Hi everyone. Welcome to Living with Parky. Today's post is about another complementary intervention which I hope will help me manage my Parkinson's Disease.
Gut health and inflammation is a big area of investigation in Parkinson's research. There is lots of scientific research out there but I've included links below my video blog to some more 'digestible' information (get it?) if you're not familiar with this line of work.
I see focusing on gut-health as a long term investment in my body and brain health. I've always thought of myself as a healthy and active person with a healthy diet. But then again, if the research suggests that inflammation can make us vulnerable to chronic conditions such as Parkinson's, then perhaps I'm not as healthy as I thought. So here goes.
In my video clip, I introduce two elements I'm trying to improve gut health:
working with a naturopath to consider my lifestyle, symptoms and individual gut microbiome
improving my diet by introducing foods and recipes from the MIND Diet.
Research - Gut Health
Firstly, an article from the American Parkinson Disease Association PD and the Microbiome. It summarises some of the thinking about the link between gut and brain health. Worth a look
Next, Flavonoid-rich Diets Appear to Aid Survival With Parkinson’s suggests people who consume a diet high in flavenoids (basically foods with high levels of antioxidants) have reduced mortality than those who consume low levels.
The final article is heavy in jargon, sorry. From what I can make out, researchers found in a meta-data analysis that people living with Parkinson's may have alterations in the gut microbiome although this differences are small. Here it is:
Recipes to give a go for your gut and your brain
The MIND Diet I refer to in the clip combines elements of the Mediterranean and DASH Diet. Both diets have been shown to boost brain health and so as far as I'm concerned, taking on such a diet is a no-brainer (man, I'm on fire!!). It's big on leafy greens, berries, nuts, legumes, red wine, whole grains, fish, chicken and yes, a couple of serves of red meat a week. And even dark chocolate. Yippee :)
I've attached a couple of recipes so you can give them a whirl and see what you think.
The first recipe, Roasted Ginger Salmon topped with a pomegranate salsa is already a favourite of ours. From the Healthy Mind Cookbook by Rebecca Katz and Mat Edelson, it is delish. The only drama is waiting until pomegranates are in season... sigh.
Here it is from Rebecca Katz' website:
The second recipe is for broccoli - but not as you know it. Amaaaaaaazing. I use broccolini but one bunch is not enough for our family of four. Again, one from Rebecca Katz' website:
I look forward to your feedback. If you would like to be notified when my next blog (my test to see what my gut bacteria is like), please subscribe on my homepage.
As always, please seek your own advice when it comes to taking supplements.
Hi Mareemielnik. Thank you for sharing your experience. It sounds frustrating to find you have issues with gut health despite doing the right things in your life. Thank goodness you know this now and hopefully the work you are doing now can help. I have seen some research too about elevated iron in people with PD which is interesting; as a kid I'm pretty sure I was the opposite. It is not straightforward is it...
Hi Sonya I’ve also been working with a naturopath and a GP with a holistic approach. The results from my microbiome test revealed some major issues with my gut health - very upsetting as I’ve always been into nutrition, exercise etc. but I had noticed changes in my bowel habits over recent years. I also had blood studies done which show I have unhealthy levels of iron (even with only a little red meat in diet) and homocysteine. Apparently people with PD often have elevated iron. High homocysteine increases risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia. I feel like I’m in good hands with my naturopath.