The Cause Of Parkinsons Disease
Due to the complexity of Parkinsons disease, the cause has yet to be elucidated. However, we do know that it results from a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors that affect numerous cell processes.
In general, most of the issues that are experienced by people with Parkinsons disease seem to be caused by nerve cell damage and cell death as a result of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage. More specifically, the mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage cause the deterioration of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra, a part of the brain that plays a vital role in reward-seeking behavior and movement.
As the dopamine-producing cells continue to get damaged, the person will experience many of the common symptoms of Parkinsons disease, like:
- tremors
- depression
- pain
The disease is usually diagnosed once the first motor symptoms are noticed . As the disease advances , the non-motor symptoms become more troublesome than the motor symptoms as the patients cognitive function and will to live deteriorate.
However, not every patient follows the same course after they are diagnosed. There is a great variability between patients in the progression of the disease. The one consistency between patients is that the current drugs available to treat Parkinsons disease lose their effectiveness over time and can cause undesirable side effects.
Dietary Strategies For Fending Off Parkinsons
Youve probably heard that fasting can cleanse your body and improve your health. But did you know that it might help people manage the symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimers and Parkinsons?
Fasting helps turn fat into ketone bodies encouraging a healthy transformation in the structure of synapses that are critical for learning and memory, as well as overall brain health.
Mattson suggests two ways to try out a calorie-restricted diet. First, theres the 5:2 diet. On two nonconsecutive days each week you consume a total of 500 calories each day. On the other five days, just stick with a normal diet. This is usually around 2,000 calories for women or 2,500 for men.
The second option is to experiment with a time-restricted diet, where you condense eating into a single eight-hour period every day. This gives your body the remaining 16 hours to begin burning fat and creating ketones.
Dr. Mattson recommends beginning slowly. Start with moderate fasting one day per week. Once your body gets used to it, add a second day. Symptoms such as headaches, lightheadedness, and grouchiness are common in the beginning but typically pass.
Effects Of Nutritional Ketosis On Parkinsons Disease Evidence And Theories
One of the key correlates of both aging and insulin resistance is the reduced cerebral metabolic rate of glucose as defined by positron emission tomography fluorodeoxyglucose tracer . Cerebral metabolic rate can be gauged indirectly via functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen level-dependent signal. One measure, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations , is correlated with cerebral blood flow and studied as a possible index of regional network stability over time. As described by reviews on fasting NK , there are benefits associated with fasting in rodent models of learning and memory associated with PI3K via cyclic AMP response element binding protein and brain-derived neurotrophic factor pathways activated in this state as an evolutionary adaptation for homeostasis and survival. Such pathways provide a mechanistic theory for learning and memory involving brain network stabilization, which may be a target for NK therapy. Evidence for a similar benefit was found via insulin administration, and similarly by fasting, ketogenic diet, and exogenous ketone ester drink, as described below.
Fig. 1
Press and pulse model for neurometabolic degenerative disease. Hypothetical intervention begins at week 4 in the home with ketone meter, BP cuff and weekly lab testing, showing improved metabolic syndrome parameters. Instructions to fast and/or exercise produces episodically elevated ketosis
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Foods That Are Hard To Chew
Many people with Parkinsons have difficulty with chewing and swallowing foods. A person needs medical help if this is the case. A speech and language therapist may be able to help a person overcome this issue.
However, if a person is finding certain foods hard to chew and swallow, they may wish to avoid these foods.
Such foods include:
- dry, crumbly foods
- tough or chewy meats
If a person does wish to eat chewy meats, they could try using gravy or sauce to soften them and make eating easier.
They could also try chopping meat into smaller pieces or incorporating meat into casseroles, which can make it more tender.
Having a drink with a meal can also make chewing and swallowing easier.
Can The Keto Diet Help With Certain Brain Conditions
Although it has recently resurfaced as a trendy approach to weight loss, the ketogenic diet was actually developed to treat epilepsy almost 100 years ago, and it is still routinely prescribed to those with epilepsy to reduce seizure frequency, often working better than medication. In fact, one study with children indicated a nearly complete resolution in seizures for half of the participantseffects that epilepsy medications havent been able to come close to replicating.
Scientists still dont fully understand the diets exact mechanisms responsible for reducing seizures, but it appears that ketosis triggers a metabolic shift in fuel sources to influence neurotransmitter activity and improve or protect neuron functioning. Since most forms of brain disease and deterioration stem from deteriorating neuron functioning, the suggestion that the keto diet could have a positive effect on brain health seems relatively plausible.
