Bump Up Your Fiber Intake
A high-fiber diet is a proven way to avoid constipation, a common problem for people with PD.
Parkinsons can slow down the intestines and cause constipation, Dr. Gostkowski says. Fiber helps keep things moving. There are plenty of high-fiber foods out there, so choose your favorites. Women should aim for 25 grams of fiber per day, and men should get 38 grams.
So How Was He Able To Turn This Around
In november 2011 he met Wim Hof, who taught him his techniques. And Hans has been applying these wholeheartedly since then.
He improved so much that, in February 2013, he was able to drive a car again and drive up and down to Poland to do a training with Wim Hof. He did this solo 1000 km each way!
Key in this Miracle is the Wim Hof Method.Thanks Wim Hof!! Hans Spaans
Watch Hans inspiring testimonial or how a man is able to reverse Parkinsons Disease:
Awesome. Respect to you, Hans.
Optimise Your Diet Reduce Your Toxic Load
While the cause of Parkinsons is not known, environmental toxins such as pesticides and herbicides are implicated. Researchers have found levels of these chemicals to be higher in the brains of Parkinsons sufferers and incidence of Parkinsons is higher in areas with greater use of these chemicals. It makes sense to avoid any environmental toxins that you can. Also, consider your intake of dietary toxins such as alcohol and caffeine avoiding or reducing these may reduce the load on your bodys detoxification pathways.
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Eat Plenty Of Protein But Not With Levodopa Medications
If youre taking a levodopa medication, your doctor may tell you to avoid protein when taking your meds. Both animal and plant protein can interfere with the absorption of levodopa medications.
But you should still eat plenty of protein. Just be strategic with the timing. Dont take levodopa medications with meals, Dr. Gostkowski says. Its best to take it on an empty stomach either 30 minutes before your meal or an hour after eating.
If you get nauseous from the medication, eat a small amount of starchy food with it, such as crackers. Make sure whatever you eat with your medicine doesnt have protein. Its a misunderstanding that people with Parkinsons should avoid protein, Dr. Gostkowski says. You definitely need protein in your diet. Just dont eat it when youre taking your levodopa medication.
Naturalremedy For Parkinsons #7 Omega
Animal based omega-3 fatty acids are a powerful weapon inthe fight against Parkinsons disease. One of the main fatty acids, DHA, is oneof the essential building blocks for the human brain. Half of your brain andeyes are made up of fat and a large proportion of this is DHA fat.
Omega-3 fatty acids have the unique ability to cross theblood-brain barrier, something most conventional drugs cannot do. They helpincrease dopamine levels and reduce neuroinflammation in the brain, while atthe same time, stimulating neuron growth. So basically, EPA and DHA help preventbrain cell damage and keep the nervous system in tip top working order! 4
Best sources of animal based omega-3s are either fishoil, cod liver oil or krill oil. High strength krill oil is the preferred option as thiscontains a substance called Astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is a potent brain food nutrientthat has been shown to prevent neurodegeneration and inflammation of the brain.For dosages, take AT LEAST the highest recommended amount listed on the bottle the same goes with fish oil or cod liver oil. You cant overdose on thesesupplements so theres nothing to be concerned about. In fact, the more omega-3syou can get into you the better the results!
In addition to this, try and eat some cold water fattyfish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines or herring 3-4 times a week foran extra supply of DHA and EPA.
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Add Medication For A Winning Combo
Diet and exercise are important for managing PD, but dont forget about medications. Take them regularly and exactly as your doctor prescribes.
If you tend to forget your medication, set an alarm to remind you. You can also use a pillbox thats labeled with days and times of day. Take your meds on a set schedule, dont skip doses and dont double dose, says Dr. Gostkowski. When youre diligent about taking your medications and following a healthy lifestyle, youll feel your best.
