Optimizing levodopa

[Earthman]

Hi Parkie. You should try a more natural source of levodopa: mucuna pruriens is a seed that comes as powder or in capsules. I take 6 g 3 times a day, mixed in with apple or orange juice (no dairy product s). At first it helps to take -1 capsule of green tea extract in the AM. You can also take half your dose of prescribed L-dopa + 3 g of mucuna powd er. Try this '4 weeks and see how you feel. You will have to adju st your dosage according to your particular needs. Hope this helps.

[tigerclaw]

Hi Earthman.. I ordered for my mom the kapikachu cowhage raw powder because I didn't see to much result from Zandopa. My question in the package says 1-2g twice a day. How much is that in" ml " ? And in how much water to put in in to dissolve to drink it ? She try the cowhage capsules before breakfast but induced a vomiting for her. That is right I ordered the powder form. Wanna start her on in a small dose and she how she respond. And her motor symptoms. I heard it even helps for Anxiety, and she's dealing with that every day as well..

Thanks for your help

[Earthman in reply to tigerclaw]

Hi Tigerclaw, Zandopa is kapikachu or better known as Mucuna Pruriens. But you're right for wanting to try the raw powder instead of Zandopa, it just might work. I take 3 g of the powder dissolved in half a glass of lemonade of any fruit juice. Do not take it with milk or with any dairy product. In fact, it is better to take it 1 hour before or 1 hour after meals. Otherwise, protein tends to decrease the effect of the mucuna. Now, if your mother had a strong reaction to mucuna, it is possible that she might just be allergic to it . I'd recommend to consult with a doctor to figure out whether she is allergic to this product. If you want to try it anyway, you can start with a dose of 1 g mucuna powder, 3 times a day. For your mom, it might be better after meals (at least 1 hour after) I take it 1 hour before meals and it works for me. I also combine it with a very low dose of levodopa /carbidopa. I was diagnosed with PD about 8 years ago and most of the time now I feel I am in control of this disease and not the other way around. Now the levodopa alone will not be enough to control this disease. I take Vitamin B1 (thiamine), 2 mg injections once a week and 3 mg of vitamin B1, B6 and B12 twice a month. Also vitamins C (1 g daily) and D3 (5,000 IU daily) are recommended, with 2 week breaks every 3 months. Also, I recommend lots of antioxidants in natural foods and in supplements like Green Tea Extract. Finally, other supplements help like Ginkgo Biloba and turmeric curcumin. Something very important is exercise every day. Walking as fast as she can for at least 30 min daily is highly recommended. Also, if she can do Pilates, stretching or yoga is highly recommended in order to maintain muscle tone and balance. Good luck with your mom and you can always reach me through this site if you have any other questions.

[tigerclaw in reply to Earthman]

Thank You for your respond Earthman.. How much in "teaspoon " 1 gram powder ? it is 1/2 tsp , or 1/8 ? And can she mixed in water or you recommend lemon juice water ? Thank you so much for your help

[Earthman in reply to tigerclaw]

I use a basic lab scale to measure 3 grams. If you don't have a scale, you can use a teaspoon. A leveled full teaspoon (use a knife to level the content of a teaspoon) with mucuna powder measures 1.8 g Therefore half of that would be about 1 g (0.9 g to be precise). You can start with that but I highly recommend to buy a basic balance to measure 1 g dosage of mucuna. You can watch the following video for this: video.search.yahoo.com/sear...

You should start with 1g 3 times a day, along with a small dose of whatever levodopa + carbidopa has been prescribed by a doctor. I would suggest to half the doctor's prescription and supplement 1 g of mucuna instead. See how your mother responds. Please let me know.

[pdkid]

Hi Earthman,

Will the green tea extract taken in the morning help levodopa absorption for the entire day? I thought maybe one might need to take a bit of green tea / extract with each and every dose of levodopa? My dad currently takes his levodopa (a mix of mucuna and sinemet) 6 times a day. (We are slowly weaning him off the sinemet) Thanks for any insight!

[Earthman in reply to pdkid]

Hi there, you can increase green tea extract up to 2 or 3 times a day. First, I would make sure the increased dosage actually helps by alternating one day 1 capsule in the morning and the next 2 or 3. High dosages of green tea extract may have side effects on some patients.

[pdkid in reply to Earthman]

thanks! yea i was thinking maybe he can take 300mg at dose one, and then another at dose four... i guess we will have to experiment and see what happens.

[Earthman in reply to pdkid]

Good luck! Remember it's best not to take green tea extract on an empty stomach. Currently Im taking one 400 mg capsule in the morning with my levodopa and vitamins. I use NOW's product: EGCg Green Tea Extract - 400 mg. that ha 200 mg EGCg / 80%. I get it from AMAZON - great value!

[pdkid in reply to Earthman]

oh...! how would it work if you take levodopa in the morning BEFORE breakfast?... levodopa then breakfast 30 minutes later... the one i have is an organika brand... 300mg with 50% EGCG . . . all this dosing calculations make me dizzy!! thank you for all your help!

[Earthman in reply to pdkid]

Relax, You have to keep trying until you find the right dosage that works for you. Each patient is different. The product you have seems to be a good one. You're right, it's best to take it in themorning with all the other meds, half an hour to an hour before breakfast. Breakfast should not have too much protein anyway. Lots of fruit and cereals help. When you take the meds in the morning, it helps to eat a couple of organic crackers that are rich in seeds. It also helps to eat sone fruit right after the meds. Like I said, the main breakfast should be half an hour to an hour later. Best wishes!!

[pdkid in reply to Earthman]

i just mean if youre not supposed to take green tea extract on an empty stomach, but you need it to help with levodopa which you take on an empty stomach before breakfast... how would that work? or is it ok to take the green tea AFTER the levodopa, with breakfast...? thank you for the wishes and your time!!

[Earthman in reply to pdkid]

I used to take the Green Tea capsule with breakfast. Then I started taking omeprasol first in the mornings, then all my meds (including green tea) with some fruit and later breakfast. Except now I read that long term use of omeprasol tends to weaken our inmune system, so I am going back to taking the green tea with breakfast. Hope this helps. How is your dad doing?

[dvoranel in reply to Earthman]

Hi Earthman, Which brand of Mucuna powder do you now use? And dosage? I have been using Nutrivita 100% L-Dopa but now I understand that it may be better to use a less processed product that has all the constituents of the Mucuna plant with less levodopa. I have tried capsules from Tattvas, NOW and Solgar, but they don't work well for me. Thanks so much!

[dvoranel]

Hi Earthman, Which brand of Mucuna powder do you now use? And dosage? I have been using Nutrivita 100% L-Dopa but now I understand that it may be better to use a less processed product that has all the constituents of the Mucuna plant with less levodopa. I have tried capsules from Tattvas, NOW and Solgar, but they don't work well for me. Thanks so much!