Tasting while tea drinking (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Anyone who consults with me knows that I always suggest taking herbs in a way that allows you to taste them. That means that I usually use teas, tinctures, syrups, herbal jams like chayawanprash or turmeric honey, pickled herbs, overnight infusions, herbal decoctions or powdered herbal extracts that are added to water. The only time I really approve of using capsules is when giving the severely bitter anti-parasite herbs (usually a long term proposition and the bitterness is for the parasite) or when a person is so debilitated that they will miss dosages unless they have pills to tide them over until they can brew up their herbs. In that case I may give herbs in two or more forms.
Why would you want to taste your herbs?
Taste is not just an aesthetic sense. It provides the body with information that the herbs are coming and to get ready to use them. It triggers secretions, hormones and digestive processes. All things being equal, a dose of herbs that are tasted will be assimilated faster and put to work earlier and may be as effective at lower doses which can reduce potential side effects.
Taste can be protective. Any woman who has been pregnant knows that taste and smell can direct you away from foods that can potentially upset the baby. I will only give herbs in a form she can taste because revulsion means she should not take that herb. Similarly taste can regulate dosage. I like to nibble on aromatic but potentially toxic fresh sassafras leaves but at a certain point my body suddenly says, “Stop!”
The entire digestive tract has taste buds, as do the lungs. Yes, taste buds. Potentially you could taste your herbs in your small intestine when the gel caps break down, but that would mean signals to the stomach, liver and gallbladder would be missed. The bitter taste, for instance, triggers the secretion of HCl in the stomach and bile through the liver and gallbladder. Bile triggers peristalsis in the gut and potentially reduces depression since most neurotransmitters like serotonin are made in the gut. The sequence is set up for a reason and we shouldn’t short circuit it.
There are lymph glands in the tongue and throat. That means if you take your echinacea tincture it gets into your lymphatic system immediately instead of being digested and going through circulation. Faster, and probably needed in lower doses than with capsules.
Capsules are usually made from extracts which leave minerals behind. They tend to be in tiny dosages, say 500mg of 5:1 extract instead of 9 grams per average herb as you would typically find in a Chinese formula.
Twenty five capsules of herbs. But do you know what is in them or if it is fresh? photo: Wikipedia commons
Capsules also can hide what is inside since at most you see a powder behind the gel cap. I can tell plantain from foxglove when I see it in leaf form, but I wouldn’t be able to tell the powders apart. I also can’t tell what concentration is in a capsule and Consumerlab frequently finds that herbal capsules contain less material than claimed.
A recent study using a barcoded analysis found that one third of encapsulated herbs tested contained plant material not indicated on the label and 30/44 contained some measure of substitution. Now some of that probably includes rice flour used as an anti-clumping agent or alfalfa used as a filler, but there was a significant problem with adulteration. One reason could be that in Chinese medicine, a single herb name may refer to several functionally similar species which might be considered adulterants unless properly identified by species. But there is also ignorance and fraud in the market. ( I would also note that the analysis technique may not recognize processed herbs so could overstate the problem.)
When plant material is powdered, more surface area is exposed to the air so it can oxidize and go bad sooner. This even occurs within capsules. If I were to smell or taste the herb I would know if it were rancid or inert, but inside the capsule, who knows? (This also applies to fish oil or cod liver oil.)
Teas, infusions and decoctions also have an advantage of being given in a material dose which can include minerals along with other constituents. They are more nourishing, as are herbal jams, syrups and honeys.
Herbs are outstandingly safe and rarely cause any deaths, unlike pharmaceuticals, so there is little reason to be afraid. See my article on the barcode study here which elaborates on the safety issue. But you want your money’s worth and you don’t want to be undertreated when you are ill. So the best way to take herbs is in a way that you can see, taste and smell.
And taking time to brew and drink your teas, decoctions and infusions means you are deliberately taking time to care for yourself!
The New York Times had an article this week, Herbal Supplements Are Often Not What They Seem, that suggested that herbal capsules may not contain what they say, often containing different species in the family or fillers. The study cited is found here.
The study has major problems and the American Botanical Association has called upon the BMC medicine journal to retract the paper:
In our view, and in the opinion of expert reviewers of this critique, and with all due respect to the authors and BMC Medicine, the journal should retract this paper, and require that the authors address various errors, ambiguities, and areas of confusion by appropriately rewriting, correcting, and resubmiting it to the journal. The editors of the journal should then submit the corrected revision to an appropriate peer-review process that employs numerous expert reviewers (not just the two who presumably reviewed the initial paper) who are knowledgeable not only in the fields of DNA testing, but also in botanical analytics and related disciplines. Only then, if the paper passes such appropriately expanded peer review, should the paper be republished. Until then, despite the good intentions of its authors, this paper creates confusion, promotes false conclusions, and, unfortunately, may constitute a disservice to scientific researchers and other responsible members of the botanical products community.
Herbalism (Photo credit: Nomadic Lass)
The DNA barcode study looked at extracts as if they were herbs. Herbal extracts do not contain complete DNA from the plants, but instead concentrate constituents from the plants. You need fewer capsules of extract than of powdered herb which is why most capsules contain extracts or extracts spray dried onto carriers. The extracts usually require a solid base which can range from the herbal marc, to rice to alfalfa, or they will clump and not break down well in the body. But in the study the extracts were seen as missing herbs and the excipients and fillers were seen as adulterants.
While it was not possible to tell the difference between slight contamination- a few dandelion leaves in a hectare of herbs or wholesale substitution of amaryllis family for cinnamon, we know there is some adulteration in the herbs supply, just not most of it as the study implies. In an era where most herbal products are subject to intense Good Manufacturing Practice (GMO) and third party verification there is less adulteration than one might think.
Still, I almost never suggest using encapsulated herbs, for reasons of identification and freshness, as well as because taste is an important signal to the body that the herbs are coming and to start secreting digestive juices to use them. Besides, herbs you taste can get into the lymphatic system in your tongue and throat, instead of waiting in your stomach for the gel cap to dissolve. But I had several reactions to the article:
We have adulterated olive oil, e-coli in meat, melamine in pet food, banned pesticides in our fruit, counterfeit or badly studied pharmaceuticals and bottled tap water sold as “fresh from the spring”. In all cases, including herbs, the regulations are strong but the FDA is pitiful at enforcing them. Frankly I prefer that they focus on hamburger and chicken since it causes more health problems. Misidentified herbs, which I abhor, have not killed anyone. But we have nowhere enough inspections for an internationally sourced food and medicine supply.
The herbs you purchase from your acupuncturist, herbalist or naturopath are not likely to be a problem. I prefer to use fresh herbs which I was trained to inspect, purchased directly from growers I have met in the US or firms which use liquid chromatography and a variety of other means to test for species, heavy metal contamination or other problems. I use five exceptional tincture companies or make tinctures myself. Serious herbalists, many of whom I know started companies to help heal people. The granules I use are from Taiwanese firms with pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing, certified GMP (good manufacturing practice compliant) and have third party inspection certificates. When I do use teapills or capsules I purchase from firms that I know to be careful, from a Chinese medicine pharmacy that inspects sources or from high quality US firms.
Be careful where you get your herbs if you buy them yourself. I don’t purchase herbs from my local CVS or even GMC. We have a high quality independent health store where the proprietor is careful to select brands with good quality standards. You can grow your own herbs for teas or tinctures. There are quality mail-order herbs. Ask questions. Join Consumerlab and purchase the supplements that have passed their tests for species, potency and heavy metals. Ask for GMC compliance and third party verification.
It appears that the test in the article was to promote a new DNA bar code scanning technology to be a standard, although it can identify herbs, but not when they are processed or in formulas and which can neither account for potency or heavy metal contamination. (See the Consumerlab founder’s letter at the bottom of the NY Times article.) While this does not excuse the mislabeled herbs, the actual percentage is likely under the amount identified in their study.
Herbal supplements (Photo credit: Ano Lobb. @healthyrx)
Some species are similar to others and have similar properties, others not. In Chinese medicine a pharmaceutical name like niu xi may refer to several functionally similar species although they really ought to be identified. by Latin binomial species name. The black cohosh (Actea racemosa) cited in another study had Actea asiatica substituted, but that plant is used in Chinese medicine and really is not a serious risk for toxicity at normal doses. It is used differently though. Echinacea species usually have similar properties.
Most capsules are made with herbal extracts where constituents from plants are extracted but the DNA is not present. This would show up with the barcoding as missing the herb when in fact it is the basis of the extract.
Keep it in perspective. Hundreds of thousands of people each year die from properly-identified pharmaceuticals while you need to go back several years to find any deaths from herbs, properly identified or not.
Addenda: The American Botanical Council has called for a recall of the study because of its serious failures. Here are a few extracts from its critique:
” The approach taken by the authors was to create a number of homemade definitions and then evaluate materials against those definitions using DNA fingerprinting. …There are internationally recognized definitions for identity, authenticity, contamination, and substitution. Invention of new definitions for these terms by the authors in order to demonstrate the novelty of their approach and their technical virtuosity is self-referential and, unfortunately, very possibly self-serving. Their apparent lack of adequate knowledge in this field has allowed them to create a virtual problem and then, figuratively, ride to the rescue and solve it.”
Despite the authors’ contention to the contrary, there is no evidence that DNA can be obtained from botanical extracts, and DNA from relatively highly processed materials such as finished supplements in tablets and capsules is of poor quality. As a result, the DNA that is detected in these cases is typically either accidental environmental contamination, cross-contamination among samples in the lab, and/or the DNA from the product’s carrier or filler (soy, potato, or rice).
… In the same PCR reaction mix, a shorter fragment (e.g., from the adulterant) is preferably amplified over a larger fragment, which also could be misinterpreted to mean that the sample has more adulterant material than authentic material…We thus are at a loss to know whether or not non-target DNA found in a product is present at levels that would constitute a significant amount of extraneous material or perhaps a few dandelion (Taraxacum officinale, Asteraceae) leaves commingled with a hectare’s worth of harvested crop.
In Part 1 we looked at foods to eat. In Part 2 we discussed foods to avoid. And in Part 3 we discussed nutrients and supplements. There are specific issues for people with Parkinson’s that affect the ability to eat and drink at all which we will cover in this section.
Lift lab spoon counters tremors so food won’t spill.