Extended Data Fig 12 Reconstruction Of The Nigrostriatal Pathway By Converted Dopaminergic Neurons
a, Schematic of the experimental schedule for 6-OHDA-induced lesion and reconstruction of the nigrostriatal pathway. bf, Images of RFP+ projections extending from substantia nigra to striatum. The schematic diagram shows the dorso-ventral level of the horizontal section. Scale bar, 100 m. Magnified views show indicated brain regions . Scale bar, 25 m. g, Amplified views of RFP-positive fibres that co-stained with TH in CPu and globus pallidus. Scale bar, 20 m. These data were used to provide the quantitative information shown in Fig. . Experiments were independently repeated twice with similar results.
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Slowing The Spread Of Alpha Synuclein Pathology
There is a mantra that disease modifying treatments must be initiated early if they are to be of any use in preventing disease progression. This is because post mortem specimens suggest that> 50% of SNc dopaminergic neurons are already lost by the time that patients present with the classical motor features of the disease . Given that there are many effective symptomatic treatments to help the motor, dopaminergic deficits in PD, it can be argued that the important unmet needs in PD relate to cognitive, speech, gait and balance difficulties and autonomic failure. In this case any treatment that prevented onset/worsening of these symptoms, would be highly relevant even in patients with established motor PD, and would be addressing the major challenges that patients face in its long-term management. From another perspective, since many of these non-motor features of PD may precede the onset of motor symptoms, we may have an even earlier window to start therapy, and have an opportunity to slow or stop the development of even the first motor symptoms of PD.
Beyond this, the companies will have to look carefully at the emerging data to decide whether a strategy of enrichment might be advantageous, and/or whether to risk extending trial eligibility to patients with more established disease than those currently being recruited.
Eat Fermented Foods For Probiotics
Our lack of gut health or any digestive disorders are usually starts from having a severely imbalanced gut flora.
Many people underestimate the importance of gut health and often disregard the care of a healthy gut, and eating foods that undermine gut health.
Fermented foods are some of the best foods for replenishing your gut with beneficial bacteria to strengthen gut health and the immune system.
Some of the fermented foods you could add to your diet include kefir, kombucha tea, sauerkraut, kimchi and tempeh .
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How Patients Are Using Cycling To Slow Down Parkinson’s
Parkinsons symptoms include tremor, rigid muscles and problems with movement. While early treatment can delay the worst symptoms, people almost always get worse. About 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year and about a million Americans have Parkinsons now.
No medical therapy can cure Parkinsons and while exercise was always shown to help people feel better, it was not generally accepted as a true therapy until recently.
Now teams are trying to find out how much exercise helps and just which symptoms it affects. Doctors say theyd be thrilled just to slow the inevitable worsening of the disease and if they can freeze progression or reverse symptoms, that would be a home run.
Corcos and colleagues say the most intense exercise appears to have at least temporarily frozen symptoms in many of their volunteers.
“The earlier in the disease you intervene, the more likely it is you can prevent the progression of the disease,” Corcos said in a statement.
“We delayed worsening of symptoms for six months, he added. Whether we can prevent progression any longer than six months will require further study.”
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They worked with 128 patients with early stage Parkinsons. They randomly assigned them to either moderate exercise four days a week, intense exercise four days a week, or no additional exercise.
“This is not mild stretching. This is high intensity, Corcos said.
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Reprogramming Brain Cells To Reverse Parkinsons
New research published in Nature Biotechnology shows that for the first time it may be possible to reprogramme cells inside the brain to reverse the symptoms of Parkinson’s.
The study, which was carried out in mice, demonstrates that a virus can deliver instructions to turn cells that are not lost in Parkinson’s into the type that are potentially offering a new way to replace lost brain cells.
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Finding May Renew Interest In Parkinson’s Drug
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive degenerative brain disorder. The disease attacks the cells that make the chemical dopamine. This leads to loss of muscle movement control and disability, as well as tremors that are associated with the disease. Other symptoms include slow movement, stiff muscles, aches, and problems with balance and coordination.
There is no cure for the disease. But medications, which boost dopamine levels, can help manage symptoms.
An improvement in symptoms was seen in a small study of people with Parkinson’s disease who received an injection of the drug into the affected brain region. There is a strong association between the level of disability from the disease and the severity of dopamine loss in the brain.
But a second study was halted after the drug’s maker Amgen withdrew GDNF in part due to safety reasons.
