For Parkinson’s Disease, Go Against Health Advice

Parkinson’s disease has no cure. However, it is possible to slow its progression or even stop it completely by making a few simple lifestyle changes.

A study published in the journal Neurology proves how one of these lifestyle changes can drastically slow the progression of Parkinson’s.

Interestingly, this lifestyle change goes against all health recommendations generally given.

People with Parkinson’s disease tend to lose weight because the noxious brew of prescribed medications makes them feel nauseous. Others lose weight because they are depressed or despondent, because their tremors and muscle rigidity use up a lot of energy, or because they struggle to swallow.

Whatever the cause, this study suggests that you need to prevent weight loss to prevent rapid cognitive decline.

This goes against the most common health advice: to lose weight.

A team of Korean researchers recruited 358 people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the previous two years.

The average age of the people in the study was 61 years. The scientists compared them with 174 Parkinson’s-free people of approximately the same age and sex.

They defined weight loss as a loss of more than 3% of body weight, weight maintenance as no more than 3% gain or loss, and weight gain as a gain of more than 3%.

During the first year of the study, 98 people lost weight, 59 gained weight, and 201 maintained their weight.

The researchers gave their participants a range of cognitive performance tests at the beginning of the study and again annually for eight years. They checked for other non-motor symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, on the same schedule.

After an eight-year study, they concluded the following.

1. The cognitive performance scores of those who lost weight dropped by 0.19 points faster than those of the subjects who maintained their weight. Everyone started the study with 27 points.

2. Verbal fluency skills declined faster than all other cognitive skills in the group that lost weight.

3. Those who maintained and those who gained weight experienced the same rate of cognitive decline, but the processing speed of the participants who gained weight declined more slowly.

4. There was no relationship between weight and other non-motor symptoms.

5. There was no relationship between weight and cognitive abilities in the subjects without Parkinson’s disease.

Therefore, you must take whatever steps you can to prevent weight loss in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, including consuming more calories.

Maintaining your body weight is only one piece of the puzzle. It’s possible to stop Parkinson’s from progressing if you make a few more simple lifestyle changes explained here …