People with Parkinson’s tend to demonstrate a kind of withering or dehydration which we refer to in Chinese medicine as yin deficiency. Yet acquiring adequate nutrition in the form of soups, or congees for instance, which would help replenish liquids can be difficult because tremors can cause the food to spill. The effort involved in getting food into one’s mouth can reduce consumption while interfering with socialization and the enjoyment of food.
In early stages of Parkinson’s heavy cutlery will engage the muscles sufficiently so that the resting tremor does not manifest. Normal cutlery will suffice at first while weighted or angled cutlery may be necessary if the hand clenches. Knork knife/forks reduce utensil changes. Rocker knives help with cutting. Spoon shields or covered spoon bowls can reduce spills but can also be embarrassing in public. In later stages other strategies are necessary.
One manufacturer, Lift Labs, has created a spoon that provides computerized movements that counter 70% of the tremor so that it is easier to eat and does not require so much attention. Fork attachments are due to be released.
Attractive turned bowl by Marge Felder at http://www.margefelder.com/bowls/turned-wood-bowls.htm
Heavy dishes or those that tend to grip the table can prevent dishes falling off the table. A silicone or Dycem placemat can also reduce spills. A lip on at least one side of a low bowl can compensate for an inability to scoop properly. Normal family dishes can convert with a clear acrylic plate bumper. And there is no need to resort to plastic disability bowls: an attractive but heavy handmade ceramic bowl or a durable carved wooden flat bowl can provide this functionality while protecting the dignity of the eater.
A study done on Alzheimers patients showed 24% increases in food and 80% increases in drinking with red or blue colored utensils. (Apparently the food tended to be white or light colored and was difficult to discern- eating with a full-colored palate of foods might also help.) If undue weight loss is occurring using adaptive Redware or finding other red or blue dishes might be worth a try. Or use red tablecloths, flowers or accessories to enliven the environment.
Drinking can be accomplished through a cup with a drinking lid or a lid and straw once heavy glasses do not suffice. Starbucks has a steady stream of attractive cups with sippy lids that will allow drinking without spills. Look for heft, a good fit on the lid, preferably screw-on or latching, and a handle if that makes it easier or an ergonomic hand hold. If needed, silicone can be added to the base to enhance stability. Since dysphaghia will eventually limit swallowing large amounts at a time it is good to have one that will not require large gulps (say to load a wide straw.)
Starbucks grip tumbler with handle (not shown) and central handhold.
Smoothies can be an effective way to get fluids and nutrition into a person with Parkinson’s. They liquify vegetables, fruits and are good carriers of coconut oil, trace mineral concentrate, superfood powders, cooked pumpkin, chlorella, hydrolyzed gelatin, spirulina, incan berry powder, goji powder, and cocoa. Don’t forget yin nourishing foods like cooked okra, eggplant, ophiogon tubers or lily bulbs (the last two available through Kamwo Herbs or Chinese herbal or grocery stores.) Smoothies spill less than thin fluids and can often be sipped without undue attention so that the person can enjoy socializing during meals.
It is important not to infantilize the person with Parkinson’s just because they have reduced abilities to do what for the rest of us are easier activities of daily living. Pay attention to aesthetics. Microfiber dining scarves can substitute for bibs. Choose silverware that looks as normal as possible. In a family setting try to match colors or style so the Parkinson’s member does not feel singled out. Cook food that does not require cutting at the table. Slow cooked meats in liquid are more tender than barbecue and ground meat is easier to cut. Mix some turkey into the stuffing to normalize Thanksgiving or other holiday meals. Pureed soups can be given in a cup. Soft background music at a beat that resonates with the person is less distracting than television and can enhance consumption. Try not to do for them what they can do by themselves, but unobtrusively make sure they are eating enough if the process is slow.
Dietary supplements, such as the vitamin B supplement show above, are typically sold in pill form. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is part 3 of my series on nutrition and Parkinson’s Disease. Part One and Part Two can be found preceding, focusing on foods to eat or to avoid. This section is on supplements.
While Dr. Terry Wahls‘ experience with MS shows food to be more effective than supplements at providing nutrition for neurological diseases, there is a place for supplementation with vitamins and minerals, provided they are taken together with food to make up for deficient nutrients in our foods. Paul Bergner researched the decline of minerals in the diet due to modern agricultural practices which have strip mined the soil and reduced food value in his book, The Healing Power of Minerals, Special Nutrients, and Trace Elements (out of print.) Most minerals not included in the standard NPK commercial fertilizer declined between the mid 1970s and mid 1990s by 30% according to USDA data (and who knows since then), notably magnesium, calcium and iron. Trace minerals often disappeared entirely: the boron in apples in the 1940s is no longer present. An apple a day in 1929 would be equivalent to nearly 30 a day today in terms of iron. So while nutritional supplements should not be relied upon alone, since they do not capture the full spectrum of antioxidants or special nutrients, they can fill some holes in the diet, particularly minerals which affect neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
Vitamins are made by plants from the sun so will not be deficient when first picked but can be destroyed in transport. New hybrid fruits and vegetables often feature diminished nutrition along with their sweet milder flavors. Lettuce has largely lost its bitterness, which means it is less effective at stimulating digestive juices, further reducing nutrient absorption. The same goes with a variety of fruits and vegetables.
The taste of food is not merely aesthetic. Tastes stimulate the body to prepare for nutrients. Bitter tastes cause the secretion of hydrochloric acid (which closes the esophogeal sphincter preventing reflux) and bile, which helps break down fats and protein and moves the intestine. Since 80% of serotonin and other neurotransmitters are made in the gut, stimulating digestive juices with something bitter can prevent or ameliorate depression found in Parkinson’s. A bitters formula, biting down on lime peel, a radicchio salad or grapefruit before the meal can start digestion properly and will also regulate blood sugar which is of interest in Parkinson’s’ disease. Bitters must be tasted to stimulate digestion, but do not require large amounts, so do not use pills or capsules. Food or tinctures work better.
It is important to eat looking at the health of the mitochondria, the energy powerhouses in cells, especially brain cells. There are many aspects of this that warrant an article of its own. A protein in the body called Parkin is believed to detect, and then clear out, damaged mitochondria from the cell. In PD cases associated with mutations in another protein called PINK1, however, Parkin doesn’t seem to do its job, and it’s thought that the damaged mitochondria that remains might lead to the cell death that causes the disease. A number of supplements are chosen to benefit the mitochondria.
While the supplements below can be beneficial for most it is important to avoid a “one size fits all” approach. People with Parkinson’s (PWP) differ significantly in their symptoms, medications and health conditions and they need to coordinate with the help of a doctor or trained pharmacist to make sure that effective treatment is not compromised. Minimal research has been done on nutrients, and nothing can be said to be a cure. But there are certainly supplements that can make PWP maximize their health.
Vitamins and minerals can be taken at the same time as foods while amino acids and herbs should be taken an hour before or two hours after meals. Important supplements, vitamins and minerals include:
Probiotics. Recent research shows that Parkinson’s disease affects the gut/brain axis and that when PWP have more enterobacteria the worse they get. Probiotic bacteria help outcompete enterobacteria and improve absorption of other nutrients. I like the well-researched but often forgotten Saccharomyces bloulliardi and Pharmax’s human lactobacillis strain
Vitamin B Complex includingNADH. When Parkinson’s disease patients took 30 mg of vitamin B 2 three times each day over a period of six months, they had better motor capacity,( though these participants also no longer ate red meat, according to the University of Michigan Health System.) NADH, an active type of vitamin B 3, helps with increasing the amount of dopamine in the brain. Methyl folate is the preferred form of the B vitamin, folic acid. Do not look for high Vitamin B complex levels as they will wash out, and too much B6 can interfere with Parkinson’s medication. Instead take a low dose 3 times a day: 30mg three times a day of a Vitamin B complex is sufficient but NADH, methyl folate and B12 may require separate supplementation.
Sublingual Vitamin B12, especially in the form of Methylcolbalamin, a form of bio-active B12 that is well absorbed and crosses the blood brain barrier. This makes it suitable for brain-nerve disorders. It is the form of vitamin B12 active in the central nervous system, necessary for cell growth and replication. In some people the liver may not convert cyanocobalamin, the common supplemental form of vitamin B12, into adequate amounts of methylcobalamin needed for proper neuronal functioning. Methylcobalamin may exert its neuroprotective effects through enhanced methylation, acceleration of nerve cell growth, or its ability to maintain already healthy homocysteine levels. 1000 micrograms.
Fish or cod liver oil to provide 1000 mg of DHA (about 5 capsules or a teaspoon of Carlson’s lemon flavored fish oil which you can use to wash down other supplements.) Make sure the oil is not rancid, which can be tested by smell. This reduces the inflammation that drives Parkinson’s. Blue Ice is another source of fermented fish liver oil that I recommend Vegetarian sources of Omega 3 oils like flax seed or chia must be converted to DHA, which is genetically impossible for a significant proportion of the population, is difficult for older patients and requires as much as 30 times the dose in those who can use it. There may be marine seaweed DHA.
Vitamin D3 should be taken by PD patients as few of them have sufficient sun unless they live south of Atlanta and are regularly out of doors without sunscreen at noon. While most Americans are deficient in the vitamin, actually a hormone with hundreds of body functions, PD patients have even lower average levels. In a long term prospective Finnish study participants who had the highest levels of serum vitamin D had a 67% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s than those in the lowest 25% of the group studied after 29 years. People differ significantly in their ability to absorb Vitamin D and how fast it breaks down so optimum levels (50-100 ng/ml of 25 Hydroxy D) must be determined by blood testing. It usually takes over 10,000 iu of the vitamin daily to budge numbers but people with many diseases need more, especially those who work indoors, are fat, elderly or suffering from disease. I needed 50,000 iu per day, twice the physiological dose one would get from the sun, to get to the low 50s after 10,000 iu for 6 months didn’t work. It took 3 months to get there from the low 30s. (I monitored high intake with quarterly blood tests.) In some PWP improvement is due to general health while PWP with certain Vitamin D receptor genotypes showed improvement in symptoms according to a small scale clinical trial, conducted by researchers at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, where 114 people with Parkinson’s were randomly assigned to take a modest 1200 iu vitamin D supplement or a placebo during a one-year period. Those people with particular gene versions of the Vitamin D receptor called Fokl TT and Fokl CT benefited from the vitamin D supplement when compared with placebo. But those with another genotype called Fokl CC did not. (At higher levels even those might have responded.) Nonetheless proper Vitamin D status is essential for general health and makes everything work better.
