Nutrition, Diet, and Parkinson’s (Part 2)

[@splashesin8]

A very nice easy to do overview! Thank you.

[@kundansaran8962]

I think diet also depends on ones condition, ones body, also ones stage of life. A pregnant woman may need a different diet than at other stages of life.
A child may need to eat differently than adult or old person.
We can't impose one diet on all. Focus should be on whole foods, more water, exercise.
Research on diet helping specific conditions on larger population is always going to be of help. But again different diets also help same condition.
More unbiased research will be great that focusses on real foods instead of supplements replacing foods

[@MrNcgy]

Thank you for this information, my Mom has PD; I'm constantly trying to improve her symptoms thru diet and other practices. Why do you think there's such a divide among professionals over grain? From what I've learned-- from several very trustworthy sources-- grains, whether whole or refined, should never be consumed by humans. That our bodies were never meant to digest grains and that eating them has led to some of the most severe medical problems today.
If that's true, why wouldn't all professionals know it?

[@davisphinneyfdn]

Hi David - Most MDs are not experts in nutrition. There's also no one way to eat. We are all different and how we metabolize, process, and digest food varies greatly. For some people, grains are fine and they digest them well. Some have cured chronic illness by being a vegan and eating many grains. Some are on strict no grain diets, and that works for them. I think it's great that you are trying to help your mom out. It's so important to pay attention to how your body reacts to certain foods. Thank you for watching.

[@michaelrowe9359]

I think to be lucky enough to have a fridge and pantry with whatever you want then just eat whatever your body tells you what you want.

[@resqaudo]

Primum non nocere is one of the cardinal rules of medicine, but the POV of a healthy individual is far different than the person who struggles. Yes, keto is tough for many reasons and in certain circumstance it could be even detriment for your health, but there is already enough evidence to claim that it is a potentially powerful tool. Therefore, I think not to mentioned this is an oversight worth pointing out.
Here are some publications supporting my claim:
- Choi, A., Hallett, M., & Ehrlich, D. (2021). Nutritional ketosis in parkinson’s disease-a review of remaining questions and insights. Neurotherapeutics, 18(3), 1637-1649.
- Grochowska, K., & Przeliorz, A. (2022). The effect of the ketogenic diet on the therapy of neurodegenerative diseases and its impact on improving cognitive functions. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra, 12(2), 100-106.
- Gough, S. M., Casella, A., Ortega, K. J., & Hackam, A. S. (2021). Neuroprotection by the ketogenic diet: evidence and controversies. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8, 782657.

[@davisphinneyfdn]

Keto can work. So can lots of other "diets", depending in the goals. There is no one diet that is the silver bullet for people with Parkinson's; however, we do know that there are general principles that lead to better health in nearly everyone. No/low sugar, no ultra-processed foods, etc. Other than that, nutrition is a lot about trial and error, testing what works for the individual, seeing how symptoms respond, seeing how sleep and cognition are impacted, seeing how digestion is impacted, seeing how joints fare, monitoring pain, etc. Our hope is that people will follow general rules for eating well, hydrating, and moving and then determining what path works for them based on their taste preferences, moral principles, and overall feelings of wellbeing.