 You may have heard the expression knowledge is power. Well, today we're going to give you more power to control your diet and lifestyle by giving you the facts. Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger. Parkinson's is one of the fastest growing neurological conditions in the world, and though there is currently no cure for the disease, there are dietary changes that can significantly improve symptoms of the disease. And we start today with the potential benefits of coffee. When James Parkinson first described the classical symptoms of the disease, he'd hardly foresee the evolution of our understanding over the next 200 years, like the role of nutrition. Increasing Parkinson's disease risk with high dietary intakes of animal fat, iron, mercury, and dairy products, whereas the intake of antioxidants in a plant-based dietary pattern may be protective. Plant-based diets are known to preserve body tissues from oxidative stress and inflammation, both hallmarks of chronic degenerative diseases like Parkinson's. On the contrary, animal-based foods, particularly rich in animal proteins and saturated fats, are correlated with the promotion of neurodegenerative diseases in addition to some of the leading killers, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Not all plants are necessarily good, though. For example, the potential neurotoxicity of graviola, a fruit known as soursop. Consumption of soursop can lower blood pressure and uric acid levels, but may also cause an atypical form of Parkinson's disease, because the fruit contains neurotoxic compounds. And indeed, population studies do show a link between the overconsumption of soursop with neurodegenerative disease. Yes, those who follow a predominantly plant-based diet may show the lowest prevalence and incidence of Parkinson's disease, but plant-based nutrition is not just about reducing the risk, but can also be used to manage the disease. In my video, Treating Parkinson's Disease with Diet, I discussed this case report, in which a diet low in animal fat and including both whole grains every day, as well as one to two cups of strawberries a day, seem to be effective in reducing symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but there are like 20,000 edible plants out there and only a limited number of them have been studied for anti-Parkinson's activity. One plant that's got a lot of attention is coffee, which makes her a protective effect against the development of Parkinson's disease and may even help slow down the progression of the disease, based on studies like this, that show the Parkinson's patients who drink coffee or caffeinated tea appear to cut their risk of dying prematurely in half, but correlation doesn't mean causage. You don't know if caffeine really works until you put it to the test. Caffeine for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, a six-week randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study, the caffeine group was started out at approximately a cup of coffee's worth of caffeine twice a day, once in the morning and once after lunch, and then increasing it to two cups worth twice a day, which would be like four cups of black tea twice a day, or six cups of green, and a significant improvement in Parkinson's symptoms within three weeks compared to placebo. A cheap, safe, simple treatment for Parkinson's, though an important limitation was the duration of the study. Caffeine has what's called a tachyfolactic property, meaning its effects tend to diminish over time with repeated use, at least when trying to combat sleepiness. So it would be really nice to see the study repeated over a longer time frame, but there was no such longer study until five years later. Randomizing Parkinson's patients to about two cups of coffee worth of caffeine twice a day, for not six weeks, but more than six months, and no benefit over placebo. Drats. Caffeine did not provide sustained symptomatic benefit after all, so caffeine may have a short-term benefit, which quickly dissipates, regardless caffeine cannot be recommended as a symptomatic therapy for Parkinsonism. In our next story we look at how low levels of neurotoxic chemicals in cheese may explain the connection between dairy product consumption and Parkinson's disease. Four things that we can do that may reduce our risk of developing Parkinson's disease is exercise, and avoiding dairy products, pesticides, and avoid getting hit in the head, which means wearing your seatbelt, bike helmet, and, if you read journal articles written by scientists with way too much time on their hands, avoid getting attacked by extraterrestrials, a leading cause of traumatic brain injury in comic books. What about avoiding pesticides and other industrial pollutants? A recent autopsy study found higher levels in the brains of Parkinson's victims of PCBs found in Monsanto's arachlor, which was banned in 1979, but still pollutes the world. And the more PCBs found in the brain, the worse the brain damage. The worst three PCBs