What are the plusses and minuses of ketone supplement therapy for PD?

[pedserv]

I'm relatively new to this BLOG, and would appreciate feedback. I'm investigating a product -- "Food 4 Thought". Is this new news or old news? Thank you

[satwar]

There has been considerable discussion on this forum about ketone therapy. I suggest using search box "ketone".

FFT is a mixture of, in decreasing order, MCT oil, sugar, coconut oil. It is not pure coconut oil which some found gives superior results (search for" lauric" acid). Another potential problem is the high sugar (carbohydrate) content. With insulin resistive people insulin overreacts to the presence of carbohydrate and sharply decreases serum ketone levels. Of course eating carbohydrate in your meals increases the problem.

In short, if you can eat coconut oil, you are probably better off.

A more novel approach is to investigate a low carb diet and let your body produce the ketones, called nutritional ketosis. "The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Living" by Phinney & Volek uses all the latest scientific research to support the low carb diet. With carbohydrate out of the picture, insulin levels stay down and ketones can thrive and prosper most importantly in your brain.

I personally think the ultimate solution is the low-carb diet. A few of us are trying it now but it takes ~6 weeks to achieve nutritional ketosis (greater than 0.5 mM ketones in your blood) to be of significance to your brain. The approach is not simple and requires considerable understanding of what can go wrong and how to resolve them. One thing I've learned already is that constipation is an issue during the keto-adaption phase and you must know how to control it or you'll have to quit. As Phinney says "finding nutritional ketosis is like finding an island in shark infested waters, you need a GPS, which is a good understanding of the book". This goes double for PWP. I have also found that coconut oil therapy is far more effective in a low-carb environment, because insulin (the enemy of ketones) is no longer as prelevant. Finally there is support for this approach for treating Parkinson's in the scientific community:

Neurology. 2005 Feb 22;64(4):728-30.

Treatment of Parkinson disease with diet-induced hyperketonemia: a feasibility study.

Vanitallie TB, Nonas C, Di Rocco A, Boyar K, Hyams K, Heymsfield SB.

Source

Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, USA. [e-mail]

Abstract

Ketones may bypass the defect in complex I activity implicated in Parkinson disease (PD). Five of seven volunteers with PD were able to prepare a "hyperketogenic" diet at home and adhere to it for 28 days. Substituting unsaturated for saturated fats appeared to prevent cholesterol increases in four volunteers. Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scores improved in all five during hyperketonemia, but a placebo effect was not ruled out.

Hope this helps

[pedserv in reply to satwar]

Thank you very much. I will act on your suggestions.

[maryalice]

Try using the search box for coconut oil too. I've been taking it for about 4 months and I've noticed some improvements. You have to start out slow and build up to about 6 tbs, otherwise it may upset your stomach. It needs to be mixed with something hot to drink or you can bake or cook with it There has been a lot written about it on this web site. All I know is it's been slow, but I've seen some progress. Blessings.

[Hidden]

Neupro (rotigotine transdermal system) only if you must and only after YOU do thoroughly research the benefit or not of various medicines, their side effects, the period they are effective and alternative treatments. /do not simply rely on your doctor's advice.

Myself, I chose CO and ketogenic diet. The diet was changed to include more carbs, berries/fruit and greens.

kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collard, onions, liver (organ meats), seaweed.

Vitamins: Flaxseed 1000mg, C 500mg, E 400iu, D3 5000iu

Coconut oil: 6 tbsps per day

Heat 1/4 coffee cup of coconut milk, the variety that contains 6g of sugar, place two tbsp. of coconut oil and after it melts in a moment, you have a tasty drink not unlike hot cocoa. For that matter, I sometimes add a chunk of unsweetened cocoa for flavor.