Diet Treatments For Parkinson's

What vitamins are good for people with Parkinson's?

Vitamin supplements have not yet been identified as being beneficial or detrimental in a Parkinsons disease therapy. Vitamin E were studied at high doses in excess of two thousand units a day. A study that was accomplished long ago was not found to be beneficial. It was thought it might, through its anti-oxidants effects, have some benefits in altering the course of Parkinsons disease, but it wasn't identified in that study. So as of now, we don't really know that any vitamin supplements are clearly beneficial for the treatment of Parkinsons disease. They are theoretically attracted but have not been born out to clinical examination be beneficial.

What is 'CoQ10'?

There is one supplement that's not exactly a vitamin. Its CoQ10, co-enzyme Q ten, which has been found, in a very small-scale study, to seemingly have a positive impact on the progression of Parkinsons Disease, namely, perhaps slowing the progession of Parkinsons Disease. Because the study was small, the result was not compelling enough that we feel that we need to advise all of our patients to go on CoQ10. That study has been organized again on a larger scale, in multiple sites around North America, to examine this effect. Again, this study's just in the course of getting going right now.

What role do antioxidants play in treating Parkinson's?

There is no defined role yet about antioxidant therapy in Parkinsons disease. This is still an area of research that people are interested in and we've not identified any antioxidant substances yet that clearly are beneficial in the treatment of Parkinsons disease.

What is a 'protein redistribution diet'?

Levodopa ethicacy may be influenced by diet, namely when people have a lot of protein, especially early in the day, and it may interfere with the absorption of Levodopa or getting it into the brain. If people are finding that if they eat a cheese burger and then take their Levodopa and it doesn't seem to be working, then maybe having more of the protein, more cheese burger at night time instead of lunch, not eating eggs at breakfast can enhance the effectiveness of Levodopa. But it's only Levodopa - this doesn't apply to the other medications like dopamine agonists or COMPT inhibitors or MAO inhibitors - it's just that potential interaction of protein with Levodopa. I have to add that it's not a critical issue for everyone, so it's not everyone who has to go through this dietary manipulation to enhance the effectiveness of Levodopa.

Can I drink alcohol if I have Parkinson's?

There is no contraindication to consuming alcohol, but everything in moderation, of course. The pharmacies will often say don't take it with alcohol on the pill bottle, but that's them just being cautious. There's no absolute contraindication to having a glass of wine or a cocktail when somebody has Parkinsons Disease or is taking medication for Parkinsons Disease.