Can we improve neuroprotection through diet?

[Norton1]

It is thought that Parkinson's can be caused by pesticides or mercury in fillings and possibly diet. Given that Parkinson's is an incurable and a progressive condition I have been wondering if a change in diet can be neuroprotective? I would like to stimulate a discussion to get the opinions of PwP and their spouses/carers to get their thoughts on whether we can take measures to improve neuroprotection thereby reducing progression. To start off I would like to ask if any PwP were previously diagnosed as being celiac or having diabetes2?

[jillannf6]

nope ]sorry

i have tended ot be vegetarian and do nto have any diagnosis of thos ethings you suggest

lol Jill

[Hikoi]

Nope nether.

Not convinced about your Parkinsons causes Norton, can you give some references? What role do you think genes have in PD? Interesting thread idea all the same. ??

[Hikoi in reply to Hikoi]

The smiley face came out as two ?marks on the i pad !

[Norton1 in reply to Hikoi]

Caused by tremors?

Norton

[Norton1 in reply to Hikoi]

Hello Hikoi,

I know of no scientific research that has proved that being celiac or having diabetes2 leads on to Parkinson's, clearly that is not always the case, for I know of some people with diabetes2 who do not have parkinson's, one 82 yr old who has been diagnosed diabetic 25 years. However, there are people who were diagnosed with diabtes2 who were later to develop Parkinson's. Since my diagnosis of PD I decided to revisit my earlier life to see if I could find a possible cause for me developing it. Here are some thoughts: I was born immediately after the Second World War when sugar became more plentiful than during the war years. I ate lots of sweets and to prove it I have quite a few mercury fillings. As a family we ate lots of bread (toast every night virtually). I well remember sometimes having no energy (felt permanently knackered) which I believe was actually hypoglycaemia.

I decided to read up on the history of the human diet and found that until 10000 yrs ago, man ate meat, vegetables, fruit, fish and nuts. He did not eat grains such as wheat which contains gluten. About 10000 yrs ago, the human population was such that the land could not support hunter gatherers so humans started to farm and their diet evolved to eating grains and dairy. The evidence from that time on is that mans health suffered and now, even 10000 years on our genes have still not adapted properly to the 'new' foods. Professor Loren Cordain considers that it takes 50000 years for human genes to adapt. Hunter gatherers today do not have IBS, cancer, celiac disease, chrones, ulcerative colitis, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, MS, the list goes on. Why? Has diet, such as the so called 'healthy' complex carbohydrate diet we have been encouraged to eat anything to do with it? Of course, I have not even touched on pesticides and other chemicals we come into contact with, virtually daily.

I'll stop there as I am in danger of boring people with a too long an answer to your questions. I would be interested to read your thoughts on why,say, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's are increasingly prevalent today.

Regards

Norton

[Hikoi in reply to Norton1]

I do think Celiac and diabetes are relevant to PD. I guess I don't connect amalgam and diet though.

You might enjoy reading Eat Right for Your Blood Type.

[Norton1 in reply to Hikoi]

Thank you for your comments Hikoi. I have to ask you why you do not connect with diet and diabetes2 being associated. They almost certainly are connected in that diabetes is caused mostly by eating too many carbohydrates, be they simple or complex. There are sites on the Internet which state that diabetes2 can be controlled by following a low carbohydrate diet. It may be that there is a genetic component as well.

I am not directly connecting diet with amalgam though, what I am saying is that some authorities believe that mercury from amalgam fillings is toxic to the brain. Surely you have heard this!

I would say though that the need for amalgam fillings is caused by the type of diet we eat in the west. If it were not so, then why do hunter gatherers of today have no need for fillings in their teeth?

I have read a book on eating right for your blood type. I ask you this, if it had any basis of truth, why is it that we have more degenerative illnesses today when we know about blood types, than people did hundreds of years ago when it was not known that there were several blood groups? Are there not more cases of cancer, Alzheimer's, dementia, obesity and so on nowadays than there were then? For all our knowledge, are we any healthier today, even though we live longer?

I would be interested in what you have to say about these points.

[Hikoi in reply to Norton1]

Norton,

Thanks for this discussion. I need to do some more reading to answer fully but im on holiday so that includes an internet sabbatical, or should!

Im not sure if there are more cases of alzheimers (only named on 1904), cancer, dementia than in the past, we may have but i dont know. Depends on how we measure illness, on increased skill of diagnosis over the years, on life expectancy improved, on neo natal death rates decreased to name a few. Certainly there is more obesity.

[Norton1 in reply to Hikoi]

Hello Hikoi,

Thank you for your reply. I believe there can be little doubt that diagnosis has improved over many years so many people died of 'natural causes' that really did have an undiscovered cause. Also, because we are living longer it gives many diseases more time to manifest. However, there is no doubt in my mind that degenerative diseases are on the increase and that diabetes2 is one of them. I repeat that there are sites on the Internet that claim by reducing the amount of carbohydrates eaten this problem can be controlled. Of course, this control takes consistent effort over a lifetime, if it is not controlled, you as a nurse, will know better than I, that it can lead on to other serious conditions.

Anyway, enjoy your holiday and I hope you return from your sabbatical refreshed.

Regards

Norton

[Norton1]

Hello Jill,

I tried a couple of times to go vegetarian, but did not feel well on that diet. I became aware that you had to eat certain food types to ensure you were taking in the whole range of amino acids so I decided to give it up. It seemed more difficult to me to get the range of nutrients required to function. For instance, vitamin B12 is vital to our health, yet from my knowledge, it only comes from animal sources. I stand to be corrected if anyone knows differently.

Norton