Gluten free - gut healing and Parkinsons?

[Jenzo]

Hello Friends,

Has anyone tried to eliminate gluten/wheat? There seems a connection between our gut and our disease. I'm curious if you have done so did it help? I'm thinking this might be a good thing as I also suffer from thyroid disease.

Thanks

[faridaro]

I've been on the GF diet prior to being diagnosed with PD for about 2 years due to health issues of my son (who has Down Syndrome and is also hypothyroid), trying to help him get better. The diet didn't seem to help me, but during those 2 years I was under enormous stress dealing with my son's health issues which may have lead to PD.

From what I've been reading, gluten is a neurotoxin and is good to avoid, although lately there are have been discovered different types of gluten which are in just about every grain. Besides, there are many factors - genetic, environmental and psychological that can affect our biochemistry, but it is definitely worth to try, especially if you have thyroid issues. Gluten and casein are supposedly promoters of autoimmune diseases which in many cases start with thyroid. Also, people with thyroid disease often have MTHFR polymorphism - the case in our family, which might need to be addressed.

[Jenzo in reply to faridaro]

Thank you

[Coling]

I haven't yet seen definite evidence between the link with Parkinsons but I can tell you that after suffering from terrible constipation before and after diagnosis, I then went on GF, DF and added sugar-free diet, my constipation is fixed...gone

[Jenzo in reply to Coling]

Thanks Coling

[ruthgt in reply to Coling]

2tea spoon manitol and you dont have constipaion any more

[ruff1]

My husband was diagnosed 10 years ago and has done quite well with medication- no major side affects. About three years ago I read about gluten free diet so we tried it, I eliminated all gluten , bought gluten free flour made everything from scratch . It certainly did seem to have a positive effect, very little bloating , slight weight loss and more energy. It was very hard especially as I have not been able to make or buy decent bread. After a year John retired from being a headteacher, I wasn't too well and our gluten free diet slipped. We didn't notice any difference, so we stopped the gluten free. What we did notice was it probably was more likely the improvement was to do with no processed foods and removing stress of work . Since retiring John has really upped his exercise and most days and fir most of the day he is fab !! I think and from what I read so do a lot iof experts, good food , as little processed as possible , lots iof exercise , fresh air and sleep seem to be the key. I think it's hard enough to cope with a condition like PArkinsons without having to be on a regime that is so strict it's unpleasant and the gluten free diet foods can be unpleasant as well as very expensive. 😀😀

[Jenzo in reply to ruff1]

Thank you

[aspergerian]

Books by William Davis, MD, and David Perlmutter, MD, are helpful.

amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Tota...

amazon.com/Brain-Maker-Powe...

Also,

amazon.com/Wahls-Protocol-A...

amazon.com/Breaking-Vicious...

I have and have perused the linked books. A mechanism that makes sense,

seems valid to me is that a human's reaction to grains may lead to leaky

gut. Subsequently, bacterial fragments enter the peripheral bloodstream

as Lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Immune reactions ensue, including an

increase is peripheral cytokines. Various aches and pains and unwellness

often occurs. Each author uses Pubmed citations extensively and well.

Going grain-free has helped me with regard to slow fecal transit and

"mild" arthritic pain (see especially Davis, thyroid, too). Also, I discontinued triampterene and lisinopril,

have cut back on herbs with diuretic effects (eg, gingko), and pay more

attention to sodium and potassium.

See also, eg:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/265...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/260...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/238...

Degeneration of dopamine (DA)-containing neurons in the substantia nigra

of the midbrain causes Parkinson's disease (PD). Although

neuroinflammatory response of the brain has long been speculated to play

a role in the pathogenesis of this neurological disorder, the mechanism

is still poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to examine

the effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) in prevention of

inflammatory mediators release and protection of dopaminergic neurons

from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neurotoxicity. A single

intraperitoneal injection of LPS (15 mg/kg) in male Sprague Dawley rats

resulted in an increase of midbrain content of TNF-alpha, NO and a

decrease of DA level at 4, 24 h, 3 and 7 days compared to the control.

In addition, LPS reduced the number and the density of tyrosine

hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) neurons in the midbrain at 7 days.

Pretreatment with EGCG (10 mg/kg) 24 h before LPS for 7 days decreased

TNF-alpha and NO compared to LPS-treated rats. Moreover, it increased DA

level and preserved the number and the density of TH-ir neurons

compared to LPS group. In conclusion, EGCG was found to have a potential

therapeutic effect against LPS-induced neurotoxicity via reducing

TNF-alpha and NO inflammatory mediators and preserving DA level in

midbrain.

[Jenzo in reply to aspergerian]

Thank you for all of this information

[Beverly2017]

Hi I've been gluten free for 3 yrs and have had PD for 6. I take very little sinamet and have managed to control my symptoms and my life. I recommend it as we don't know yet about the connection between PD , our digestive systems and being gluten free. It's definetly worth trying!