I know some people who have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's and I was asked to look into some natural things that would support their body and mind. I found a few things that have good evidence for helping your body and one that I would use because it just makes good sense for those who have Parkinson's. The common sense support is just a food. The food that I would eat if I had Parkinson's is Fava beans.
Fava beans are one of the few natural sources for L-Dopa, which is an amino acid that is converted to dopamine in your brain. Since Parkinson's is a lack of Dopamine in the brain, I think that giving your body all it needs to support dopamine levels is a good idea. Fava beans have not been studied for Parkinson's, but they cannot hurt you, and the fact that they produce L-dopa will help with your ability to produce dopamine. Another added benefit is that you can grow them and they are, therefore, cheap. The amount that has been suggested to support dopamine in the brain is 16 oz of Fava beans or 2 to 6 oz of sprouted Fava beans a day. When you sprout the beans you raise the level of L-dopa in the bean so you can eat less.
One thing that I have wondered is: how do they taste? To answer this question I am growing my own this winter. Yes, this winter, Fava beans are a cold weather bean. They also seem to grow rather quickly in the winter. In the picture of the Fava beans that I have with this article, you can see each week since they have come up, three weeks and three pictures.
Two other things that have been shown to support the health in people with Parkinson's are raising glutathione and intaking high levels of fish oil for the EPA and DHA.
The first of these two can be done by Multi-Wow. Many ingredients in Multi-Wow have been shown to increase your levels of glutathione in your body. I saw one person who had Parkinson's that took Multi-Wow and by my obervations, after taking it, they were taking bigger steps and were able to stand up from a seated position a little faster. They also said that they thought Multi-Wow was helping them feel better. While the results from taking Multi-Wow are not nearly as dramatic as intravenous glutathione, it also is a lot cheaper.
The second thing you can do is to take fish oil with high levels of EPA and DHA (5g a day). You might ask, what does DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) do in the brain for people with Parkinson's? Well, it keeps your brain cells from dying under certain conditions (Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (2009, April 20) Fish Oil Protects Against Diseases Like Parkinson's) and it also, according to some experts, reduces inflamation in the brain and may increase dopamine production. Fish oil is very safe, but you should aways see your doctor before making major supplement changes, especially if you are on medication or you are going to take more than 3g a day. If you are on any blood thinning drug, I would see my doctor before I took any fish oil, as fish oil does thin the blood.
I hope that these tips are helpful in supporting the health of people with Parkinson's. Growing your own fava beans can be fun and inexpensive. I will keep you updated on how they taste and what foods I add them to.
I hope these tips can help you or someone you love live a full and rich life, and that you enjoy eating the fava beans too!
Fava beans are one of the few natural sources for L-Dopa, which is an amino acid that is converted to dopamine in your brain. Since Parkinson's is a lack of Dopamine in the brain, I think that giving your body all it needs to support dopamine levels is a good idea. Fava beans have not been studied for Parkinson's, but they cannot hurt you, and the fact that they produce L-dopa will help with your ability to produce dopamine. Another added benefit is that you can grow them and they are, therefore, cheap. The amount that has been suggested to support dopamine in the brain is 16 oz of Fava beans or 2 to 6 oz of sprouted Fava beans a day. When you sprout the beans you raise the level of L-dopa in the bean so you can eat less.
One thing that I have wondered is: how do they taste? To answer this question I am growing my own this winter. Yes, this winter, Fava beans are a cold weather bean. They also seem to grow rather quickly in the winter. In the picture of the Fava beans that I have with this article, you can see each week since they have come up, three weeks and three pictures.
Two other things that have been shown to support the health in people with Parkinson's are raising glutathione and intaking high levels of fish oil for the EPA and DHA.
The first of these two can be done by Multi-Wow. Many ingredients in Multi-Wow have been shown to increase your levels of glutathione in your body. I saw one person who had Parkinson's that took Multi-Wow and by my obervations, after taking it, they were taking bigger steps and were able to stand up from a seated position a little faster. They also said that they thought Multi-Wow was helping them feel better. While the results from taking Multi-Wow are not nearly as dramatic as intravenous glutathione, it also is a lot cheaper.
The second thing you can do is to take fish oil with high levels of EPA and DHA (5g a day). You might ask, what does DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) do in the brain for people with Parkinson's? Well, it keeps your brain cells from dying under certain conditions (Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (2009, April 20) Fish Oil Protects Against Diseases Like Parkinson's) and it also, according to some experts, reduces inflamation in the brain and may increase dopamine production. Fish oil is very safe, but you should aways see your doctor before making major supplement changes, especially if you are on medication or you are going to take more than 3g a day. If you are on any blood thinning drug, I would see my doctor before I took any fish oil, as fish oil does thin the blood.
I hope that these tips are helpful in supporting the health of people with Parkinson's. Growing your own fava beans can be fun and inexpensive. I will keep you updated on how they taste and what foods I add them to.
I hope these tips can help you or someone you love live a full and rich life, and that you enjoy eating the fava beans too!
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