PD is very common in my family. My dad and his dad had it. I have almost no hope they will ever cure it because it’s so complex. Here is what caused my Parkinson’s. (IMO)
1.Genetics.
This is something you cannot change. I know my genes have issues with clearing out toxins? PD is a man made disease. There is no reports on it before the Industrial Revolution. Fast COMT (how quickly you use up neurotransmitters) MTHFR, Methylation. poor ability to process vitamins ( like Pernicious Anemia that I may have)
2. Mental
This may be number 1. Neurologist say every PD patient has the same personality. Worriers, ruminanters, driven, usually successful. I believe most of us are stuck in fight or flight (sympathetic) Our bodies are designed to mainly rest and recover (parasympathetic) . Our bodies are incredibly resilient and strong. When we are constantly running away from the bear, our body can never relax. Humans are at least 100,000 years old. Our bodies can’t adjust the amount of MENTAL stress of our new lifestyle. The amount of information grown infinitely in the last couple of decades. More crap to worry about. Our hunter gathering ancestors were mainly in parasympathetic nervous system.I think that’s why there’s such an increase in Parkinson’s lately. Chinese medicine believe Parkinson is being “stuck” in sympathetic nervous system.
There are multiple ways to fix this. By far the most effective for me was Wim Hoff, breathing and cold exposure.
3. Environmental toxins.
Those with PD struggle to clear out supposedly benign chemicals/additives etc. Right after I was dx, I did a detox bath (Sea salt/baking soda/hot as you can stand water) Before the bath, I took a blood test for heavy metals/toxins/any blood test that detected toxins that came out clean. In the bath, I could only stand the bath for like 6-7 min. I literally leaked out of my calf an orange, metallic toxic junk after drinking over a gallon water within an hour. My body was detoxing hardcore. What was it that came out? I should have kept it. There are ways to help. B2, glutathione, Restore Gold (NAC, Green Tea Extract,ALA, TUDCA, Acetyl-L-Carnitive, Grape Extract), NAD+vitamin c/e are some of my favorites.
4. Diet and lifestyle.
Long term nutrition deficiencies. I believe a low b2 levels caused a ton of my issues. B2 help lower homocysteine that is correlated with PD. Most of all, MTHFR which is said to be a b2 deficiency. MTHFR struggles with removing toxins. They cannot convert folic acid to folate. It actually blocks the pathway. This is VITAL!!! Your folate levels will show fine but it’s not working well.Your most likely borderline anemic. Folate and B12 is vital for the production of blood. I was borderline anemic for many years. The ranges of blood test are not precise enough. (MCV 99 no anemia /MCV100 anemia) Who came up with the range?? Blood is key in most health. Long term low blood to the brain??? Diet soda, high carb, low nutrients food. MTHFR cannot process synthetic vitamins. These synthetic vitamins are harmful. In the late 90’s, the FDA decided to enrich flour with synthetic vitamins. This is causing huge problems. 30-40% of the population have a form of MTHFR. Unintended consequences. Pernicious Anemia is way under recognized. The synthetic b12 cannot be processed in my body. That’s the standard treatment for low b12 in the USA.
This has pretty easy solutions. B2 is the single most important vitamin for me. 0 side effects. Everyone with Parkinson needs to supplement with this. It’s non-toxic, no side effects and dirt cheap. They actually had a study Treated PD patients with just b2 and removed red meat. They had amazing results. Modern medicine has completely discounted it for 20 years.
5. Autophagy!!!
It’s basically a self cleaning mechanism for the cells. Parkinson’s is caused or is correlated with a buildup of a toxic protein in the brain. Autophagy literally eats messed up cells. You can read my posts on this. Basically, it can be instigated with multiple modalities. Fasting, HIIT training and Sauna are my go to ways. Intermittent fasting is key. every so often go on a long-term fast like five days. it sounds difficult but you can do it if you can get past day two. Day 4-5 are wonderful. The longer the fast, the more powerful autophagy. Eating the same amount of calories but in a smaller window of time. One meal a day? Our ancestors went long time without eating. When our bodies don’t have enough calories, they literally eats the weak and messed up cells. It’s really not as hard as you imagine. if you have Parkinson’s, you have will. They had to study eliminated the ability for mice to reach autophagy. They died of neuro degenerative diseases. I have had a problem with sleepwalking and eating for over 20 years. I never fasted long enough, even overnight to reach autophagy. I know this 20 years most likely caused me to have Parkinson’s early.
HIIT exercises are promoted for PD. It’s also the best way to reach autophagy. Regular use of Sauna has a 60+ percent reduction in neuro degenerative disease. More autophagy. Cold exposure I believe also induces autophagy but the studies are mixed. Making our bodies more resilient is the key to Health. Again, Wim Hof can control his autonomic nervous system with his mind. Please study his method. It’s life changing.
I wish when I was diagnosed, I would’ve been able to read something like this to give me hope. Hope is the most important thing in Parkinsons. I believe with Laura Michely that Parkinson’s can be treated more like diabetes, rather than a progressive downhill disease. She has treated people that have not progressed for like 10 years. Parkinson’s is about tomorrow, the worry of what tomorrow will bring. I believe I’ve stopped it. Seriously. I’m the same amount of levedopa as I started 5 years ago. In a lot of ways I feel better. I may be able to get completely off the medicine. Number one you need to control your mind. The Wim Hof method has done this for me. Doctors thought the 60-80 percent of neurons that caused PD were dead when your dx. Now some think they don’t actually die till late in the disease. Some recovery is possible after you stop the disease. Four of the five years, I’ve been diagnosed, I forgot how to live. I was basically a guinea pig. I was constantly obsessed with Parkinsons. I suffered more than I can imagine. I think I figured a lot of vital information. If anyone wants to talk to me,, I’d be happy to talk. PM me. There’s some of the best advice I’ve ever heard with Parkinson’s is to live like you don’t have it.
My way of beating PD is to live!!! Merry Christmas.
Digging Deeper into Neuron Valley
Breathing abnormalities in Parkinsons
Wim Hof Method
