat to cook with if you want to avoid PUFA totally, but it's not antimicrobial like coconut oil.

Thanks for the tip about raw carrots. I shall look into this.