appeared to be numbers 138, 153, and 180, the levels of all of which are significantly lower in the bodies of those eating plant-based diets. So, does a vegan diet reduce risk of Parkinson's disease? Good question. When we know that every single prospective study on dairy products or milk in Parkinson's disease tended to find increased risk, and it may be that dairy products in the United States are contaminated with neurotoxic chemicals. There's substantial evidence suggesting that exposure to pesticides may increase Parkinson's disease risk, and autopsy found higher levels of pollutants and pesticides in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients. And some of these toxins are present at low levels in dairy products. They're talking about toxins like tetrahydroisoquinoline, a Parkinsonism-related compound found predominantly in cheese, although the amounts of this neurotoxin, even in cheese, are not really high. The concern is that the chemical may accumulate in the brain over long periods of consumption. Finally today, we look at how plant-based diets in general may be used to successfully treat Parkinson's disease, in part by boosting endopa levels. Caffeine consumption, both in Asian and Western populations, appears to protect against the development of Parkinson's disease. But what if you already have it? A new study found that giving folks the equivalent of about two cups of coffee a day worth of caffeine significantly improved symptoms of the disease. Of course, there's only so much you can charge for coffee, so drug companies took caffeine and added a side group so they could patent it into new drugs, which appear to work no better than plain caffeine, which is dramatically cheaper and probably safer. Similarly, other plant foods such as berries may be protective, and plant-based diets in general may help prevent Parkinson's. Animal fat and dairy may increase risk, whereas a plant-based dietary pattern may protect against Parkinson's disease. We don't know if it's the animal fat per se, though. It could be the animal protein that's increasing risk. Maybe it's the dairy, mercury in fish, the blood-based heme iron, or less of the protective antioxidants in plant foods and plant-based diets. We didn't know until recently. There have been successful case reports like this one, in which a dietitian was struck down with Parkinson's, and she was able to clear most of her symptoms with a plant-based diet rich in strawberries, whole wheat, and brown rice, rich sources of these to phytonutrients. But there hasn't been a formal interventional trial published until now. At its root, Parkinson's is a dopamine deficiency disease because of a die-off of dopamine-generating cells in the brain. These cells make dopamine from al-dopa, derived from certain amino acids in our diet. But just like we saw with the serotonin story, the consumption of animal protein may block the transport of al-dopa into the brain, crowding it out. So at first, researchers tried what's called a protein redistribution diet. That's basically only let people eat meat for supper so that patients are hopefully sleeping by the time the negative effects kick in. But researchers didn't consider cutting out animal products altogether until it was discovered that fiber consumption naturally boosts al-dopa levels. So hey, a plant-based diet, particularly in its vegan variant, is expected to raise al-dopa bioavailability and bring some advantages in the management of Parkinson's disease through two mechanisms, a reduced protein intake and an increased fiber intake. That's why plant protein works best because that's where fiber is found. So they put people on a strictly vegan diet, keeping beans towards the end of the day, and indeed found a significant improvement in symptoms. We would love it if you could share with us your stories about reinventing your health through evidence-based nutrition. Go to nutritionfacts.org slash testimonials. We may share it on our social media to help inspire others. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, or studies mentioned here, please go to the nutritionfacts podcast landing page. There you'll find all the detailed information you need, plus links to all the sources we cite for each of these topics. For a timely text on the pathogens that cause pandemics, you can order the e-book, audiobook, or hard copy of my last book, How to Survive a Pandemic. For recipes, check out my second to last book, My How Not to Diet Cookbook. It's beautifully designed with more than 100 recipes for delicious and nutritious meals. And all the proceeds I receive from the sales of all my books goes to charity. Nutritionfacts.org is a non-profit science-based public service where you can sign up for free daily updates on the latest in nutrition research via bite-sized videos and articles. Everything on the website is free. There's no ads, no corporate sponsorship. It's strictly non-commercial. I'm not selling anything. 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