These foods reverse Parkinson’s disease

Once in a while a new study comes out that turns everything on its head. That’s the case with a new study published in the journal Cell Reports.

It reveals that everything we’ve been doing to treat Parkinson’s disease was wrong, and it proposes a simple, natural way to heal this disease.

Here’s the thing: Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein in our brains. This buildup leads to cell death and the motor and other symptoms that are so much part of the disease.

Accordingly, scientists have been stuck, thinking of Parkinson’s treatment in terms of removing these proteins from the brain. But these treatments haven’t been very successful.

The new study, however, shifts the focus to the gut, exploring how dietary components and the by-products of gut bacteria can influence brain health.

The researchers worked with Parkinson’s-hit worms, first looking at the levels of various molecules in their bodies. One molecule that was much lower in the Parkinson’s worms was something called propionate, a short-chain fatty acid produced by gut bacteria.

This made them wonder whether propionate had something to do with Parkinson’s. To find out, they increased the amount of this substance in the worms’ bodies by adding it to their diets.

What did they find?

The worms with higher propionate levels had improved movement and less neuron death compared to the Parkinson’s worms without the propionate boost.

Therefore, it seems like propionate can improve symptoms and stop the degeneration that happens in Parkinson’s disease.

But how does gut bacteria-produced propionate help brain health? The researchers discovered a fascinating two-way communication between the gut and the brain.

When alpha-synuclein clumps form in the brain, they trigger a stress response in gut cells. This stress response actually reduces propionate production.

This creates a vicious cycle. Low propionate weakens the gut’s ability to produce energy. This, in turn, worsens the effects of alpha-synuclein on the brain.

The good news is that the cycle can be broken by increasing propionate levels.

Interestingly, propionate’s benefit came without reducing alpha-synuclein buildup in the brain. The protein buildup was still there, but it didn’t have the normal destructive effects.

Of course, we can’t generalize from worms to humans, but previous studies have found that humans with Parkinson’s are also low in propionate. This suggests that the study might apply to us too.

Interestingly, for decades I have been helping people fight their Parkinson’s disease by focusing mostly on their gut bacteria. Thousands of readers have put their Parkinson’s on a halt, even reversed all their symptoms using this simple approach explained here…