CoQ10 plays an important role in the mitochondria and is also a potent antioxidant. In a multi-center trial published in 2002, patients with early PD took either a placebo or Coenzyme Q10, at 300mg to 1200mg per day. The results showed that CoQ10 was well tolerated and was safe at these doses. Over a sixteen-month period those PWPs who were on the higher dose showed slower disease progression than the others. Currently, a much larger trial (the QE3 trial) is underway to truly determine the role of CoQ10 in the treatment of PD. This trial is testing doses of 1200mg and 2400mg daily.
Glutathione, a compound with multiple effects on nerve cell metabolism as well as a powerful antioxidant, is of particular interest for PWPs because of studies showing its depletion in the substantia nigra (the site of major nerve cell damage in PD). Although laboratory tests are promising, it is still not clear what is the best way for PWPs to take this since oral doses are relatively ineffective unless liposomal. Dosages and long term effects are not well determined.
Zinc participates in the superoxide dismutase and zinc-thioneine enzymes to reduce oxidative stress in the brain and oxidative stress is believed to reduce dopamine production. Zinc‘s role in inciting or inhibitory responses is not clear. Like all metals it should be used conservatively.
Magnesium is involved in a number of crucial bodily functions, from the creation of bone to the beating of the heart and the balance of sugar in the bloodstream, of special interest in Parkinson’s dementia. Magnesium is a particularly crucial element for mediating the vital functions of the nervous and endocrine systems; it helps maintain normal muscle and nerve functions, reduces tremors, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, prevents depression, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, prevents or treats constipation. and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis.In addition, magnesium stimulates activity of B vitamins,assists in clotting of blood, relaxes the muscles, aids in metabolism of carbohydrates and minerals, helps the body maintain a regular heart rhythm, and plays a central role in the formation of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the mitochondrial-derived fuel on which the brain (and body) runs. Magnesium balances out the potentially toxic increased levels of calcium in the cytosol. The forms used should be chelated (end in “ate” like citrate or orotate) but there is a lot of individuality on which forms are good and switching can be done if one form doesn’t work. Magnesium theronate crosses the blood brain barrier but is expensive so I combine. I generally suggest 800 mg of magnesium citrate to start. Topical magnesium chloride also known as magnesium oil can be applied twice a day when diarrhea from oral magnesium is a problem. Most Americans are deficient in magnesium.
Iron can calm some spasms if deficient, but must be used with care in Parkinson’s. Iron is accumulated in different brain regions in presence of neuropathologies and increased levels of iron were found in the substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson’s. At this level, iron works with neuromelanin inducing oxidative stress and death of the dopamine-making neurons. Liver is better than supplements if iron is deficient and low dose tincture of Rumex crispus (Yellow dock) to gastric tolerance allows more efficient use of iron without increasing the mineral itself. Start at 10 drops twice daily of a standard 1:5 tincture and work up gradually.
Silica, appears to have the effect, as silicic acid,of reducing the bio-availability of aluminum, avoiding its deposit in neurofibrillary tangles which is associated with dementia. Horsetail weed supplements provide this in a bioavailable form.
Creatinine increases levels of phosphocreatine, an energy source in the muscle and brain, and in experimental studies it protects against nerve cell injury. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has now funded a multi-center pilot study of creatinine (along with another agent, minocycline) in people with Parkinson’s. For PD, doses of 5 to 10 grams daily are under study. Creatinine should be used cautiously by persons with impaired kidney function.
Citicholine (CDP choline, cytidinediphosphocholine) CDP choline, also known as citicoline, is often used by victims of stroke or head trauma. It may also have benefit in memory loss and PD. CDP choline may help repair damaged nerve cells in brains, including those that produce dopamine. CDP choline may also increase levels of glutathione, an antioxidant. Initial studies of CDP choline in PD suggest it may be most beneficial for the symptoms of rigidity and bradykinesia. Doses of 500 mg to 2,000 mg daily, either taken orally or given as an injection, have been used. The most common side effect reported with CDP choline is slight stomach upset. Use as directed on the supplement bottle
Phosphatidylserinewas found by Tel Aviv University’s Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry to improve the function of rat genes involved in disorders such as familial dysautonomia and Parkinson’s disease. Phosphatidylserine has already been .. The substance contains a molecule known to be essential in transmitting signals between nerve cells in the brain, and mitochondria require a constant and well-regulated supply of phospholipids for membrane integrity. 200-300 mg daily.
L-Tyrosine may be useful depending on your medication. L-tyrosine, which is the precursor to L-dopa should improve Parkinson’s disease symptoms, as L-dopa converts into dopamine. But L-tyrosine can interfere in levadopa’s transport, and the University of Michigan Health System recommends that you do not combine the supplement L-tyrosine with the medication levadopa or take L-tyrosine instead. It may be useful when combined with St. John’s wort but more research needs to be done.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid & Acetyl-L-Carnitine may lower oxidative stress and a slowing of potential PD. ALA is believed neuroprotective by increasing acetylcholine and lowering the damage from damaging proteins especially in the substantia nigra. ALA may lessen the depletion of glutathione, lowering free radical damage, mitochondrial dysfunction and the death of dopaminergic neurons. Together with Acetyl-L-Carnitine, ALA has been found to protect in vitro human cells against mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage and accumulation of alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin. Most notably, when combined, ALA and ALC worked at 100-1000-fold lower concentrations than they did individually.
SAM-e There is evidence suggesting that levodopa medication can reduce brain levels of SAMe. This depletion may contribute to the side effects of levodopa treatment, as well as the depression sometimes seen with Parkinson’s disease. One study found that SAMe taken orally improved depression without changing the effectiveness of levodopa. However, it is also possible that taking extra SAMe might have a long term interference with levodopa’s effectiveness. Contraindicated for bipolar disease and can interact with other antidepressants. Deficiencies in methionine , folate , or vitamin B 12 can reduce SAMe levels so those supplements may help prevent depression. DMT is another potential precursor. SAM-e is not found in appreciable quantities in foods, so it must be taken as a supplement by itself. 200-400 mg taken 3 to 4 times per day.
5-HTP may help with depressive symptoms in Parkinson’s disease when combined with Levadopa and Carbidopa but get appropriate pharmaceutical advice. Less expensive than SAM-e.
Melatonin can be taken an hour before bedtime if you have trouble sleeping. Try not to use melatonin frequently as it is a hormone your body should make. Sleep hygiene (no late TV or computer, low light an hour before bed, a hot bath) and essential oil of lavender smelled in bed are better.
EDTA orally can help remove heavy metals gradually. While IV chelation has not been found (or disproven) to be useful for Parkinson’s due to heavy metal toxicity, oral EDTA chelation is inexpensive and unlikely to cause harm and usually benefits most people. The idea of using a chelator for Parkinson’s disease is not unreasonable: we know iron accumulates in the Parkinsonian brain, and iron seems to accumulate in important brain areas known to be part of the neurodegenerative process – including the substantia nigra. Additionally, there are a few animal experiments that have shown a protective effect of chelation against the development of Parkinson’s disease. Take as directed on the bottle. Suppository form show no additional benefits and are quite expensive. Read Dr. Gary Gordon for more.
Trace mineral concentrate, netttles or seaweed provide trace minerals no longer found in food. I squirt 10 drops of my trace mineral concentrate into my grapefruit juice or a day’s ration of coffee. Eating nettles grown on good soil or clean seaweed also provides trace minerals.
Do not take all supplements. Most people will benefit from magnesium, turmeric, fish oil, Vitamin D, B vitamins and trace minerals. Take melatonin only if you have sleep problems that do not respond to sleep hygiene suggestions and lack of sleep makes you dysfunctional. Don’t take iron unless you test low and also have leg cramps that do not respond to magnesium, blood sugar control, massage and exercise. Exercise for circulation before using supplements. Walk in sunlight out of doors and exercise for depression before using supplements. Use detoxification supplements for a course of treatment which could be three months: take organic meals, seaweeds, milk thistle, turmeric and EDTA, while doing dry brush massage and infrared saunas. Consult with your doctor, pharmacist, acupuncturist or naturopath to make sure you are not working at cross-purposes.
Herbs
Herbs are generally a safe way to strengthen and tone the body’s systems and as complex organic substances they tend to have cofactors and buffers. As with any therapy, you should coordinate treatment from a trained herbalist ( look for titles like RH (AHG), NCCAOM in Herbal or Oriental Medicine, an Oriental Medicine degree, MS degrees in Ayurveda, western herbs or equivalent study) with your MD and to diagnose the pattern of your problem before starting any treatment. You may use herbs as dried extracts (capsules, powders, teas), glycerites (glycerine extracts), or tinctures (alcohol extracts). It is generally best to take herbs in a form you can taste because the taste signals your body to use them. Unless otherwise indicated, you should make teas with 1 tsp. herb per cup of hot water. Steep covered 5 – 10 minutes for leaf or flowers, and 10 – 20 minutes for roots. Drink two to four cups per day. You may use tinctures alone or in combination as noted.
English: Turmeric root. Photo taken in Kent, Ohio w (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ginkgo biloba 80 mg two times per day or 60 mils three times a day in tincture or liquid extract form. Ginkgo leaf extract is an antioxidant that improves blood flow to the brain and may help with dopamine delivery.
Turmeric is an adaptogen which means it will balance your hormones and immune system and is nontoxic at normal doses. It helps with energy, liver detoxification, pain reduction and improved circulation. In India it is considered a panacea herb. I do not suggest taking it in curcumin capsules, even with bioperine from black pepper which enhances circulation. Instead cook liberally with it (curries anyone?) or take turmeric honey on days when you don’t.
Mucuna pruriens contains levodopa. One small study showed that it had better results than the form of levodopa given as prescription medication. Doses ranged from 22.5 – 67.5 g per day divided in 2 – 5 doses. More studies are needed. Do not take cowhage without your doctor’ s supervision, especially if you already take levodopa. –
Brahmi(Bacopa monniera ) is an Ayurvedic herb that is often used to treat people with Parkinson’s. Studies suggest that it improves circulation to the brain, as well as improving mood, cognitive function, and general neurological function. Dosage guidelines vary, but some practitioners suggest 100 – 200 mg twice daily.
Milk thistle helps with liver detoxification and may be useful for dealing with high level toxins or side effects from medication. Milk thistle should be taken before meals with a tall glass of water. The usual dose is 70 mg to 140 mg three times daily.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy when it works, depends on resonance. Unlike foods, meds and herbs which can allow significant improvement even when there is not perfect match with the patient, homeopathy appears to either work or it doesn’t at all. Because of this you should consult a trained homeopath who can determine the right remedy for you and change it when your symptom picture (hence resonance) changes.
