"Lately, studies have shown that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) report a strong craving for sweets and consume significantly more fast-acting carbohydrates than healthy controls. Consuming food with a high-sugar content is assumed to lead to an increase in insulin concentration, which could positively influence dopamine concentration in the brain and unconsciously be used by patients as kind of “self-medication” to compensate for a lack of dopamine in PD. On the other hand, high-sugar intake could also lead to insulin resistance and diabetes, which is discussed as a causative factor for progressive neurodegeneration in PD. In this critical appraisal, we discuss the role of sugar intake and insulin on dopamine metabolism in patients with PD and how this could influence the potential neurodegeneration mediated by insulin resistance."
Parkinson’s Disease and Sugar Intake—Reasons for and Consequences of a Still Unclear Craving 2022 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
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Bolt_Upright
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I'm just spitballing here. Sugar provides symptomatic improvement, but then insulin resistance caused by the long term sugar encourages more neurodegneration.
But then: "Berberine improves physiological stimulation of glucose via cascade reaction of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), thus inducing secretion of insulin in the body, reducing insulin resistance, and improving sensitivity of liver, muscle tissues and fat to insulin (16).Feb 22, 2019" Effects of berberine on glucose-lipid metabolism, inflammatory factors and insulin resistance in patients with metabolic syndromencbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
"In conclusion, combined use of berberine for patients with metabolic syndrome can effectively regulate blood glucose and lipid, lighten insulin resistance in the body and reduce inflammatory response level."
I have not been diagnosed with PD. I do drink a lot of Pepsi (only with real sugar) and take 1200 mg of Berberine a every day.
(EDIT: Point being that maybe I am balancing my benefits of sugar with insulin resistance treating with Berberine).
IMPORTANT NOTE: I have a high school degree and no medical training. I also have poor impulse control.
I wonder if that bacteria they find in PD folks is responsible for this type of self destructive habit. I am not able to kick sweets ... tried kicking refined sugar, and that worked temporarily.
Thanks. The word on the street is to cycle on and off Berberine, but search as I may I have not ever been able to find any medical or scientific paper saying there is a need to cycle.
On the other hand, I don't think the safety studies go for longer than 6 months, so I am probably in uncharted territory.
Exactly... the people who know about Berberine are the herbalists and traditional Chinese medicine doctors whose use of it goes back for centuries. I think one issue is it kills off good bacteria as well as bad in the gut, so can create dysbiosis. And perhaps liver issues longterm?
"How long should I take berberine? Continual use of berberine can impact cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the liver which may affect drug-to-drug interactions. Therefore, it's recommended to use it in a pulsed 8-week cycle with two to four weeks off, then starting again if symptoms have not resolved"
Thanks. I have no medical training and poor impulse control.
LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury [Internet]. 2020 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5...
"Hepatotoxicity
Berberine has not been linked to serum enzyme elevations during therapy, although there have been few prospective studies in humans that have reported on its effects on laboratory test results in any detail. In published trials, berberine has appeared to be well tolerated with only minor and few adverse effects which have been similar in frequency among persons receiving placebo. Despite wide scale use as an herbal supplement, berberine has not been linked to published instances of clinically apparent liver injury. The frequency of hypersensitivity reactions to berberine is also not known."
I agree, Bolt. I’m on a Keto diet, in which insulin production is severely restricted. Monk fruit and Stevia are used as sweeteners when needed. I also use Berberines in a TCM formula which I take daily. I do believe the above helps, and is an important component of my healing regimen.
BBR inhibits the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 and attenuates the associated inflammatory disorders linked by the activation of inflammatory signaling pathways. Indeed, BBR can alleviate ALI/ARDS in patients with severe Covid-19 2022
It has been illustrated that berberine can inhibit cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis of EBV-associated NPC cells [89]. Berberine targeted EBNA1 transcription and downregulated its expression, inhibited the p-STAT3 expression, and decreased EBV virions production [90]. 2023
The Fight against the Carcinogenic Epstein-Barr Virus: Gut Microbiota, Natural Medicines, and Beyond mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/2/1716
"Beta pentylamine, which is at the center of the current research, is a chemical component that is also found in wine and cheese, but is present in the highest dose in chocolate. According to the mechanism hypothesized by the researchers, the component may encourage the production of a hydroxyl-type substance that carries oxidative properties and may lead to the oxidation of brain areas characterized by the activity of the chemical dopamine and encourage the onset of Parkinson's."
