From "Notes From a Subterranean Library in Oregon," a compilation of Ray Peat's newspaper letters and columns, compiled by T3Uncoupled (2023). Originally published 1970.

Ray Peat, "Dear good times", p. 11

Mary Schooner wrote a very bad article about sugar. Milk is not addictive, and doesn’t cause a sugar flush like eating candy. This is because of the very slow absorption that results from the protein and fat content. If you’ve ever vomited after eating a mixture of rice and milk, you’ve probably noticed that the rice has disappeared within a few minutes, while the milk is still present as curds. This is because polysaccharides (starch) are very quickly changed in the stomach by saliva into ordinary sugars. Lactose is unique among sugars, in that it promotes the absorption of calcium, and also supports the growth of useful bacteria, which suppress the dangerous and gas forming microorganisms. Contrary to Mary and Michio and the AMA, a high starch diet is very bad for the health of people and fetuses. Infant mortality increases with the price of milk, because pregnant and nursing women substitute cheap and lethal starch for expensive milk. High starch diets increase the rate of mental retardation; diets with more protein and vitamins, as provided by milk, produce children with bigger brains and bodies, and much higher IQs. To advise pregnant women to replace milk with a mess of miso, flour, and noodles is to help degrade the species. M.D.s who prescribe “formulas” for baby-feeding, made of water with sugar or starch and other additives are doing the same thing. Brain size and the number of nerve cells and synapses are not strictly controlled by genes. Diet and environmental stimulation can make a difference of hundreds of grams of brain mass and billions of nerve cells and trillions of synapses. Before committing your baby to the necrobiotic diet consider the cranial size of the corn-fed rednecks you’ve met.