Argentum nitricum — for ataxia (loss of muscle coordination), trembling, awkwardness, painless paralysis
Causticum — for Parkinson’s with restless legs at night
Mercurius vivus — for Parkinson’s that is worse at night, especially with panic attacks
Plumbum metallicum — especially with arteriosclerosis
Zincum metallicum — for great restlessness, and depression
Mag-phos-for trembling; shaking of hands, cramps in calves, feet very tender. Twitching,worse on right side
In Part 1 I discussed what to eat if you have Parkinson’s Disease. PD is only partially genetic and can be induced by exposure to pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals, some of which are found in food.
This is what to avoid:
Sugar Dish (Photo credit: Steve Snodgrass)
Aspartame, Neotame, Nutrasweet, Sugar Twin, Equal, or Spoonful which degrade to neurotoxins when exposed to heat over 86°F or 30°C (and they don’t ship soft drinks in refrigerated trucks.) At that temperature aspartame breaks down to aspartic acid and phenylalanine and a small amount of methanol (wood alcohol) – which degrades to formaldehyde. There is some evidence that reaction to the sweeteners results in diagnoses, or misdiagnoses of Parkinson’s or MS and anecdotal evidence of at least some people reverting to normal after removing it. In any event you don’t want to add neurotoxins to your PD as they may be part of the cause. Also look at dental and pharmaceutical supplies that may contain the sweeteners.
Sucralose is probably more heat stable than aspartame, but I would avoid it as well as saccharine (Sweet n Low) on general health principles. Instead use stevia, lo han guo or 100% fruit juice (in moderation). Water of course is best, but if you want some taste try inserting a spear of watermelon and a sprig of mint, or cut up citrus fruit into your jug. For electrolytes I often squeeze 10 drops of Trace Mineral Concentrate into a day’s dose as well and that also helps provide micronutrients needed for enzymatic activities in the brain and body.
Sugar. Scientists believe that dementia in Parkinson’s disease occurs as a result of a defect in how the brain metabolizes glucose, or blood sugar. Chronically high blood sugar levels may also be involved in the onset of Parkinson’s disease. One role of the insulin in the brain is to regulate dopamine. When the brain’s insulin receptors become defective, insulin cannot regulate the system which inhibits the secretion of dopamine.
Food sprayed with pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. These are quite often neurotoxic or endocrine disruptors and can be problematic in PD
Round-up ready anything. This line of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are engineered with pesticides in every cell and have been linked to problems in animals including including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. The Institute for Responsible Technology says:
There are eight GM food crops. The five major varieties—soy, corn, canola, cotton, and sugar beets—have bacterial genes inserted, which allow the plants to survive an otherwise deadly dose of weed killer. Farmers use considerably more herbicides on these GM crops and so the food has higher herbicide residues. About 68% of GM crops are herbicide tolerant.The second GM trait is a built-in pesticide [Round-up], found in GM corn and cotton. A gene from the soil bacterium called Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis) is inserted into the plant’s DNA, where it secretes the insect-killing Bt-toxin in every cell. About 19% of GM crops produce their own pesticide. Another 13% produce a pesticide and are herbicide tolerant…
The biotech industry claims that Bt-toxin is harmless to humans and mammals because the natural bacteria version has been used as a spray by farmers for years. In reality, hundreds of people exposed to Bt spray had allergic-type symptoms,[12] and mice fed Bt had powerful immune responses[13] and damaged intestines.[14] Moreover, the Bt in GM crops is designed to be more toxic than the natural spray and is thousands of times more concentrated.
Rats fed GM potatoes had smaller, partially atrophied livers.[24]
The livers of rats fed GM canola were 12-16% heavier.[25]
GM soy altered mouse liver cells in ways that suggest a toxic insult.[26] The changes reversed after they switched to non-GM soy.[27]
More than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks.[28]
Male rats[29] and mice[30] fed GM soy had changed testicles, including altered young sperm cells in the mice.
Thousands of sheep, buffalo, and goats in India died after grazing on Bt cotton plants after harvest. Others suffered poor health and reproductive problems.[34]
Farmers in Europe and Asia say that cows, water buffaloes, chickens, and horses died from eating Bt corn varieties.[35]
About two dozen US farmers report that Bt corn varieties caused widespread sterility in pigs or cows.[36]
Filipinos in at least five villages fell sick when a nearby Bt corn variety was pollinating.[37]
The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition that may lead to cancer. Rats also had damaged organs and immune systems.[38]
You can avoid major exposure to these by growing your own or purchasing organic foods, which are best for persons with Parkinson’s. If you can’t, look for the Clean 15 foods which tend to have inedible skin or are naturally resistant to pests: onions, non-GMO sweet corn, avocados, pineapple, mango, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, watermelon, papaya, sweet onions, grapefruit, and sweet potato. Always wash by first dipping into a solution of water and pure soap, then rinse with water alone as was done for the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists.
To reduce pesticide exposure by 80% avoid or get organic versions of the Dirty Dozen high-pesticide foods defined by the Environmental Working Group :
The fruits and vegetables on “The Dirty Dozen” list, when conventionally grown, tested positive for at least 47 different chemicals, with some testing positive for as many as 67. For produce on the “dirty” list, you should definitely go organic — unless you relish the idea of consuming a chemical cocktail. “The Dirty Dozen” list includes: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers. spinach, kale and collard greens, cherries, potatoes, imported grapes, lettuce
A bowl of Strawberries. Strawberries depend on pesticides and fungicides to ship from across the country. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Meat that is conventionally raised is much worse than conventionally raised fruits and vegetables because it concentrates the toxins of the food it eats in fat. So if your organic dollar is limited, use it for any meat and dairy that you consume. Chicken is especially problematic. You want grass-fed, pastured meat and chickens raised mostly outdoors.
Avoid most farmed fish or fish not approved by Seafood Watch which monitors for mercury or heavy metals. The lists are regional but avoid Chinese farmed shellfish especially. Smaller fish are generally better than larger fish higher up the food chain. There is a free downloadable ap on the Seafood Watch site which will help for grocery shopping or dining out.
Seed oils in cooking which tend to go rancid with cooking heat. This includes oils in processed foods or restaurants. Cook with saturated coconut oil which doesn’t degrade with heat and use fragile Extra Virgin Olive Oil for salads.
Hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats, margarine or rancid fats and oils. Your brain is mostly fat. Give it good fats and cold pressed oils.
Don’t eat fava beans unless you regulate your medicines to regularly include them in your diet. Fava beans can increase L-doppa levels and that could result in too much.
Avoid excitotoxins like MSG which may agitate your brain increasing tremors.
Too low a salt level can cause hyponaturemia. As PD progresses, muscles spasm and it becomes hard to drink. Medications can also deplete salt and mineral levels. Use a full-spectrum mineral salt like Himalayan salt or grey Celtic sea salt.
Anti-nutrients like high levels of oxalates in rhubarb or spinach and phytates in unfermented beans.
Junk food which has low levels of nutrients in the first place. You need antioxidants, minerals and fiber to detoxify. Processed food gives you very little of any and is a prime source of GMO foods, excitotoxins like MSG, chemical stabilizers and fillers.
Gluten, soy, dairy or any other allergenic food one may be sensitive to. Allergens produce inflammation and inflammation can drive Parkinson’s. This needs to be individualized and the best way to test is to write down and rate your symptoms then go off a suspect food 100% for a month and rate the symptoms again.
Nutrition for Parkinson’s Disease has four components: What to Eat, What Not to Eat, Useful supplements and How to Eat, given symptoms of the disease. This will be a four piece series. Some of it is basic: the foods and superfoods that enrich the diet. Some is specific to the typical complaints from either the disease, the medications and the often restrictive lifestyles that PD patients often adopt. And the how-to acknowledges that the disease creates some physical problems that adaptive devices might help.
Mucuna in flower, source of L.Dopa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Nutrition for Parkinson’s Disease Part 1: What to Eat
People with Parkinson’s have some extra requirements in their diet. Because shaking can burn calories, it is easy to become underweight, although that is not universal. Yin deficiency, a kind of dehydration or wasting, is generally seen in symptoms like shaking, muscle spasms, constipation, poorly nourished muscles and skin, as well as dehydration. Blood deficiency can be seen with pale skin, lips and tongue as well as with muscle wasting. While we have limited knowledge of what causes the substantia nigra to stop making dopamine, it is likely that missing nutrients will be implicated in both the production of dopamine and the preservation of brain cells. People with Parkinson’s often suffer from constipation and muscle spasms. So what should you eat?
Berries and other fruits- While people with Parkinson’s who are not overweight can eat fruit rather freely, it is best to deal with nutrient-dense berries. Blueberries, huckleberries, goji berries, blackberries, raspberries, organic strawberries, pomegranates, and cherries all pack a deeper nutritional punch than apples, pears and bananas. All are useful, but especially the berries which are rich sources of flavonoids. Blueberries and organic strawberries can reduce depression, improve memory and slow neuro-degeneration. Goji berries are especially high in antioxidants and can build blood. Cranberries may protect the urinary tract. Tart cherries can help insomnia with their melatonin. Berries can pack in the nutrition especially as swallowing becomes more difficult. Go for organic, especially with strawberries and other berries because chemicals in pesticides can be linked to Parkinson’s. All fruits provide fiber which can counteract constipation. 1/2-1 cup daily.
Purine-rich foods which break down too uric acid and then urates: The chemical urate, a potent antioxidant which is known to cause gout in excess, appears to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Foods that make uric acid include: fructose, asparagus, beer, heart, herring,mussels,yeast, smelt, sardines, and sweetbreads. Just don’t overdo it, especially if you are prone to gout or insulin resistance. A serving a day, but take it in the evening if you are on Levodopa or Carbodopa.
Fatty fish or fish oil including halibut, sardines, wild Alaskan salmon, anchovies and herring are rich in the DHA and EPA, Omega 3 fatty acids which go to the brain and help guard against dementia which affects some 40% of people with Parkinson’s. Fish oil improves cognition, protects against depression, boosts the immune system,relieves arthritis and protects the heart. I do not find flax oil as effective as fish or cod liver oil- it can require 30 times the dose, goes rancid very rapidly and some 30% of the population cannot convert it to DHA. (DHA makes up 20% of grey matter in the brain.) If you eat fish, eat the skin and check Seafood Watch to make sure that mercury levels are low. Beef that is 100% pasture-raised on grass has a fat profile similar to deep water fish but conventionally grain-raised CAFO beef does not. Otherwise get cod liver or fish oil and take enough to get 1000 mg of DHA. Since that can be 5 capsules, I generally get Carlson’s lemon-flavored fish oil or Green Pasture’s cinnamon fermented cod liver oil and use it to wash down supplements.
