There is no diet or miracle food that will cure Parkinson's however we do know that dietary patterns, dietary quality and certain nutrients can slow the onset and progression of Parkinson’s. We also know that eating an inadequate diet will create nutritional deficiencies that may cause additional health problems or add to the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Plus, here at Parkinsons.Me we are always thinking about the family, we want the whole family to be eating well!
Throughout 2018 Parkinsons.Me will be providing ideas, recipes and inspiration to support you in healthy eating plus updating you on any new research findings that link diet and Parkinson’s. We want to support you in making meals count. But it is you that needs to make the commitment to do so. Here is a snippet from research published this month in the Journal of Neurology to encourage you to think about what you eat.
‘Parkinson disease is a multifactorial disease, where a genetic predisposition combines with putative environmental risk factors. Mounting evidence suggests that the initial PD pathological manifestations may be located in the gut to subsequently affect brain areas. Moreover, several lines of research demonstrated that there are bidirectional connections between the central nervous system and the gut, the "gut-brain axis" that influences both brain and gastrointestinal function. This opens a potential therapeutic window suggesting that specific dietary strategies may interact with the disease process and influence the risk of PD or modify its course. Dietary components can also theoretically modulate the chronic activation of the inflammatory response that is associated with aging, the strongest risk factor for PD, that has been suggested to hasten the underlying neurodegenerative process in PD … the evidence favouring a connection between gut abnormalities, inflammation, and neurodegeneration in PD have become too compelling to be ignored ’ Erro et al, 2018 (Nutritional habits, risk and progression of Parkinson disease)
This month
⭐ Commit to making meals count in 2018
Think - do you believe food makes a difference to wellbeing? Do you want to make a difference to your wellbeing? Why? Then make a poster to put up somewhere in your kitchen either reminding you to make meals count or even better why you are going to make meals counts.
⭐ Create a plan
Know what you are going to eat and when. Pre-planned eating tends to be healthier plus if you know in advance what prep needs to be done it can be done during your better times of the day (or delegated!)
⭐ Get organised
Shopping becomes easier (and there is often less waste) if you know in advance what you are going to be eating through the week.
⭐ Think about batch cooking.
When cooking make extra for the freezer. This will save time and effort in future weeks.
⭐ Big up the veg.
There will be more on this in future blogs!
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helen@helenmoneynutrition.com