Could Fungus and Mold be an Important Contributor to Parkinson’s Disease?

[JayPwP]

Why did this die off?

parkinson.org/blog/whats-ho...

niehs.nih.gov/research/supp...

[chartist]

Anything that causes increased inflammation and oxidative stress is likely to worsen PD symptoms and fungus/mold can definitely do that.

Art

[bookish]

Interesting. I can't help but wonder if the view I recently read

'autoimmune disorders are a consequence of the body's inability to convert toxins into harmless by-products fast enough'

could be a significant part of the puzzle. I've been gaining AI conditions since I was 12, more rapidly the older I get. Of course oestrogen plays a part in that too, but I know now that genetically and functionally I cannot and am not adequately metabolising and detoxifying. My liver function is poor, especially Phase 2 detox. If we are slow to clear toxins, wherever they are from, damage would seem likely to be cumulative. Glutathione absent genes seem particularly troublesome and are connected to multiple chemical sensitivity. Best wishes

[JayPwP in reply to bookish]

That's a hypothesis worth following

[bookish in reply to JayPwP]

Yes, I thought so too. Oversimplication of a complex issue with multiple contributing factors, no doubt, but it would explain a lot. And while we clearly may need medication, intervention, nutritional and lifestyle changes to help deal with the effects of the autoimmune condition(s) that have resulted, it would seem daft to ignore an underlying, ongoing, possible cause (especially one which will make it harder for us to tolerate the medication that we may need).

I don't think my genetic weaknesses would necessarily have 'triggered' had underlying food intolerances from childhood been identified. The ongoing stress on the body from chronic low level inflammation will have played a part. Now I have identified those and eliminated them, and also vastly reduced my toxic load (organic where possible, cooking real food from scratch so no additives, no meds, super clean supplements, household cleaners and personal care stuff reduced to minimal and as toxin free as I can get). I am taking support for liver including reduced glutathione and amino acids, plus methyl B12 and folate, magnesium, vit D etc etc, the usual stuff. COMT variants affect levels of neurotransmitters (dopamine, adrenaline) (and catechol oestrogens) and function is impaired by toxins. COMT has a knock on effect on methylation too. Magnesium helps both. The same kind of cycle happened with my mum, who got worse with medication, exogenous hormones, local or general anaesthetics etc, but no-one realised why. I am working on improving vagus nerve function too, with lots of singing, humming and enthusiastic gargling! Best wishes to you

[JayPwP in reply to bookish]

Wow. That's quite a bit to do

[bookish in reply to JayPwP]

It is! But worth it, to me anyway. I've been getting worse for years and no-one seemed to be able to either tell me why, or what I could do about it. So I've done one little bit at a time and one bit of information leads you to another. Don't get overfaced and try to do too much and then not do anything! Any little thing you can do will help. Try just changing to a really toxin free soap or laundry liquid - when you run out and are going to get some anyway! Doing the autoimmune diet helped a lot and getting my problem foods out meant that I started to absorb some of the vitamins and minerals that I hadn't been getting for so long. Getting vitamin D optimal and using the magnesium have been a game changer. Just start, gently, and see how you feel x

[JayPwP in reply to bookish]

I am in India. Everything is toxin laden

[bookish in reply to JayPwP]

That will make things tricky but I'm sure there are still things that you can do. I'm cutting out toxins on the basis that if I'm not taking it in, my liver won't have to be working so hard to get it out again. And I've actually tested so know that it is a problem for me, which it may not be for you. Oliva brand olive oil soap seems to be fairly widely available which I use to wash body and hair. Maybe you can get some more anti-inflammatory foods into your diet and cut down on processed, if you eat any. I never ate a lot of processed foods as I like to cook, but didn't know I couldn't tolerate gluten (including corn, oats) and dairy. I eats lots of ginger and my liver detox support is partly turmeric, both of which I am sure you already eat (plus olive leaf and milk thistle seed extracts). Best of luck.

[JayPwP in reply to bookish]

I will start, one change at a time. Thank you and bless you

[JayPwP in reply to bookish]

The issue is, in India, doctors don't have the idea of accepting anything which is not 'accepted line of treatment' which is nothing but normal pharma medicine.

No one thinks out of the box. We don't even have most of the tests like heavy metal screening or toxicity tests, and doctors scoff at me if I ask for testing.

They look at me as if I have asked for their kidney.

[bookish in reply to JayPwP]

I do understand, and I'm sorry that you are not getting the help you need. I would say it is much the same here in UK. None of what I have learned or am trying to do for myself has come from NHS or conventionally trained doctors. Carefully selected doctor's and practitioner's websites and lectures on the internet, books (lots of books!) and forums like this one have been hugely helpful with information and support. The testing that has been done has all been found online (most seem to be actually US or Germany, although ordered through UK functional practitioners - not sure what may be available to you, even if you have the funds) and paid for by me, so has been minimal really compared to what is available and could be useful as I simply don't have the funds. The liver function test that I did was called Hepatic Detox, by Doctor's Data, in the US. Supplements have made me feel so much better but are not cheap. It has to be only one little bit at a time. My best wishes to you too.

[JayPwP in reply to bookish]

As i said, I am in India. Very few (read none) of the big names, like Hinz, Mischley, Dispenza, etc. have any presence here, except via YouTube videos, which is not comparable to actual in person training / sessions.

All the heavily studied and learned neurologists are only interested in patients on a conveyor belt, 3 patients examined every 15 mins. Their time is money, our life is not important.

No one talks of or listens to non-conventional ideas. They will not even listen to anything other than 'accepted line of treatment'

This leaves us to research and experiment on ourselves, and take comfort in forums like HU and in testimonials from unknown members, whom we don't even know if their testimonials are true.

[bookish in reply to JayPwP]

I agree, it would be great to actually be able to see these people, but (carefully chosen) books and YouTube lectures are better than nothing and at least we feel like we are trying to do something to help ourselves, which is all we can do if no-one will listen. I've found Datis Kharrazian helpful and Dr Michael Murray, but Micki Rose's website was where I started purehealthclinic.co.uk/. There is a lot of information on it to take in, but maybe something will give you some pointers. I tried doing it the conventional way and felt like I was being experimented on anyway, so don't mind trying things (slowly, good-quality and well-researched) on myself. Best of luck. (Incidentally, it may turn out not to be any good, but there is an online toxic mold summit coming up shortly toxicmoldproject.com).

[JayPwP in reply to bookish]

Thanks