Iron is linked to dopamine production. Patients with Parkinson’s have lower levels of dopamine produced by the substantia nigra and may respond to iron administration. Iron, as a cofactor in dopamine production, plays a central role in the etiology of the disease. Low dopamine can cause other neurological problems such as restless leg syndrome and muscle spasms. Judging from the Parkinson’s people I see, Blood Deficiency is pretty widespread. I recommend pasture-raised organic red meat, liver once a week,and dark green and dark red vegetables. (Chlorophyll is hemoglobin with magnesium at the center instead of iron, but usually has non-heme iron as well.) To increase iron absorption, tincture of Yellow dock (Rumex crispus) given in drop doses to stomach tolerance, can be helpful. However taking iron as a supplement can be ineffective (hard to absorb), hard on your heart or absorbed by bad gut flora. Dr.Campbell-McBride advises against it :
Most people with abnormal gut flora have various stages of anemia. It is not surprising. They not only can’t absorb essential for blood vitamins and minerals from food, but their own production of these vitamins is damaged. On top of that people with damaged gut flora often have a particular group of pathogenic bacteria growing in their gut, which are iron-loving bacteria (Actinomyces spp., Mycobacterium spp., pathogenic strains of E. coli, Corynebacterium spp., and many others). They consume whatever iron the person gets from the diet, leaving that person deficient in iron. Unfortunately, supplementing iron makes these bacteria grow stronger and does not remedy anemia.” (Gut & Psychology Syndrome)
Vinegars made with live mothers are probiotic
Probiotic Foods help you develop good gut flora that can out-compete undesirable bacteria and to increase digestion. Live blue cheese, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchee, vinegar with a mother like Braggs, kombucha, unpasturized pickles and olives, miso, fermented fish sauces and pickled vegetables should be taken at each major meal. Pickles and pickle juice helps the body free up magnesium which can reduce cramps. Other bacteria help absorb minerals. I prefer food-based sources of probiotics because you eat them fresh, they come with their own prebiotics which feed them and tend to have a variety of organisms that may not be in pill form. For instance, most probiotic pills only have lactobacillus or bifidobacteria but there may be another 500 species that are present in a healthy gut. If you do use probiotic supplements, look for them in a refrigerated case rather than a shelf.
Prebiotic foods feed the gut flora and can protect against iron depleting strains of bacteria. Prebiotics like fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and inulin feed the probiotic organisms and allow them to proliferate in the gut. They ought to be in probiotic supplements to help keep them alive. However your gut also needs to be receptive to them. Rather than purchasing a prebiotic supplement, eat a serving of Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, onions, leeks, burdock root, garlic (in quantity), shallots, jicama root, chicory or dandelion root, barley or yacón each day.
Nuts from trees are great sources of Vitamin E in its various forms and trace minerals, as well as good fats provided you eat them raw. Roasting can easily change the fat profile and excessive conventional salt triggers indiscriminate consumption. You will absorb nut nutrients better if you soak them overnight- you can puree them into nut butter with a little sea salt, toss them into salad or a stir fry or make your own nut milks. They are storehouses of important trace minerals: Brazil nuts are high in selenium which can help the heart. Peanuts which are ground nuts are significantly contaminated with aflatoxin, a known carcinogen that is twenty times more toxic than DDT. Since toxins can cause some Parkinson’s, avoid peanuts. 1 oz . per day of tree nuts.
Beans in general are good for Parkinson’s because the fiber levels are high enough to prevent constipation while providing protein, reducing blood sugar spikes and providing protection from cancer. They can be consumed daily with herbs like rosemary or bay leaf to reduce flatulence and making them yourself will allow you to change the water enough to reduce that problem. But there are two beans in particular which provide special protection against Parkinson’s: fava beans and mucuna beans. These beans contain levodopa, the same chemical in Sinemet, Madopar, Dopar, Larodopa, and other levodopa-containing medicines used to treat PD which means that adding them to a well-balanced prescription can be problematic, although they can sometimes substitute for all or part of a prescription. According to Dr. Jame’s Duke’s database the entire fava plant, including leaves, stems, pods, and immature beans, contains levodopa, with the highest concentrations in the flowers and sprouting bean. The amount of levodopa can vary greatly, depending on the species of fava and where it’s grown especially since it has been cultivated as a food rather than a medicine for most of its history. Three ounces (about 84 grams or ½ cup every day) of fresh green fava beans, or three ounces of canned green fava beans, drained, may contain about 50-100 mg of levodopa. One small study showed that mucuna had better results than the form of levodopa given as prescription medication and anecdotal evidence shows it tends to work better than fava beans. Doses range from 22.5 – 67.5 g per day divided in 2 – 5 doses. Neither bean should be taken by persons with Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) or elevations in blood pressure may result. If you have favism, a genetic susceptibility where you lack an enzyme called glucose-6-phosphate, eating fava beans could cause a condition called hemolytic anemia. This is ruled out by a test but it is unknown if mucuna also causes this reaction. Lacking either MAOIs or Favism, both beans are potentially good for people with Parkinson’s who work with an herbalist and medical doctor.
Cruciferous Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, bok choi, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts and mustard, rutabaga and turnip greens help reduce estrogen dominance which reduces magnesium and vitamin B. A deficiency in magnesium causes muscle tightening and that causes people to experience muscle spasms while deficiency in vitamin B can cause neurological problems like neuropathy. Cruciferous vegetables are rich in zinc, vitamins A, B, C, D and E and Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) which is especially beneficial to estrogen metabolism. When I3C combines with stomach acid it creates 3,3-Diindolylmethane, or DIM. The metabolism of DIM overlaps with estrogen metabolism so that it promotes healthy estrogen metabolism. Eat 2-4 servings daily within your 9 servings of veggies and berries. They should be steamed or in the case of kale chips, dried with heat to protect the thyroid.
Coffee and Tea. Coffee has shown to be helpful at both preventing and slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease in a dose-dependent way. Coffee consumption is associated with 60% fewer cases of Parkinson’s Disease in one study. Caffeinated coffee is better than decaf and coffee reduces symptoms better than other sources of caffeine, indicating that caffeine alone may not be the protective mechanism. (Coffee is much more than caffeine, with magnesium and potent antioxidants like the chlorogenic acids.) Caffeine as an isolate incidentally was associated with better motor control but had very little effect on daytime sleepiness. One caveat: some people don’t do well on coffee and tend to self-select out of the positive scientific studies (try making a coffee placebo!) Follow your own body. Tea has general health benefits from catechins which are powerful antioxidants and at least one study showed a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease. There is some evidence that symptoms may be reduced with tea drinking, especially in studies of Asian populations.
Other Fluids: Since dehydration is a problem, you need to drink. Drinking more than a half cup at a time triggers the urinary reflex so does not hydrate your tissues. So put your water in a bottle with a drink-through cap and sip it through the day. If you drink coffee or soda, assume that the caffeine will reduce hydration by 25% and tea or iced tea by 10%. Don’t drink soda though, especially cola or artificially sweetened soda which contains potential toxins not known to be safe for Parkinson’s. If water seems too plain, add a spear of melon and a sprig of mint, or sliced lemons or fresh rosemary and orange slices. Coconut water has a good balance of electrolytes and isn’t too sweet. You can also get fluids from fruits like watermelon or citrus. But if you can get fresh vegetable juice with lots of greens, it would be better from a nutritional standpoint. Don’t forget good fats- think of oil floating on water to prevent evaporation.
Mai men dong (ophiopogon tubers) make a mild soup ingredient that strongly tonifies yin. Available at Chinese grocery stores.
Yin building herbs and foods: Parkinson’s disease can be dehydrating, drying out skin, muscles, the colon and joints. This is referred to as yin deficiency and can develop into deficient (friction) heat as it progresses. You need to nourish your fluids and tissues and there are a number of “Chinese grocery store” or food grade herbs and foods that can help. Seaweeds should be included in the diet at least twice a week, but dulse, nori and kelp are also available as sprinkles that can be used like a flavored salt inbetween. Seaweeds are good sources of trace minerals and iodine, since much of our healthy topsoil has blown out to sea. A table spoon or two of slippery elm or marshmallow powder can be stirred into applesauce or oatmeal. Mai men dong bulbs (opiophogon, liorope) are small, bland Chinese vegetables that nourish yin, go well in even western soup and can be found at Chinese grocery stores. So can white lily bulb (bai wei), broken into small bulblettes. Shatavari (asparagus tuber, tian men dong), the yin adaptogen food can be found online powdered, and can be used to thicken soups while nourishing fluids, hormones and tissues. Oatmeal, millet, alfalfa sprouts, artichoke, asparagus, kelp, mung bean sprouts, okra; peas, potatoes, black beans, avocado, aduki beans, seaweed, string beans, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (especially tomato paste), water chestnuts, yam, zucchini, berries, apricots, pears, watermelon, fish and shellfish, pork (especially liver and kidneys), beef, goose and duck, coconut milk and nuts all will help keep you supple. 9 servings of yin-tonifying fruits and vegetables a day.
Foods with B vitamins, especially B1 thiamine, B5 pantothenic acid, B9 folate, B12 cobalamin, B6 pyrodoxine help the mitochondria which power our cells . Foods high in B vitamins include purple and green kale, mushrooms, bok choy, collards, rare organ meats like liver, heart and tongue, and very rare muscle meat. Meats are better sources when organic and grass fed. However if you can’t find grass fed liver, the organ has numerous detoxification pathways so you are safe with conventional liver- akin to an apartment building with a full janitorial staff. This is not true of other organs.
