I didn't write this and it is not my opinion.
Ray

Parkinson's disease: Change your diet to avoid Parkinsons disease

Date: 21/07/05
Keywords: Nutrition,

James Parkinson was a 19th Century Scottish physician who published a number 
of papers on topics as diverse as child rearing and the regulation of 
asylums for the mentally handicapped. But he established his name 
permanently in the annals of medicine in 1817 when he published this title: 
'An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.' The neurological condition described in 
that paper was later named after him: Parkinson's disease.
Today we know quite a bit more about the shaking palsy, which is caused by a 
progressive degeneration of neurons in the areas of the brain that control 
voluntary movement. This degeneration results in a shortage of dopamine, the 
neurotransmitter that helps manage communication between neurons necessary 
for normal movement.
Dr. Parkinson's disease is most common in those over the age of 50 and is 
caused by inherited genetic traits as well as environmental factors. But a 
new study shows how dietary fat intake may lower your risk of developing 
Parkinson's. And as we'll see, there are other dietary choices that may 
reduce risk even further.
High fatty acid intake can decrease your risk of Parkinsons disease
'Unsaturated fatty acids are important constituents of neuronal cell 
membranes and have neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory 
properties.'
That's how researchers at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, The 
Netherlands, describe the background for their study that appears in a June 
issue of the journal Neurology. Their objective: determine the possible 
protection that an intake of unsaturated fatty acids might have on 
Parkinson's disease risk.
The Erasmus team used data collected from the Rotterdam Study, an ongoing 
research project in which dietary and medical records for more than 10,000 
male and female subjects over the age of 55 are followed to investigate risk 
factors for chronic diseases. For this study, nearly 5,300 subjects were 
selected. At the outset of the study, all were free of dementia or 
Parkinson's, and each subject underwent a complete dietary assessment. 
Subjects were monitored for an average period of six years.
At the conclusion of the follow up period, 51 subjects had been diagnosed 
with Parkinson's. The data revealed a significant link between a reduced 
risk of the disease and the highest intake of total fat, monounsaturated 
fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
One of the primary forms of PUFAs is very familiar to HSI members: omega-3, 
mostly available through fish, fish oils and grass-fed beef. MUFAs are found 
in olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.
New research links homocysteine to Parkinsons
Without question, a diet that includes a high intake of MUFAs and PUFAs 
offers a wide range of health benefits. But increasing your intake of these 
unsaturated fatty acids is not the only way to reduce Parkinson's disease 
risk.
Research from the National Institute on Ageing that found 'the first direct 
evidence' that elevated homocysteine levels increase the risk of this 
disease.
The same research team found that homocysteine makes human brain cells more 
susceptible to the deadly affects of toxins like iron and the pesticide 
rotenone, which are known to cause some cases of Parkinson's disease. In 
laboratory tests using human tissues, homocysteine 'significantly enhanced 
[cell death] induced by rotenone and iron.'
As we've seen in previous e-alerts, elevated levels of the amino acid 
homocysteine have been linked with atherosclerosis as well as Alzheimer's 
disease and other forms of dementia. Considerable research has also 
demonstrated that foods and supplements rich in vitamins B-6, B-12, and 
folic acid may help reduce homocysteine levels.
Most people who raise their dietary folate intake - by eating asparagus, 
lentils, chickpeas, cantaloupe, watermelon, wheat germ, most varieties of 
beans, and especially spinach and other leafy green vegetables - respond 
with a lower homocysteine reading. But if the diet doesn't do the trick, 
vitamin supplements often will.
Aspartame is a typical toxin
As I mentioned above, environmental toxins may also prompt the development 
of Parkinson's, and one of those toxins may be in beverages you drink daily. 
According to a growing body of evidence, the primary toxin among food 
sources is the popular sugar-substitute aspartame - better known by its 
brand names: Canderel, Equal and Nutra-sweet.
When aspartame is combined with the enzyme chymotrypsin in the small 
intestine, methanol is released and breaks down into formaldehyde, a potent 
neurotoxin. The US Environmental Protection Agency considers methanol to be 
a 'cumulative poison' and recommends a safe consumption of no more than 7.8 
mg per day. If you drink a one-litre beverage containing aspartame, you 
ingest 7 times that amount - about 56 mg of methanol!
Recently, several soft drink manufacturers in the US are now offering diet 
options using Splenda in place of aspartame. And while that certainly isn't 
as healthy as giving diet soft drinks up altogether, early indications are 
that Splenda doesn't carry the same types of potential health risks as 
aspartame.

to Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
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