Until 10 to 15 years ago, most research looking at the ketogenic diets effect on the brain was from an epilepsy perspective, so the research to-date on the diets effect on other brain disorders is still small . However, the results have been promising enough to trigger additional studies, particularly in regards to Alzheimers and Parkinsons Diseases. Heres what research suggests about the keto diets potential.
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Unplanned Weight Loss Or Weight Gain
The medications that people with Parkinsons disease usually take can cause the side effects of either loss of appetite or an increase in hunger . This can then lead to unintentional weight gain or weight loss both of which can cause issues to health.
As well as looking at the specific macronutrient distribution of the ketogenic diet, one must also be mindful of the calorie content.
Furthermore, as ketone bodies increase, they can elicit a natural appetite suppressing effect so further care must be taken to ensure adequate calories are consumed.
Feel free to use our keto calculator to find out how much you need to eat to maintain, lose, or gain weight.
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The Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet
Fat Loss
Many reports monitor that individuals on an increased fat, paid down carbohydrate diet burn up off down down fat at a faster charge than individuals whove an increased carbohydrate, zero fat diet. That is mainly since minimize insulin degrees owing to the paid carbohydrate diet , help to remove surplus water from the body. All through ketosis, you are belief lowered degrees of starvation, which might be very useful in managing supplement consumption, providing overall fat loss. It has been seen that paid down carbohydrate diet applications are often effective in reducing visceral fat, mainly used in the abdominal cavity.
Reasonable Effectiveness
The ketones produced from the paid carbohydrate diet are an definitely more effective supply of power than glucose. Reports have suggested they can improve cognitive impairment and really assistance with problems such as for instance Alzheimers and Parkinsons. The high-fat diet aids to greatly help the sum total number of essential omega 3s and omega 6s which are essential for great head function. Furthermore, ketosis may increase mitochondria growth and adenosine triphosphate within the brains storage cells, ergo increasing intellectual effectiveness and clarity.
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Cause For Parkinsons Disease
The primary cause of the disease is attributed to genetic disorders and/or environmental triggers such as infections, impact of insecticides, psychological stress, etc.
These conditions are known to impact the mitochondrial functions of the body due to excess oxidative stress. Usually, the body has agencies to counter the impact of oxidative stress. However, under severe stress, as observed in PD, the agencies cease to operate. This allows the production of free radicals that damage the cells that produce dopamine in the brain.
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Foods High In Saturated Fat
The role that foods high in saturated fats play in Parkinsons progression is still under investigation and is often conflicting. We might eventually discover that there are certain types of saturated fats that actually help people with Parkinsons.
Some limited research does show that ketogenic, low-protein diets were beneficial for some with Parkinsons. Other research finds high saturated fat intake worsened risk.
But in general, foods that have been fried or heavily processed alter your metabolism, increase blood pressure, and impact your cholesterol. None of those things are good for your body, especially if youre trying to treat Parkinsons.
The Results: Is Keto More Effective For Parkinsons Disease Treatment
As a result of the 8-week dietary protocols, both diets were found to be safe, and both groups experienced significant improvements in motor and nonmotor symptoms. This is great news for any patient who is struggling with Parkinsons disease.
The most promising results, however, are found when we examine the statistical variations between each group.
The most striking difference was that the keto diet group showed substantially better improvements in the nonmotor symptoms of Parkinsons disease . Every single patient who completed the 8-week keto diet protocol experienced equally significant benefits.
More specifically, the symptoms that improved most after keto dieting were urinary problems, pain and other unpleasant sensations, fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and cognitive impairment. These findings are particularly profound because nonmotor symptoms ultimately represent the most disabling aspect of Parkinsons disease.
Furthermore, these specific symptoms are among those least responsive to ldopa . Altogether, this indicates the combining keto with drug therapy can help treat Parkinsons disease and its symptoms from multiple angles.
Another important finding from this study is that the keto diet provoked an intermittent exacerbation of the Parkinsons disease tremor and/or rigidity in some patients, which resulted in 2 subjects dropping out of the study after week 1. This adverse effect, however, was improved or resolved in many patients in weeks 5 to 8.
