Parkinson Dietary Consideration

Low protein, low fat (esp. animal fat), antioxidant rich diet (ref #1-5)

Protein

Symptoms appear to become less severe when patients are placed on low-protein diets.  In one study, patients taking L-dopa were placed on a high-protein diet of 1.6 g/kg of a low protein diet of 0.8 g/kg, with most of the protein consumed during the evening meal. Symptoms, such as tremors, tapping, and amount of time that a patient had difficulty in walking all were reduced in severity on the lower protein diet.1 Another study that was double-blinded arrived at the same conclusion, i.e., that symptoms become less severe when patients are placed on low-protein diets.  It was also found that these results did not correlate with L-dopa levels. Thus, it was conjectured that high dietary protein influences L-dopa's central nervous system effects, directly or indirectly, as a result of blood-brain barrier interference.2  Closely monitoring and adjusting L-dopa dosage may be necessary because the required therapeutic range may become reduced when the dietary protein is raised.

Predisposing Foods

In one study, there appeared to be an increased risk of Parkinson's disease that manifested in newly diagnosed patients who consumed diets that are high in animal fat. Additionally, consuming foods high in vitamin D may increase the risk of a patient manifesting the disorder. This study also concluded that there appears to be a significant correlation with vitamin A supplementation and an increased risk of contracting Parkinson's disease.3

Antioxidant Rich Diets

There is a growing evidence that diets that are high in antioxidants may help to confer some degree of protection against the neurodegenerative processes involved in the progression of Parkinson's disease. Representative of the growing belief behind this hypothesis, a study, conducted in the Netherlands, demonstrated that a high intake

of dietary vitamin E may protect individuals against the occurrence of Parkinson's disease.5

"Gluten sensitivity is common in patients with neurological disease of unknown cause and may have aetiological significance" Lancet, 347:369-371(1996).

Environmental Factors

(The need to address the detoxification pathway) (ref #6-11)

A leading hypothesis of the pathogenesis of Parkinson's has associated excessive oxidative damage of the substantia  nigra dopamine-containing cells.6      There  are  currently numerous predisposing etiologies under investigation as either triggering or contributing factors to the onset of Parkinson's disease. Among the most commonly held factors are infections, industrial exposure, pesticides, head injuries, low dietary antioxidant intakes, and not smoking.7,8 Although the reason for a greater risk for contracting Parkinson's disease among nonsmokers has yet to be delineated, it may involve differences in premorbid personality traits. Occupational exposures to manganese, copper, lead, and iron have been associated with the development of Parkinson's disease.9 It also appears that organophosphate poisoning can lead to acute, yet reversible parkinsonism.10

This sensitivity most likely represents a genetic susceptibility or another type of predisposition.

There  is  no  question  that  environmental factors play a crucial role in the predisposition, development, and

progression of Parkinson's disease.

Although all the evidence required for the creation of an all-inclusive list of epidemiologic factors has not been created, there is no question that external factors are intimately involved in the etiology of this disease. This is clearly illustrated by a study, conducted in 1992, in southwestern Finland with an urban and rural population of

196,864 subjects as a follow-up to a similar study conducted in the same area in 1971. The conclusions reached were that a significant male and rural predominance was present that was not seen in 1971, suggesting a probable environmental causative factor.11

• Access need for systemic detox program (ref #6-12)