After a 62-year-old man who had participated in the first trial of GDNF died of an unrelated heart attack three months after the treatment stopped, researchers analyzed his brain and reported their findings in the current issue of Nature Medicine.
Because GDNF had been infused into only one side of the brain, researchers say they were able to assess the impact of treatment by comparing the two sides.
They say the findings may renew interest in GDNF as a potential therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
SOURCES: Love, S. Nature Medicine, July 2005 online edition vol11: pp 703-704. Press release, University of Bristol.
What Causes Parkinsons Disease
Parkinsons comes under the dementia umbrella. Its adegenerative disease of the nervous system that causes a loss of motor skillsand intentional movement. When someone has Parkinsons, the part of the brainthat controls muscular movements and mood function doesnt receive enough ofthe crucial dopamine chemical. Without enough dopamine, bodily movements,learning abilities and mood levels are severely affected. So-called normalfunctions such as speaking, writing, swallowing, walking and sleeping become difficultto perform. These challenges, combined with a lowering of mood levels is whymany Parkinsons patients suffer with depression.
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Wake Up Dormant Dopaminergic Neurons To Reverse Parkinson’s Disease
Astrocytic GABA identified as the novel therapeutic target of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease
Institute for Basic Science
image: Reactive astrocytes in SNpc produce excessive GABA via MAO-B in animal models of PD. Aberrant tonic inhibition of dopaminergic neurons causes reduced dopamine production in neurons and motor deficits. The Parkinsonian motor deficits and reduced dopamine production can be recovered by MAO-B inhibition or optogenetic activation of SNpc neurons.view more
As many as seven to 10 million people in the world are thought to live with Parkinson’s disease . Being the second most common neurodegenerative disease, PD severely affects patients’ quality of life, not just brining movement abnormalities. Despite its prevalence and negative impact, current medical treatments for PD rely on alleviating PD symptoms with little efforts to explore ways to reverse the symptoms.
It has been firmly believed that abnormal movements of PD begin in the brain where the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter for movement control, is irreversibly impaired, i.e. in a state of neuronal death. Currently, L-DOPA, a potent PD medication is mainly prescribed to replenish dopamine in the deprived brain. However, such a treatment is symptomatic therapy, rather than a disease-modifying therapy. Long-term use of L-DOPA is well-known to cause serious side effects such as involuntary, erratic, and writhing movements.
Forget Fava Beans For Parkinsons
Fava beans contain an amino acid known as levodopa. Levodopa is an active ingredient in some Parkinsons medications. Seems like a good reason to eat a lot of fava beans, right?
Nope. Dr. Gostkowski explains that the amount in the beans is tiny compared to whats in your medication. You cant eat enough fava beans to have any effect on your symptoms, he says.
Bananas also have levodopa in them, Dr. Gostkowski says. But, like fava beans, its not possible to eat enough bananas to affect PD symptoms. Of course, if you like fava beans or bananas, enjoy! But dont go overboard or expect them to work like medication. Eat a variety of fruits, veggies, legumes and whole grains for balance.
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Individualized Brain Cell Grafts Reverse Parkinsons Symptoms In Monkeys
Grafting neurons grown from monkeys own cells into their brains relieved the debilitating movement and depression symptoms associated with Parkinsons disease, researchers at the University of WisconsinMadison reported today.
In a study , the UW team describes its success with neurons made from induced pluripotent stem cells from the monkeys own bodies. This approach avoided complications with the primates immune systems and takes an important step toward a treatment for millions of human Parkinsons patients.
This result in primates is extremely powerful, particularly for translating our discoveries to the clinic, says UWMadison neuroscientist Su-Chun Zhang, whose Waisman Center lab grew the brain cells.
Parkinsons disease damages neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a brain chemical that transmits signals between nerve cells. The disrupted signals make it progressively harder to coordinate muscles for even simple movements and cause rigidity, slowness and tremors that are the diseases hallmark symptoms. Patients especially those in earlier stages of Parkinsons are typically treated with drugs like L-DOPA to increase dopamine production.