Contribution of β-phenethylamine, a component of chocolate and wine, to dopaminergic neurodegeneration: implications for the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease
This may not work if you're on meds, but the best tip I got for sugar cravings was to cut the sweet taste altogether for a while, including even sweet herbal tea, to calm the reward centres. Plus to eat protein with every meal - never carb on its own - to replenish the neurotransmitters. I did that and the cravings were gone within about 4/5 days. It was like a miracle
Correlation doesn't mean causation. It would be equally valid to state thas people with a strong craving for sugar tend to suffer from Parkinson's, which I think is more likely. People with a craving for sugar and other refined carbohydrate (starch is just a long chain of sugar molecules and refining it means that it breaks down into sugar more easily) also tend to get other neurological diseases like fibromyalgia, RLS, MS and mental health problems indicating that refined carbohydrate is the cause of the problems.
This reality was really something to hear when I attended my PD sister's appointment with her movement doctor. She has had PD for over 10 years and for the most part has managed it with meds and some exercise. She downs fudgesicles, fruit juices, fruit smoothies, ice cream....it floored me when I saw all the sweets she was eating. She only weighs 110 and her doctor told her she's "ok" to eat that.
I understand the doctor not wanting her to lose weight because that can be a significant issue and supposedly if someone is significantly underweight they can have a less favorable outcome in terms of their Parkinson's symptoms and progression
for someone that is worried about Parkinson’s I am stunned you are drinking Pepsi. Or coke or any sweet thing. If you are serious you need to get off sugar.
When I find somebody that cured themselves following a certain protocol, I will follow that protocol to a tee.
I do have a lot of restrictions on my diet. From what I can tell, Pepsi (only with real sugar) does not seem to be making me worse. Neither does ice cream made with real sugar.
I avoid gluten and lectins and all meat except beef.
I do plan to try and get off sugar though. Not because of PD worries. It just seems like a good idea. But I do get a lot of joy from Pepsi and Neapolitan ice cream.
1. Gut-brain axis: Review on the association between Parkinson’s disease and plant lectins 2022 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
ABSTRACT: Gastrointestinal (GI) involvement in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) has been widely recognized and supported in recent literature. Prospective and retrospective studies found non-motor symptoms within the GI, specifically constipation, precede cardinal signs and cognitive decline by almost 20 years. In 2002, Braak et al. were the first to propose that PD is a six-stage propagating neuropathological process originating from the GI tract (GIT). Aggregated α-synuclein (α-syn) protein from the GIT is pathognomonic for the development of PD. This article reviews the current literature from the past 10 years as well as original research found in PubMed on the combined effects of enteric glial cells and lectins on the development of Parkinson’s Disease. Studies have found that these aggregated and phosphorylated proteins gain access to the brain via retrograde transport through fast and slow fibers of intestinal neurons. Plant lectins, commonly found within plant-based diets, have been found to induce Leaky Gut Syndrome and can activate enteric glial cells, causing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Oxidative stress on the enteric neurons, caused by a chronic neuro-inflammatory state, can cause a-syn aggregation and lead to Lewy Body formation, a hallmark finding in PD. Although the current literature provides a connection between the consumption of plant lectins and the pathophysiology of PD, further research is required to evaluate confounding variables such as food antigen mimicry and other harmful substances found in our diets.
CONCLUSIONS: Through EGC-induced cyclic neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, plant lectins may lead to pathological Lewy body formation in the GIT. The Lewy body can then travel retrogradely via the VN to the substantia nigra and contribute to the classic neurologic manifestations of PD. Although the current literature provides a connection between the consumption of plant lectins and the pathophysiology of PD, further research is required to evaluate confounding variables such as food antigen mimicry and other harmful substances found in our diets.
2. Dr. Paul Mason - 'How lectins impact your health - from obesity to autoimmune disease' youtu.be/mjQZCCiV6iA
Hi, Howard Shifke cured himself and has a protocol in his book, Fighting Parkinsons... And Winning. I'm just reading it. He quotes Margaret Mead -
'It is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet', and says, 'I wanted to get rid of my constipation and improve my recovery so much that I was willing to change my diet. It helped me immensely'.
I recently learned that pressure cooking can destroy most of the lectins in beans, potatoes, and tomatoes. Just these three. So I bought a pressure cooker with 15 LBS of PSI and Iam back eating black beans and potatoes.
Man, talk about assumptions and running off with conclusions
Maybe just maybe some people with Parkinsons need a high carbohydrate diet and their body is telling them that. Every body suffers PD differantly and if you watch the video / Ted Talk on the ideal food for humans you will see that everyone does not process the food they eat the same. It is time to get off your band wagons and stop giving advise for which you know only what you have also been told by the same tired old text books .
Time to understand that everyone , every one is different, and that it is time to do things scientifically not just the things that you have formed an unchangeable opinion on because you opinion only is applicable to you and even then you may be wrong.
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