Dr. Macdougall starch based diet - Cure Parkinson's

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Dr. Macdougall starch based diet

Rujack profile image
13 Replies

Has anyone tried this? After reading “Grain Brain”, I started an aggressive gluten free keto diet in April, and slowly began adding some carbs back in after about a month or so. This diet had me feeling awful, but I kept hearing about it’s benefits. My anxiety was constant, I was having panic attacks - genuine ones where my heart would race, couldn’t breath, and couldn’t sit still - daily. I had terrible insomnia for almost 2 months and was severely depressed. It was the worst I’ve ever felt for sure. I’ve also lost a lot of weight, including muscle mass, I feel more tired than I did etc., etc.

So I feel like I gave this a genuine and dedicated effort, but I’m going to call it quits.

Does anyone have experience with Dr. MacDougall’s starch based diet, which essentially how I ate before except it’s vegan.

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Rujack
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13 Replies
jeeves19 profile image
jeeves19

After all my various dietary experiments, I think the basic approach ought to be plant based with minimal red meat and dairy. Dairy wasn’t something I took too seriously before but I think it’s got a lot to do with PD. I know I got one love dairy and have always drank a lot of milk. I’ll miss it!

LAJ12345 profile image
LAJ12345 in reply tojeeves19

Possibly the sugar in the milk?

jeeves19 profile image
jeeves19 in reply toLAJ12345

No. They seem to have now made a link that involved too much calcium somehow crowding out the healthy alpha syn and then it starts clumping after this compromised mitrochonrial imbalance. Of course whether this is reversible is another matter eh?

LAJ12345 profile image
LAJ12345 in reply tojeeves19

Just found this ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/285.... Low fat dairy always tastes too sweet to me so we always use full fat. I suppose more fat means less water for the calcium to dissolve in.

Full fat looks ok I think?

“Researchers examined what kinds of dairy each person consumed, including milk, cream, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, butter, margarine and sherbet. They then looked at whether full-fat dairy, as whole milk, was associated with a risk of Parkinson’s disease; there was no association. However, those who consumed at least three servings of low-fat dairy a day had a 34 percent greater chance of developing Parkinson’s than people who consumed less than one serving per day. The researchers also found that when looking specifically at skim and low-fat milk consumption, there was a 39 percent greater chance of developing Parkinson’s for people who consumed more than one serving per day compared to those who consumed less than one serving per week. Eating sherbet or frozen yogurt also was linked to a modest increased risk. ” (aan.com/PressRoom/Home/Pres...

ConnieD profile image
ConnieD in reply toLAJ12345

I have been dairy free since the age of two, due to being allergic. No milk, ice cream, yogurt, etc. So hard to decide best diet.

MBAnderson profile image
MBAnderson

But RuJack is asking about starch?? Ha. Do you have any links/studies that say starch is good for PD? McDougall advocates low fat, high starch. IMHO, highly questionable.

Rujack profile image
Rujack in reply toMBAnderson

Yes, I find many “diets” questionable in that many of these researched and constructed diets seem very unnatural in terms of anthropological history, if that makes sense. I do believe, however, that processed and refined foods, preservatives, and the overwhelming majority (my estimate is over 99%) of available meats are of absolute terrible quality in terms of how the animals are raised. Ie antibiotics, stress levels the animals experience due to environment and diet etc. Most fish species have high toxicity etc., especially farmed fishes.

I know arguments can be made for the evolutionary advantages of a high-protein diet, however I believe this is reductionistic in that these meats were wild and the herbivorous species thrived on a wild and pesticide free diet also absent of various chemical fertilizers, and these animals were much leaner.

Historically, grains have been a dietary staple for humans, with the occasional meat. I think that human teeth type, and the length of out digestive system vs those of carnivorous animals is at least somewhat telling of this.

Another thing to consider is that eating high on the food chain dramatically increases toxic intake.

There so many factors and variables. I am very skeptical that they are all known and considered.

My main point is that while there have been many advantages to agricultural developments in the past two centuries, as a whole, they seem to be a double-edged sword, and I think the real silver bullet, if such a thing exists, is to eliminate most, if not all, preservatives and get lots and lots of exercise, sun, and experience periods of hunger.

Just my thoughts.

Rujack profile image
Rujack in reply toRujack

In terms of starch good for PD studies? I don’t know. Wasn’t there a study once that suggested exercise was bad for PD?

MBAnderson profile image
MBAnderson in reply toRujack

I have no doubt there is a study that concludes anything you want.

You certainly had a more severe reaction to the keto diet than is usually the case.

Apparently, most people feel bad for the 1st couple months on the keto diet. My wife and I dealt with that by transitioning into it slowly, i.e., over a couple months.

I believe the keto diet is consistent with anthropology. I don't think our earliest ancestors ate much grain which we only began eating when we invented agriculture, about 30,000 years ago, probably not enough time for evolutionary adjustment. We eat sprouted grains because of lectins. They even make sprouted grain bread.

I have a few of the better videos on the keto diet on my profile, if you want to check that out.

Rujack profile image
Rujack in reply toMBAnderson

I’ll take a look, thank you.

SufferingSocks profile image
SufferingSocks in reply toMBAnderson

Do you think I could check those videos out sometime too? I have been reading a book by Dr. David Perlmutter called "Grain Brain" and am slowly implementing a gluten free diet, he also recommends a ketogenic diet. Would do it very gradually so as not to have too many problems. Suffering Socks

Kia17 profile image
Kia17

Rujack

The reasons for panic attack in ketogenic diet is probably related to coconut oil. It has short, medium and long fatty acids and each produces different side effects. I tried ketogenic diet for a few weeks last year but because of panic attack stopped it.

Now I only take C8 MCT oil and reduced the carbs intake (not totally) and feel okay with no panic attack or anexity.

I donot know anything about the named doctor but think the potato starch can be used as sort of prebiotics to feed the good bacteria in the gut.

draxe.com/potato-starch/

pad10 profile image
pad10

I didn’t feel well on a KETO diet. I had my GB out about 2 years ago so KETO diets are an impossibility now even if I wanted to. Without a GB I have trouble digesting fat. It makes me wonder if the people who have GB issues or sluggish GBs are the ones who get sick on these diets and those with healthy GBs do well. You might checkout ‘PD on the Move.’ pdonthemove.com/

I believe he swears by tubers/root veg. which are starchy. He’s had PD for 10 years and is doing great. He also exercises. You can watch is talks on you tube.

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