Su-Chun Zhang
The idea is very simple, Zhang says. When you have stem cells, you can generate the right type of target cells in a consistent manner. And when they come from the individual you want to graft them into, the body recognizes and welcomes them as their own.
Several Pathways Working Together
To find out how B. subtilis is able to prevent and clear alpha-synuclein aggregates, the team used RNA sequencing analysis to compare the gene expression of animals receiving a standard diet with that of those receiving the probiotic.
This analysis revealed changes in sphingolipid metabolism. Sphingolipids are a type of fat molecule, and they are important components of the structure of our cell membranes.
Previous studies suggest that an imbalance of lipids, including ceramides and sphingolipid intermediates, may contribute to the pathology of , the authors comment in the paper.
Yet, changes in sphingolipid metabolism were not the only pathways that the researchers identified.
They also saw that B. subtilis was able to protect older animals from alpha-synuclein aggregation through both the formation of complex structures called biofilms and the production of nitric oxide. In addition, the team saw changes in the dietary restriction and the insulin-like signaling pathways.
Importantly, when the team switched animals that had first received a standard diet over to a B. subtilis diet, their motor skills improved.
The results provide an opportunity to investigate how changing the bacteria that make up our gut microbiome affects Parkinsons. The next steps are to confirm these results in mice, followed by fast-tracked clinical trials since the probiotic we tested is already commercially available.
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Extended Data Fig 2 Global Evidence For Programmed Switch Of Gene Expression From Astrocytes To Neurons In Response To Ptb Depletion
a, Clustering analysis. RNA-seq data were generated on independent isolates of astrocytes from mouse cortex or midbrain before and after conversion to neurons by depleting PTB for 2 or 4 weeks. By clustering analysis, the global gene expression profiles were compared with the public datasets for astrocytes or neurons as indicated by the colour key and the data sources on the right. The selection of these public data for comparison was based on astrocytes without further culture and on neurons directly isolated from mouse brain or differentiated from embryonic stem cells . b, c, Comparison of gene expression profiles between independent libraries prepared from mouse cortical or midbrain astrocytes before and after PTB depletion for 2 or 4 weeks. Selective astrocyte-specific and neuron-specific genes are highlighted. Results show a degree of heterogeneity between independent isolates of astrocytes, but notably, their converted neurons became more homogeneous. d, Comparison between induced gene expression upon PTB depletion in cortical versus midbrain astrocytes. Several commonly induced DA neuron-specific genes are highlighted when comparing between neurons derived from cortical versus midbrain astrocytes . Significantly induced DA neuron-associated genes are listed in Supplementary Table . Note that most genes are enriched, but not uniquely expressed, in DA neurons , as evidenced by their induction to different degrees in shPTB-treated cortical astrocytes.
Natural Treatment For Parkinsons #3 Turmeric And Otherherbs And Spices:
A recent study published in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, foundthat the extracts in turmeric, particularly curcumin and the newly discovered Ar-turmerone,can regenerate a damaged brain and reverse neurological disorders. Researchers said Ar-turmerone is a promising candidate to supportregeneration in neurologic disease. Michigan State University researcherBasir Ahmad also found that a compound in turmeric may help fight Parkinsonsdisease by disrupting the proteins responsible for the disease.
Another study published in the Pharmacognosy Magazine found that tumeric can prevent and evenreverse the toxic effects exerted on the brain from fluoride exposure. Fluorideis a nasty and dangerous heavy metal that destroys brain cells and the intricateworkings of the central nervous system. Fluoride poisoning has also beenimplicated in the development of neurological diseases such as Alzheimers,Parkinsons, ALS and multiple sclerosis. 7
Turmeric is also a very potent anti-inflammatory spice. Because Parkinsons is aninflammation type disease, turmeric will help immensely. A heaped teaspoon ofhigh quality turmeric powder taken 3 times daily in asmoothie will do the trick. Just make sure you combine it with 10-12 blackpeppercorns for enhanced absorption Turmeric is also fat soluble so youll need tocombine it with some coconut oil, red palm oil or fish/krill oil as well.
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