Iodine is important for Parkinson’s. It not only necessary for the production of thyroid hormone, it is also responsible for the production of all of the other hormones of the body. Adequate iodine levels are necessary for proper immune system function. Iodine contains potent antibacterial, antiparasitic, antiviral, and anticancer properties. Iodine deficiency disorder can result in mental retardation, goiter, increased child and infant mortality, infertility, and socioeconomic decline. There is evidence that Parkinson’s is more prevalent where iodine is missing in the soil and in areas where goiters are frequent. Long-term iodine deficiency appears linked to abnormalities in the dopaminergic system that include an increased number of dopamine receptors. This raises susceptibility to dopamine oxidation which, in turn, causes deficiencies of the antioxidant enzymes Copper or Zink superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase. Dopamine deficiency also leads to elevated cytotoxic glutamate levels. Iodine is primarily found in seawater in very small quantities and solid rocks (usually near the ocean) that form when seawater evaporates. Iodine can also be found in seafood like halibut, salmon and shellfish and seaweeds like kelp, dulse, nori and hijiki. In fact, seaweed is one of the most abundant sources of iodine because seaweed has the ability to concentrate a large amount of iodine from the ocean water. Seaweeds and seafood should be taken twice a week from low mercury sources.
Kitchen Spices: There is often a loss of taste or smell with PD, and the use of strong spices like thyme, oregano, rosemary, ginger, tulsi (holy basil which is sharper than regular basil), cardamon and star anise are not only strong antioxidants but have penetrating flavor and can enhance cerebral circulation. Do not forget that people with impaired taste can often perceive sour flavors like lemon juice, and vinegar or salty tastes (use seaweed granules, Celtic sea salt, Himalayan salt, iodized sea salt but no MSG.) But turmeric is the king of anti-inflammatory spices. Turmeric is an adaptogen that is strongly antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which crosses the blood brain barrier and is neuroprotective. It is considered a panacea herb in Ayurvedic medicine. It is used in curries, soups, smoothies and in milk. My favorite way to take medicinal doses is to take 10 oz. dried turmeric, 1/2 ounce freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 oz. ground ginger and mix well. Then stir in a local honey until it has the texture of cookie dough. Take a heaping teaspoon once or twice a day.
Good fats and oils: Most seed oils or conventional cooking oils are too high in Omega 6 fatty acids at a time when the Omega 6/Omega 3 fatty acid ratio (PUFA) has gone from 2/1 to 30/1 today. I recommend avoiding seed oils in favor of fruit oils like coconut oil and olive oil. For cooking you need a more saturated oil like coconut oil that will not peroxidize (go rancid). Ghee or animal drippings from grass-fed organic animals won’t distort under heat either compared to other oils. For raw consumption, avocado, olive oil, black seed oil (see below) and lemon flavored fish oil are useful. Coconut oil with its ketones has, according to case histories, caused a reversal of Alzheimer’s dementia so is worth considering for the cognitive decline of Parkinson’s or Lewy’s dementia. It also offers protection from viral diseases. 1-3 tablespoons in oatmeal or other food. It is being sold as an expensive functional food for Alzheimer’s.
Fresh Turmeric Root
Seeds are something I tend to avoid because we get too many Omega 6 oils in our diet, but a few are outstanding exceptions. Flax seed, hemp seed, black seed and black sesame seeds all help nourish the bowel and help stop constipation, but each has specific virtues. Flax seed has Omega 3 fats that some people can, through genetics and good lifestyle, convert to DHA and EPA. You need to grind it to get the Omega 3s but the lignins in the skin do have some laxative benefit if you don’t. It goes rancid very fast and I recommend getting a coffee grinder and grinding immediately before eating. It is good in oatmeal, over salads, in yogurt and preground in smoothies. Hemp seed is currently either steamed or shelled in the US so that it cannot grow. It is a good source of Omega 3s but can also go rancid easily. I prefer to make hemp milk or to use it in smoothies. Black sesame seed (He zhi ma) tonifies both Liver and Kidney yin, nourishes blood and secures Essence. Black sesame seeds are very rich in iron, magnesium, manganese and copper. There are about 90 mg of calcium in one tablespoon of unhulled (black) seeds It is used in both food and medicine, especially for women and the elderly but since Parkinson’s patients of both sexes are often Blood deficient, don’t let tradition stop you. Black seed (Nigella, black cumin) is used widely in the Middle East, as seed or oil. It smells something like thyme and facilitates a healthy inflammatory response including cell signaling chemicals and hormone-like messengers. Small amounts are put in string cheese and pickled Moroccan lemons, over salads, in pilaf or it is used medicinally. According to Mahfouz and El-Dakhakhny:
Ladybug on Fava bean flower
“Two of the most volatile oils found in Black seed are nigellone and thymoquinone which were fist discovered in the herb in 1985. Nigellone offers both anti-spasmodic and bronchodilating properties which contribute to Black Seed’s potency against respiratory ailments. It also acts as an antihistamine which helps to reduce the negative symptoms of allergy sufferers. Thymoquinone contains excellent anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It is also a strong anti-oxidant and helps cleanse the body of toxins. Both nigellone and thymoquinone work in conjunction with one another to enhance Black Seed’s action against respiratory ailments. It also provides a healthy alternative to the more commonly prescribed cortisone based therapies used by allergy sufferers. Black seed provides a rich supply of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These ingredients play a key role in daily health and wellness. They help to regulate the metabolism, carry toxins to the skin’s surface for elimination, balance insulin levels, regulate cholesterol, improve body circulation, and promote healthy liver function. A deficiency in polyunsaturated fatty acids can lead to a wide number of health problems including nervous system disorders, uninhibited growths, and skin diseases. Black seed contains over 100 valuable nutrients. It is comprised of approximately 21% protein, 38% carbohydrates, and 35% plant fats and oils. The active ingredients of black seed are nigellone, thymoquinone, and fixed oils. Black seed also contains significant proportions of protein, carbohydrates and essential fatty acids. Other ingredients include linoleic acid, oleic acid, calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin B2, niacin, and vitamin C.”
To summarize, you should get 7.5-8 servings of vegetables per day including at least 2 cooked cruciferous vegetables and the majority from the yin-tonifying list. Choose colored vegetables like butternut squash or cooked carrots for at least one serving. At least one serving should be fermented to provide probiotic organisms (sauerkraut, kimchee) and twice a week sea vegetables (seaweeds). One serving of berries or tart cherries a day and one-half to one serving of other fruit. Wild salmon or other fatty fish twice a week. Liver once a week. Organic pasture-raised meat, preferably organ meat on other days. Beans especially black beans several times a week. One ounce of tree nuts or nut butter daily. Organic eggs, preferably with a raw yolk daily. Spice your food with strong herbs, turmeric and ginger. Sprinkle in flax seed, black seed, black sesame or hemp seed daily. Two to four cups of coffee, two liters of water and two cups of other beverages.
Also see Kathrynne Holden‘s book on nutrition for people with Parkinson’s, Eat Well, Stay Well with Parkinson’s Disease which is available through Amazon or for download here. While she has somewhat more conventional food choices than make it through my Chinese medicine/herbalist lens, she has worked with PD for many years, has special expertise about food/medicine interactions and has dealt with malnourished people with Parkinson’s in both hospital and clinical settings.
I would be remiss if I did not mention Dr. Terry Wahls who suffers from MS but found a way of eating that took her from a tilt-recline wheelchair to riding horses and freely biking today. She eats a variation on a paleo diet that is primarily vegetable based, specifically designed to support the brain and mitochondria. This is especially important for people with Parkinson’s, ALS, Huntington’s, PTSD, migraines, dementia and MS. The vast majority of people do not eat to support life and need some significant changes. I urge you to take the time to watch her TED Talk. If you want more, she has a video class on nutrition and the brain :
Me in Guatemala doing acupuncture outreach, not waiting around for life.
I was recently asked, under the anonymity of a Google comment, how I can be into herbs and health when I am clearly fat, I’m sure the question has been let unasked a lot more than it was voiced. And my first instinct was to get all defensive: the great American herbalist Michael Moore was fat. The great Annishinabe medicine woman and ethnobotanist Keewaydinoquay Peschel was fat. What does fat on your body have to do with what you know, anyway?
The short answer is that once you are fat, unless you are slightly fat or you had a short term weight gain, it is incredibly difficult to reverse. You can lose weight, but it doesn’t last. You can do quite a bit to stay healthy via your diet and lifestyle, but you may end up healthy and fat.
I’ve been fat since age 5, with a short break during my late teens and 20s when I felt like and metabolically was an underweight fat person. Maybe it was my grandmother’s Native genes clashing with a 1960s Standard American Diet- I took after her rather than my parents. Maybe it was a reaction (mine? my parents?) from nearly dying as an infant from weight loss due to digestive problems, although I didn’t notice them pushing food. Perhaps I caught one of those obesity-promoting adenoviruses. Maybe it was all those fattening antibiotics I had for ear infections before anyone considered that dairy might be the culprit. Perhaps my body had to sequester exposures to pesticides painted on the walls at the cabin. Maybe I overate when they pulled me out of my sweet smelling acacia tree to send me to a dismal school and my happiness quotient fell. In any event I was on Metrecal, the Slimfast of the day, by the first grade, embarrassed as we discussed our breakfasts in health class. Junior high was torture, where I was relegated to the few chubette clothes available, until I discovered Guatemalan skirts and peasant blouses. I focused on learning instead of socializing.
I had by this time become quite expert on calories, carbohydrates and food exchanges, not to mention setpoints and portion sizes. My doctors had suggested everything from locking cupboards, to liquid meals to diet pills that left me wired, but I believed there might be better ways. I was under orders to lose weight by any means possible. I biked, swam in the summer, lived on a hill so steep the school bus couldn’t drive up so I walked it instead, went hiking in the woods behind our home, and had daily physical education classes taught by self-hating drill sergeants, I wasn’t exactly a couch potato although I preferred reading, acting in school plays and establishing an underground school newspaper to afterschool sports.
I finally lost weight when I left home, had a new start, and went on a zero carb diet (in Italy, yet.) I kept most of it off when I got home because I lived a mile’s walk from campus and took five 1-2 hour dance classes a week, blessedly subsidized by parents and low tuition. And as a young single who chose a bike rather than a car, I swam daily and went scubadiving on weekends, so it only slowly crept back. But the job ended, I moved to New York where work hours were long, picked up an inactive husband who preferred restaurants to Appalachian trail hikes and saw my weight skyrocket with the hormonal changes of pregnancy. Periods of stress drove my cortisol through the roof. By the time my children were born I was over a threshold where I could lose weight without getting sick or exercise without injury. Not that I didn’t try: Weight Watchers, Optifast, vegan diet, vegetarian diet, Atkins diet, metabolic bump diets, macrobiotic diet, fermented foods, paleo diet, Paul Bergner’s insulin resistance class, hypnosis, therapists, personal trainers, one- hour exercise sessions that didn’t work, two- hour exercise sessions that burned fat but left me too exhausted to work. There was a lot of good stuff in many of those plans. I lost some weight. And I gained everything back.
