Parkinson's Palate, What Diet Should a PD Patient Pursue?

The Holy Grail of Parkinson's research is reversing and healing the damage the disease does. Short of that, and more immediately within our reach, is slowing it down. Ironically, the fact Parkinson's is slow-moving to begin with makes it difficult to tell whether your attempts to retard it are effective. So a just-released study, "Role of Diet and Nutritional Supplements in Parkinson’s Disease Progression," that appeared in the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, was met with excitement by the PD community. While there isn't any radical departure in direction, the study puts substantial additional weight behind the old recommendation: follow the Mediterranean Diet.

The study, led by Laurie K. Mischley of Bastyr University features a table that lists foods effective in slowing the disease, and foods that seem to speed it up. The authors point out the Mediterranean diet, known for its association with a lower risk of developing Parkinson's can now be looked on as a way not only to reduce the risk but too slow the disease progression, too.

What is the Mediterranean diet? Here is a simplified version adapted from Healthline that fits well with the advice from the study:

• Eat: Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, potatoes, whole grains, herbs, turmeric, ginger, fish, seafood and extra virgin olive oil.
• Eat in moderation: Poultry, eggs,
• Eat only rarely: Red meat
• Don't eat: Sugar-sweetened beverages, added sugars, processed meat, refined grains, refined oils and other highly processed foods.

Also in the don't eat category: dairy. The study found "Ice cream, cheese, and yogurt intakes were associated with higher rates of PD progression (Table 2). Dairy has been repeatedly associated with PD incidence." You say "No yogurt? I thought that was as good way to keep the cultures in my gut healthy!" Granted, but you can replace that with other fermented foods, like pickles, kim chee, saurkraut, stink heads, kombucha or miso. There is a mammoth list of fermented foods here.

The authors had some unkind words about canned fruits and vegetables "Consumption of canned fruits and vegetables was a strong predictor of PD progression. Initially thought to be associated with socioeconomic status, the association remained after adjusting for income. Bisphenol A (BPA) is used extensively worldwide in the inner coating of food cans, and there is evidence that BPA contaminates foods stored in the cans. BPA is a well-established endocrine conductor associated with obesity, and more recent evidence suggests that it is an energy balance disruptor." Frozen fruits and vegetables were also found to be bad for people with PD, although the report offers no information on why this might be.

They also point to fried foods, soda, and beef as hastening PD progression. "Beef and pork, the most frequently consumed mammals in the Western diet, have several things in common, including a high-fat content and slow intestinal transit time. That intake of pork which was not statistically significantly associated with worse prognosis suggests that future research should be directed toward variables unique to beef, such as the higher iron content.

The authors had nothing to say on the health effects specific to PD of eating insects, the food of the future, so we'll just have to wait for that to be studied, But there is plenty of good advice  for what to eat in the present if you want to have a future. Bon appétit!

A day with Parkinson's Disease, Page 9

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Letter to an Old Friend With A Husband Newly Diagnosed With Parkinson's Disease

Hi Anni, Very sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. Parkinson's is terribly complex, and in spite of years of study, still not well understood. For that reason I don't have faith in one thing as the "silver bullet" to take this problem down. Not coconut milk nor Coq10. PD needs to be addressed holistically, with medicine exercise, therapy, diet, and stress reduction. The good news is that given a few breaks and some discipline, a person with PD can have excellent quality of life for decades.

As far as the idea that one food or supplement is somehow the missing link to good health, I have seen no evidence. As noted above PD is a complex problem that involves the interplay of genetics and environment, and even personal habits. For instance, the rate of Parkinson's Disease goes down where the rate of tobacco consumption goes up. The same is true of coffee. Given the documented health risks of tobacco, I haven't taken up smoking or chewing, but I do drink coffee with pleasure. However it's good to remember that there is not a proven causal link here, merely a shown correlation, Perhaps a side effect of PD is a low tolerance for lattes and cigars, hence the association.

 But as long as we are talking about correlations between Parkinson's and what we put in our bodies, I can identify two factors to consider that seem to have consensus among those who have studied this. The first is that PD has clearly been linked to pesticide exposure. So it makes sense to me to limit further contact with these poisons. (as my cousin the internist says "When you have a bruise you don't continue to hit the same spot over and over.") Hence, try to eat organic as much as possible. Second, the great Dave Heydrick, a neurologist who has PD, looked at all the studies etc. that he could find about nutrition and Parkinson's and found that the best way to eat for PD is to follow the Mediterranean diet. Not much red meat, get protein from fish, and big-time consumption of vegetables. Even if this were not good for PD it's sensible for your underlying health.

 Beyond diet, there is much that you can do to combat the progression of symptoms. Exercise in many forms is an exploding area of progress in the struggle of the individual against this disease. Everything from dance to bicycling to yoga seems to have its scientific adherants. This suggests to me that a variety of exercise makes sense, and I can testify that it certainly makes me feel better. And again even if it had no effect directly on PD, it is the sort of practice that will bolster one's underlying health, thus enabling one to cope more effectively with the disease. Also, exercise is a proven mood elevator. The benefits of that are obvious. 10 years into my diagnosis I still ski cross country, bicycle and hike.

There are exciting developmens in physical therapy happening as well. Two I will mention, the Lee Silverman speech therapy and the related Lee Silverman Big motion therapy have both been shown to make marked improvement in the areas of speech and movement. I can testify first hand to the efficacy of the voice program which can do wonders to restore speaking ability. I have heard good things from a friend who has done the movement training.

Last, stress is known to exacerbate the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease and may speed progression. Many of the already mentioned practices will help with this, but I would also add the practice of attending a support group. In adition to providing an atmosphere where one doesn't feel compelled to minimize or hide symptoms, a support group is a place where one can pick up tricks and current knowledge. There is more hope than ever of finding ways to work around Parkinson's Disease. If you guys can stay on top of the things that matter, the best is yet to come.

Sink Your Teeth Into Parkinson's Disease

My friend Dave, a neurologist with Parkinson's Disease, is always on the lookout for ways the PD populace at large can manage their disease better. One way he thinks that we can take some of the teeth out of the beast is to eat more healthily. (Dave is also a great believer in exercise. I get the impression sometimes that he thinks we should exercise while eating. Have you exercised today? Maybe you should stop reading this and do a few laps around the block.)

Bearing in mind such processes as oxidation and cell death, he went looking for foods that would counter these and other factors that contribute to Parkinson's progression. He found that the best way for people with Parkinson's Disease to eat is to follow the Mediterranean Diet. He just sent me a link to a updated version of the Mediterranean Food Pyramid, which you can find here.

Bon Appétit!