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Can A High Fat Diet Be Healthy
According to David Diamond PhD, Saturated fat does not clog the arteries: Coronary heart disease is a chronic condition, the risk of which can be effectively reduced from healthy lifestyle interventions. We have known for 150 years that a high carbohydrate diet contributes to fat in the blood and contributes to obesity. He goes on to say, the poor science that was used to support the idea that increased fat intake increases cholesterol and damages arteries was authored by Ancel Keys who had no background in nutrition, but did have a BA in Economics and a PhD in Fish Physiology. Keys theory that fat in diet causes increased risk for high cholesterol and heart attack was based on extremely flawed science and became dogma without ever being rigorously assessed. A generation of citizens has grown up since the Diet/Heart Hypothesis was launched as official dogma. They have been led by the greatest scientific deception of our times: the notion that consumption of animal fat causes heart disease. George Mann MD, Nutrition Today, 1985. The belief that atherosclerosis is due to high cholesterol has been perpetuated by powerful forces using tactics to preserve the profits and reputations of those who promote them. Paul Rosch M.D, Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal, 2008. The diet heart hypothesis is sustained by social, political and financial institutions which have little to do with science and established success in public health. Uffe Ravnskov MD PhD, 2008.
The Takeaway Should You Use Ketone Boosting Supplements Or Ketogenic Diet For Parkinsons Disease
The current evidence suggests that the ketogenic diet will provide the best results for general health and Parkinsons disease symptom relief. If a strict ketogenic diet is too much for the Parkinsons patient, then try increasing carbohydrates little by little to help them find a keto carb limit that allows them to produce ketones while making it feasible for them to stick to the diet for the long term.
However, just because the diet is more effective doesnt mean you should ignore ketone boosting supplements like MCTs and coconut oil. Adding ketone boosting supplements to your daily routine will only boost your results, so feel free to include them in your ketogenic diet.
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Treating Parkinsons Disease With Ketogenic Diet
Treating Parkinsons Disease with Ketogenic Diet: A Deep-dive Analysis
Parkinsons disease is a progressive neuro-degenerative disorder that affects neurons that produce dopamine in the substantia nigra portion of the brain. The symptoms for PD usually takes years to develop.
The reduced production of dopamine leads to symptoms such as tremors, difficulty in movement, depression, confusion, and pain. It considerably reduces the quality of life of the patient.
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What Is The Keto Diet
The keto diet is a very high-fat, very low-carbohydrate, moderate protein diet that induces nutritional ketosis. Nutritional ketosis occurs when your body starts burning fat instead of carbohydrate for energy. Burning fat for energy produces ketones. Ketones are water-soluble compounds that can cross the blood-brain barrier to provide an alternative source of energy to the brain. Most people will need to eat less than 50 grams of carbohydrate per day to reach ketosis.
Researchers suggest the keto diet may help with diminished mitochondrial energy metabolism. In Parkinsons the potential support for the keto diet comes from a few human studies.
Food Aversions To Popular Keto Foods
Some individuals with Parkinsons Disease have also reported that they have developed specific food aversions to proteins such as meats, dairy, and eggs. This could make the selection of foods a little bit trickier. Sometimes a change in the way that the protein is cooked has been shown to help with this. However, if changing how the food is prepared doesnt work, you can find other keto-friendly suggestions in our guide to the vegan ketogenic diet.
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How Can The Keto Diet Effect Parkinsons Disease
DavidPerlmutterMD On YouTube explains how the ketogenic can effect Parkinsons disease and shows evidence from various studies how the ketogenic diet can improve for patients with Parkinsons disease.
As stated in the video, Parkinsons disease has no treatment, but there are growing studies on how the keto diet can improve symptoms and functionality for patients.
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Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease in the Western world.
It is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity, and theres evidence that NAFLD also improves on a very low-carb, ketogenic diet .
In a small study, 14 obese men with metabolic syndrome and NAFLD who followed a ketogenic diet for 12 weeks had significant decreases in weight, blood pressure and liver enzymes .
Whats more, an impressive 93% of the men had a reduction in liver fat, and 21% achieved complete resolution of NAFLD.
Bottom Line:
Ketogenic diets may be very effective at reducing liver fat and other health markers in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Types Of Ketogenic Diets
There are a variety of diets that will allow you to get into ketosis. The major differentiating factor between them all is the amount of calories that come from protein, carbs and fat, which are what we call macronutrients, or nutrients in our food that have a caloric value. The three macronutrients differ in many ways, namely, their caloric values, as well as how the body uses them. Fat is the most calorically dense macronutrient, having 9 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for both carbs and protein. In a homeostatic state, the body utilizes fat and carbs for energy production, while it uses protein to rebuild the cells of our body. While this is generally the case, an overconsumption of protein can lead the body to break down the excess protein into glucose
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