Was I perfect? Of course not. As a teen I had justified saving calories from eggs for ice cream (after all, a calorie is a calorie isn’t it?) I have caught myself eating emotionally, but it was aberrant enough to stand out and my thin friends do the same on occasion. Portion size may be an issue, but the fat cells themselves call out constantly to eat more, something not true of thinner people. Occasionally I go on tiramisu jaunts. I go between wondering if I am gluten-sensitive or just carb-sensitive and go in and out of drinking milk.
The International Journal of Obesity says that of people who lose 75 or more pounds, 95-98% gain back every pound within 3 years, 2/3 of them within the first year. Even Oprah who can afford cooks, a personal trainer and all the backup possible gains it back. People who keep weight off are a statistical aberration, unless the gain was transient. Younger men who haven’t been obese long and are willing to, say, become exercise instructors or indulge in full time physical labor stand the best chance of joining that elusive 2-5%. as do people who spend the rest of their lives monitoring every mouthful and every bit of exercise. The National Weight Control Registry tracks strategies and data on those who lose at least 33kg and keep it off or 5 years. Even they say that only 20% of dieters are successful at a 10% weight loss for over one year. You have to make your life about keeping weight off and maybe change your work to something physical all day.
Three adult Hymenolepis nana tapeworms. (length: 15 to 40 mm) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I haven’t tried everything. Tapeworms, for instance seemed to work for Maria Callas, but I’m squeamish and like my B vitamins. Nor have I tried surgery, although I did check it out. The painful death of my pharmacist after gastric bypass surgery destroyed any question I might have had about a procedure that creeps me out on the face of it. (What colonizes that empty length of intestine cut off by the surgery?) Two of my obese patients had the surgery and are still fat- and one lost her spleen during the operation. And while a lap band seems less intrusive, I watched one patient struggle for a year with infected ports. For a cool $25,000 plus extra surgery for the sagging skin you get an 80% complication rate and 5 years of becoming thinner before you gain it back. Even if you get thin, you are metabolically fat compared to an always thin person, with every deflated cell urging you to eat at any moment. And the yo yo is harder on your heart and toxin release harder on your brain than just staying fat. Thanks, I’ll work on health at any size.
The truth is, despite Joy Nash’s wonderful YouTube Fat Rants, fat is a matter of shame in our society. We don’t criticize the selfish or the vain nearly as much as the fat. Obesity is treated as a character flaw instead of just extra avoirdupois. It is extra flesh not failure incarnate. Heck we have a worldwide epidemic of obese 6 month olds who probably eat and move much like infants always have, so it makes no sense to blame. And we need to get real about it.
Diagram of a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. (Wikipedia)
I have no question that if I had bypass surgery and lost weight that people would congratulate me on becoming healthier and it might well help me get a teaching job or keep patients. It would not be true. My digestion would be permanently ruined, I’d weaken the muscle in my heart along with all the other muscles (non ketogenic weight loss lowers your muscle mass and the heart is mostly muscle) and I would have scars through my meridians. To be fair my feet and knees would feel better and I might have more energy during the low weight phase, but the assumption of health would be falsely generalized. It is possible that I would live up to 3 years longer, although those figures were not derived by comparing fat and formerly fat people and they certainly didn’t sort out the physically fit fat people for comparison. We aren’t talking decades of life. Besides the most recent word is that thin people with big bellies die sooner than the obese.
What I can do, even if the fat is intractable, is something about is my health and fitness. A low carbohydrate diet including good fats, green vegetables, seaweeds, low glycemic flavonoid-rich fruits and clean protein will keep my blood sugar down and normalize my cholesterol and triglycerides. Exercise will keep my circulation and lung function intact. Weight training will build muscle mass. Yoga, qigong, MELT or Pilates will stretch my muscles and strengthen my core. Regular acupuncture, massage or craniosacral balancing will keep me centered and enough sleep will allow restoration.
Most important I love the work I do and would rather be fat than work at a different, more physical job or spend an additional hour at the gym when I could be spending time figuring out how to affect patients with difficult problems that don’t lead to easy resolution. While my preference for treating zebras, as difficult cases are called, may not make me thin or rich, at least I learn things that help others.
So what have I learned about weight loss?
Statistics on health and Body Mass lump couch potatoes together with the fit fat people. You don’t want to be a couch potato. If you work out regularly and eat well, your main problems will be structural.
Overweight people react differently to dieting strategies than do obese people. Formerly fat people are metabolically quite different than always thin people of the same weight. Don’t assume that everyone can do the same thing to either lose weight or stay thin.
Most fat people do best on low carbohydrate diets, without appreciable grains. Even if you might have done well with grains pre-obesity, your metabolism is probably damaged by long term weight gain. Go Paleo, for good.
If you want to lose weight, you need to restrict food even on a low carb diet. You may be too satisfied to overeat, but many fat people have lost touch with their body’s signals.
Ketosis (not the dangerous ketoacidosis) metabolically causes you to lose fat rather than muscle, provided that you don’t overeat. There are entire civilizations in ketosis (traditional Inuit, Bantu, hunter-gathers) who are not in active weight loss. Nonetheless I know of no better start for fat burning.
To start a ketogenic diet, mineralize yourself with magnesium, potassium, iodine, trace minerals, sea vegetables and kale. Otherwise the first two weeks while you are transitioning from glucose-burning to ketone (fat) burning will be hell. Which is probably why Atkins allowed free consumption of fats during that induction period.
For a long term diet, a food plan that hovers between ketosis and low carb just above ketosis is probably the best. Green vegetables and clean fish or pasture-raised meat, eggs from outdoor chickens and small amounts of berries, yellow fruits and vegetables or pickled root vegetables should be the basis of your diet.
This actually can be done with a vegetarian diet but will be a lot more interesting with animal protein. The infamous low glycemic vegetarian diet that beat the ADA diet for diabetes was basically vegetarian Atkins.
Weight gain after periods of intense stress may be more benign than other self-medication (although others may not act as if it is.) The weight won’t necessarily go away when the stress does or just because you take up yoga, even Birkram.
There is a threshold beyond which losing weight is close to impossible without extraordinary changes, so don’t get there. Overweight is better than obese.
The kind of extraordinary changes that allow weight loss include moving away from family and friends who may reinforce inactivity or stress, changing to a very physical profession, radically increasing exercise and changing the kind of food you need and a spiritual renewal that doesn’t involve lots of sitting or reading. Move to a 5th floor walk-up or work a half hours walk from home to build in exercise. You also need to make peace with monitoring everything you eat, monitoring exercise and monitoring weight.
Some people become fat in reaction to sexual abuse, negative feedback from family members, dissatisfaction with a lack of purpose, or to hide sources of shame. Others pick up a sense of shame after they become fat. Continued emotional eating may or may not play a part in this reaction. Getting rid of the shame is essential to your well-being, whether or not it converts to being thin.
If you suddenly gain weight, loose it as soon as possible so that your setpoint weight doesn’t increase.
When you take medications like steroids, antidepressants, antipsychotics, long term antibiotics or insulin you will probably gain weight, often substantial amounts. Statins can cause diabetes, but are pushed on people with insulin resistance. It may be worthwhile, but consider the effect in evaluating your course of treatment and also whether protective lifestyle changes are realistic.
Most benefits of weight loss happen in the first 10%.
After 10% weight loss, your setpoint tries like crazy to make you regain the lost weight.
While some people can, I have never lost weight from exercise alone but I also don’t lose significantly without exercise, including interval aerobics, weight training and stretching. Don’t skip the stretching, because heavy weight predisposes you to injury if your muscles are in the wrong place.
Chickweed
If you lose weight, you will free toxins locked up in your fat which may be redistributed in your organs. Take detoxifying herbs like dandelion, chickweed, Oregon grape, triphala or coptis and seaweeds to tie them up. Getting sick will derail your exercise program.
Extra weight is especially hard on your feet, hips and knees. A heel spur or knee problems will also derail exercise. Get good shoes, watch Katy Bowman’s biodynamic body DVDs, stand on little balls to massage the small areas of your feet, vary your exercise and be proactive about foot, leg and hip care.
Modify exercises to function like they should, not to look like what thin people do. Maybe that means your toe touch only goes to your thighs. Maybe your push-up is against a wall, not the floor. And you need a total substitute for the plough asana if your bust or belly won’t let you breathe.
Minerals are essential, especially magnesium which is no longer in soils in appreciable quantity, iodine, potassium, chromium and trace vegetables. Seaweeds are the main food source of minerals. Additionally octacosanol will bring down triglycerides.
If your endocrine system is unbalanced, try adaptogen herbs like rhodiola, ashwaganda, ginseng and eleuthero.
Weight loss herbs basically fall into a few categories: detoxification, bulk laxatives, liver support, starch blockers, fat blockers and thermogenic herbs. Studies are minimal and are often done on small groups of slightly overweight people.
Thermogenic (heating) herbs like cayenne are fine if you run cold. Otherwise go to cooler circulatory herbs like turmeric, frankincense, myrrh or chuanxiong. A bit of pepper, long pepper (pipalli) or prickly ash will help the herbs to penetrate and won’t be too hot in small doses.
Starch blockers, from phaseolus beans usually give you gas while you don’t assimilate the starch. Just stay away from starch.
Liver herbs like dandelion leaf, green coffee extract, Oregon grape, berberis and milk thistle will help you convert fat and get rid of toxins that were locked up in your fat. Also see detoxification herbs.
Fat blockers are basically liver herbs that cause you to dump. The pharmaceutical version Olestra (orlistat) can cause explosive diarrhea and deplete you of fat-soluble vitamins and EFAs, but does cause your body to dump toxins. A less intensive intervention using 7 fat free Pringles a day got rid of both persistent organic pollutants like chlorohexabenzene and fat in some studies. Pringles of any sort are not food, but personal experience using fake fats to get rid of artificial toxins were not notably successful.
The only laxatives I would suggest are triphala, a nourishing and detoxifying group of fruits, and if you are constipated, psyllium, flax or cannabis seeds (sterilized and legal in Chinese medicine stores.) If it is really bad one dose of senna, cascara sagrada, aloes, or da huang (rhubarb), but only for the first bowel movement. Eat seaweeds and okra. Take probiotics or probiotic foods. Drink lots of water.
