1. NUTRITION & PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Laurie K Mischley, ND
Bastyr University
University of Washington
Seattle Integrative Medicine

2. NOT A DIET! Not a trend, fad, or other temporary alteration GOALS:
Become Informed
Understand consequences of your actions
Make wiser decisions tomorrow than you made yesterday

3. WHAT IS NUTRITION? Latin: to nourish
We think of ourselves as self-contained
separate from our environment
Me I Environment

4. “NO MAN IS AN ISLAND, ENTIRE OF ITSELF;” JOHN DONNE, ENGLISH POETMe
Environment
Nutrition is the study of the inter-dependence between health and the environment.

5. NUTRIENTS
Are the things provided by the environment, that encourage, support, and sustain function.
i.e. gas, oil in a car.
Environment:
Sunlight provides vitamin D
Gut bugs provide immunomodulation
Food provides vitamins, minerals

6. NUTRIENTS Macro: Micro: Accessory:
Fat, Protein, Carbohydrate, (Alcohol)
Micro:
Vitamins
B-vits, Vit C, Vit A, Vit D, etc.
Minerals
Ca, Mg, K, I, Li, Na, Mn, …. (not all minerals are nutrients)
Accessory:
Co-Q10, carnitine, cholesterol, …
Which of these do we need? By definition, anything that we cannot synthesize in sufficient amounts to meet our needs
There are Independent Organizations and government declarations about need. (huge consequences for making it on the list.)
ANTIOXIDANTS… are a function, not a molecule

7. THAT WHICH PREVENTS… Prospective, Observational Studies
(don’t tell about treating disease)
THAT WHICH PREVENTS…

8. PROTECTIVE AGAINST PD (THE PRUDENT DIET)
High intakes of:
Fruit
Vegetables
Legumes (beans)
Whole grains (rice, quinoa)
Nuts
Fish
Poultry
Low intake of:
Saturated fat (cream, red meat, pork)
Moderate intake of:
Alcohol
Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:
OBJECTIVE: We examined associations between dietary patterns and risk of PD in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study ( ) and the Nurses' Health Study ( ).
DESIGN: We included men and women free of PD at baseline and used principal components analysis to identify major dietary patterns and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and the alternate Mediterranean Diet Score (aMed) to assess diet quality. Relative risks (RRs) were computed by using Cox proportional hazards models within each cohort and were pooled by using a random-effects model.

9. WHAT FOODS WEREN’T PROTECTIVE?
PRUDENT DIET
WESTERN DIET
High intakes of:
Fruit, Vegetables
Legumes/ Nuts
Whole grains
Fish
Poultry
Moderate alcohol
Limited saturated fat
High intakes of:
Red meat
Processed meat
Refined grains
French fries
Desserts & sweets
High fat dairy products

10. DAIRY
Nurses’ Health Study (121000) & Health Professional Follow-up Study (51000)
1.8x risk
Honolulu Heart Program (7500 men)
2.3x risk
American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort (57000 men, women)
Up to 1.8x risk

11. WHAT CONSTITUTES DAIRY?
Milk, butter, cheese, cream, half & half, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, frozen yogurt, whey protein
Why? WHO tracks pesticides via butter, hormones in breastmilk, common food allergen- inflammation?, neurotoxin in dair?
PREVENTION FOR YOUR CHILDREN??
Individuals who consume 3-6 servings of dairy per day have 60-80% greater risk of developing PD than those who rarely or never consume it.

12. RETROSPECTIVE STUDIES

13. TEA (GREEN & BLACK)
Consumption of 3+ cups/ day of tea delayed motor symptom onset by 7.7 years.
Kandinov B, et al. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2009;15(1):41-6

14. But what if I already have the disease.?
INTERVENTION STUDIES

15. IF YOUR BELLY IS BIGGER THAN YOUR HIPS… THIS ONE’S FOR YOU.
Calorie Restriction
American’s tend to:
Eat too much
Eat for reasons other than to nourish
CR is typically defined as 10-25% fewer calories than the average Western diet.

16. CR CLINICAL TRIALS Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2004;101:18171-76
Rhesus monkeys (Maswood N, et al) Natl Inst Aging
30% CR x 6 mo prior to MPTP
Controls
Both groups showed symptoms after MPTP
At 6 months:
Significantly fewer symptoms in the CR group
Significantly increased concentrations of GDNF
Increased survival of DA neurons (not stat sig)
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2004;101:
Doesn’t provide insight into whether CR may help those who already have the disease.
DOES provide preventative strategy for those at increased risk.

18. GOAL- CONCENTRATE NUTRIENTS
Macro == calories
Fat, Protein, Carbohydrate, (Alcohol)
Micro:
Vitamins
B-vits, Vit C, Vit A, Vit D, etc.
Minerals:
Ca, Mg, K, I, Li, Na, Mn, etc.
Accessory:
Co-Q10, carnitine, cholesterol, etc.
Which of these do we need? By definition, anything that we cannot synthesize in sufficient amounts to meet our needs
There are Independent Organizations and government declarations about need. (huge consequences for making it on the list.)

19. Bread, pasta, pastries, fried foods, fats LESS:
Veggies, Beans, Fish, Poultry, Fruit, Herbs & Spices
MORE:

20. NUTRIENT DENSE FOODS: Nutrient- Dense Foods (usually bright colors)
Kale, spinach, chard
Carrots, beets,
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Berries, cherries
Salmon, sardines, herring
Eggs
NOT nutrient-dense
Donuts
Potato chips
French fries
Bread
Pasta
Soda
Candy, sweets
Fast food
Ice cream
This protects the brain!!!

21. INCREASE DIETARY ANTIOXIDANTS (ORAC)
Pinto beans
Red kidney
Small red
Blueberry
Cranberry
Artichoke hearts
Walnuts
Hazelnuts
Whole grain bread
Popcorn
Ketchup

22. DHA (FISH OIL) Anti-inflammatory, in general Reduces dyskinesias
Ann Neurol 2006;59:282–288

24. A FEW WORDS ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS:
Purity
Potency
Access
Cost (vs. Prescriptions)
Insurance coverage
Benefit vs. Risk

25. THANKS!
WA APDA
Kadlec Neurological Resource Center
Teva