Did I say drink lots of water? And yes, some of that can be coffee or teas. Best to avoid diet drinks, even the fairly benign stevia-sweetened ones. Or save them for special occasions. Taste can trigger your insulin secretion.
Go for periods of time without appreciable carbs, like between dinner and lunch with salmon salad or a veggie frittata for breakfast. When your blood insulin goes up you can’t burn fat or make muscle.
Don’t graze. See above for why.
Eat before exercise, which brings your insulin curve back down. If you eat or swill a sports drink afterwards, you defeat the metabolic effect of exercise. (Marathoners or Iron Men are an exception and aren’t losing weight, but if you have read this far it probably doesn’t apply to you!)
Exercise after eating, even a short spin around the block.
Take pride in what you do well, how you affect the world and in who you are. There will always be people willing to see you as a size rather than a person. Don’t fall for their shortsightedness.
My sister has an outright milk allergy but I can tolerate it so long as I don’t go crazy on the fresh ricotta. That means I’m not without some sensitivity to milk, and pretty much only use it for coffee. So we have always had some milk alternatives in our house. In fact now you can find all kinds of milk alternatives in the refrigerator aisle, from soy to coconut milk. But the prices are high and I was pleased to see that you can make milk substitutes from soy to chickpea to oat milk. If you are allergic, vegan, frugal, keep kosher or just like the taste of different milks, here are some recipes. Note that these may lack the nutritional qualities of dairy milk and that the freshness of the beans or nuts will affect the flavor. Use these in baking if you don’t like the flavor. You can adjust saltiness, sweetness or add vanilla or other flavor if desired. And you can dilute milks that seem too thick with water. Best yet, you usually have some residue that can be used in soups and sauces.
Oatmeal Milk
This is perhaps the easiest milk to make since it requires no cooking. Take one cup of oatmeal and put into a blender. Add a quart of filtered water, cap and blend for a minute. Strain through a fine sieve. Season as you wish (vanilla is nice) and serve or use for baking.
Herbalist’s gloss: I always have oatstraw (the green stalks and immature seeds) in the house for overnight infusions which are rich in minerals and help my nerves. So I will bring a cup of oatstraw in a quart of water to a boil, simmer for 20 minutes and strain out. Top up to a quart and use in place of plain water for a more nutritious oat milk.
Garbanzo Bean (Chickpea) Milk
This can be used for chickpeas, soybeans, chana dahl, or other white beans. Because beans contain antinutrients that can inhibit the thyroid, they require cooking.
Chick peas- white ones are better for milk. Image via Wikipedia
Soak 2-3 cups of beans in water overnight, in a large container with enough water to expand the volume by 2-3 times. If you are using a whole bean you can start two days earlier and let the beans start to sprout by draining and rinsing several times a day, but this is not necessary. At least make sure the beans are soft enough bite. Place in a blender and grind into a paste, adding water as needed to make sure there are no chunks left.
Half fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. The bean milk will tend to boil over so leave room. (If it does, it is pretty easy to clean up.) Add the bean paste, stir well, let simmer just below boiling for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool and strain through a fine mesh strainer or squeeze through cheesecloth. Chickpea milk is thicker than soy milk, so depending on your bean, you may need to adjust the cloth and squeeze or put a weight on top (say a plastic container full of water.) You can save the bean residue for falafel or hamburger filler.
Bean texture is an individual thing so I often dilute this down by as much as a third, adding a couple teaspoons of Himalayan salt and sugar or herbal substitute for this quantity. Use your taste as a guide, going slowly.
Lo han guo fruit sweetens without calories. Image via Wikipedia
Herbalist’s gloss: Before blending I crush half of a lo han guo fruit into the blender. This adds a non caloric sweet taste (but it also sweetens the residue.) Lo han guo, Siraitia (formerly Mormordica) grosvenorii, is sold in Chinese herb shops or grocery stores. I find that using stevia causes easy over-sweetening and I’m less fond of the taste,
Almond Milk
This recipe can also be used for cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts and other kinds of tree nuts. Note that California almonds are no longer really raw even if labeled as such, but they work anyway. You can also use the white meat from coconuts. It is more expensive than the bean or oat milks but has important fats and minerals. Fresh nuts are key as fats can get rancid tastes as they age.
Soak 2 cups raw nuts overnight in plenty of water. Drain and add a quart of water. Blend in the blender until milky- if you don’t have a Vitamix or other high power blender, do it in batches then pour back into the blender. Add a little cinnamon, nutmeg and sweetener if desired. Blend again and strain out, wringing through cheesecloth or a cotton towel. The nut residue works well in baking or in a smoothie. This makes a richer milk than the bean or oat milks.
Herbalist’s gloss: I like to mix a handful of cashews into the almonds, and use cinnamon and nutmeg. Honey adds an eggnog flavor.
Your home made milks will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator and probably won’t freeze well, but they can be used in baking when slightly past prime. Since you make them yourself, you can control the amount of water for thickness or taste, as well as added salt, sweetener or spices. Experiment in how you use them, introduce new flavors gradually and don’t be afraid to mix. While I think that chickpea milk tastes like soymilk, and I like different flavors in cereal, hot chocolate or baking, I am not happy with any substitute in coffee.
As for protein, vegetable sources need to be mixed for complete proteins. I am of the school that says they should be mixed at the same meal. So chickpea milk with oat or rice milk, any milk served with a meal including animal protein like eggs or fish will balance out the constellation of amino acids so you can use the vegetable proteins.
Calcium can come from non-dairy greens, especially when served with fat to enhance digestion. Or put crushed organic egg shells and organic bone in apple cider vinegar, and take a tablespoonful in water before dinner.
I put together a dessert using pureed pumpkin or butternut squash, spiced up in a way that moves the blood and is actually good for you. It is brim full of antioxidants and flavonoids. Plus it is delicious. You can switch a good yellow squash for the pumpkin and canned puree works well, but make sure it is puree and not pumpkin pie mix. I prefer the canned coconut milk to that found in the refrigerated milk section because it has more of those good fats. You can sweeten with stevia, agave, maple syrup or cane sugar, but the agave, maple syrup and sugar have a lot of fructose which is hard on the liver which you will want to avoid if you are in pain. Honey doesn’t blend in all that well in my opinion, but your taste may differ. I recommend adding stevia to taste (but go slow, a very little at a time!). The black pepper makes the effect of the spices more bioavailable- in Ayurveda it takes the herbs into the tissues.
I eat this like pudding or top my coffee with it to make pumpkin latte, perhaps with a dash of rum. This makes a great winter dessert.
When I was in the second grade and was told to cut calories, I wanted to know why if the calories were the same, I couldn’t just cut out the squash and beans at dinner for the equivalent caloric amount of ice cream. “Vitamins” were too abstract for me and besides I took a vitamin pill. It wasn’t until low carbohydrate diets became popular that I started learning about different metabolic actions of different types of food, and later about different nutrients, the need for one nutrient to absorb another and biological responses to ingested foods that affect what is used.
The first law of thermodynamics indicates that energy is conserved and thus that a calorie might be a calorie if you equalize calories in and calories out, plus fat storage. However the second law says that no machine is completely efficient. Some of the available energy is lost as heat and in the internal chemical changes and in entropy. In the human body this means that hormones, enzymes(1) , allergic processes, constraints from lack of essential minerals and cofactors all have an impact on the food retained.
It takes more energy to break down some foods than others. For protein to break down to energy it is transformed into glucose. That step takes ATP (energy) and thus a calorie of sugar transforms into energy (or stored fat) more efficiently than protein. 100 calories of sugar will make you fatter than 100 calories of boiled egg. And people on low carbohydrate diets lose more weight, lose it faster and keep it off longer than people on low calorie diets.
The amount of calories lost as heat is approximately 2–3 % for fats, 6–8 % for carbohydrates, and 25–30% for proteins. You would typically lose 140 calories as extra heat on the early phase of an Atkins, South Beach or Protein Power diet just based on the metabolic effects.(1)
The form of food counts: fruit juice is worse than fruit if you want to lose weight. The fructose is unbound and can inactivate the appestat that prevents us from overeating. (2) The glycemic index of flour is higher than that of pasta. Generally the more processed (ground, liquefied) forms of the same food raise your blood sugar faster.(3)
Sugars differ. Fructose doesn’t suppress the hunger hormone, grehlin like glucose. Fructose makes you lay down more fat. 80% of glucose is absorbed immediately sending only 20% to the liver vs. 100% of fructose. That causes the liver to store it as new fat. This also creates VLDL cholesterol (the worst kind.) Glucose makes 1% as VLDL and Fructose has 3 times as much, with the additional waste product uric acid which causes gout and hypertension. 30% of fructose becomes fat compared to 1% of glucose. Table sugar is 50% glucose and 50% fructose, so is poison. Yes, poison. (2)
Fiber protects food from being completely broken down. Our digestive system is not a bomb calorimeter (the tool used to determine how much energy food releases in kilocalories) where everything is burned completely. Fiber sweeps undigested food through the colon and probably is intended to clean it out. So whole grains per ounce tend to give fewer calories than refined grains. (This effect is often negated by, say, slightly heavier slices of whole grain bread.)
Fiber does not raise blood sugar or blood insulin as high because it takes more time in the stomach to release glucose from foods.(2,3)
Fiber sweeps food through the colon, decreasing intestinal transit time so the small intestine has less time to absorb nutrients. Also it specifically reduces the absorption of carbohydrates in the intestines (2)
Fat is not all burned, In fact it often lubricates the colon, decreasing intestinal transit time and lowering the amount of nutrients absorbed. This is especially true when there is insufficient bile produced.
Micronutrients differ. 100 calories of cooked kale has a lot more micronutrients than 100 calories of iceberg lettuce. Minerals are higher in darker greens. There are more flavonoids in blueberries than strawberries. Trace minerals are often part of enzymes necessary to break down or to absorb food..
Some nutrients need cofactors: mineral rich greens are better absorbed with some fat..(4)
Some foods are allergenic or irritating. Wheat contains gluten which has several degrees if irritation: celiac disease, atopic allergy, gluten sensitivity and normal irritation in the colon because it is hard to digest. Depending on the degree of sensitivity, the gluten protein can cause severe diarrhea and weight loss or retention of fluids and weight gain.(5)
Different gut flora dispose us to gain or lose weight. Thin people have more of the bacteria that will give us diarrhea in excess. Fat people have more of the gut flora that break down food- the same flora found in yogurt.(6)
