Although I could not find that a low carb diet prevented or improved PD, the reduction in sugars and increase in oils (simply replacing carbs with protein is not good) will increase the brain's ability to use ketones which helps the impaired neurons in PD (but not the already dead neurons) same as coconut oil because the impaired neurons are having trouble processing sugars (complex 1 in the mitochondria is not functioning and generating damaging reactive oxygen). If the oils are heavy in fish oil and omega 3, then there is actually very good evidence for it directly helping to prevent and improve PD. Higher cholesterol may not result, but if it does, I would not be concerned because higher cholesterol is associated with lower PD. Excess ketones during weight loss also help remove iron, probably to a small extent, but still a reason to not be afraid of low carb. I would let what carbs there are in the diet focus on blueberries and broccoli because they both low in sugar as far as fruits and vegetables go and have excellent compounds that cross the blood-brain barrier .... and because I feel better when taking them. Carrots improve eye functioning which is usually associated with improved brain functioning (blueberries also help both), but it's a lot of sugar. My near-sightedness significantly improves after two weeks of 2 cups of blueberries per day (I can read two lines lower on an eye chart). Broccoli increases libido when I first start it back up, which I can't find a reference to in the literature, but it's possibly indicating more dopamine. But so far only rasagiline has improved my mood and reduced finger twitching and improves balance, although exercise also improves mood. Exercise and niacin reduce the buzzing in my head which seems associated with confusion, so I intuitively feel that if I can stop the buzzing/confusion feeling, then PD is being delayed indefinitely. Good sleep helps reduce it, but I do not yet think rasagiline is reducing the buzzing.
Lower weight may also allow better blood flow to the brain which may be a strong protector of the brain.
Exercise is still king in protecting the brain from all PD-like diseases, although high levels of green tea extract has similar levels of proof of effectiveness. Imagine someone on a low carb diet programmer verses a professional painter who is on his feet all day coordinating with vigorous hand movements, and then plays aggressive basketball an hour every other evening. Intuition says the painter is less likely to get it. Changing habits towards the things you have not done in the past that have been shown to help is the best hope. For example, a painter who gets it might be really low in something in his diet. Someone overweight is more likely to be helped by losing weight. A programming, non-smoker, non-tea drinker, non-exerciser should have a lot of hope to be helped by the combination of nicotine gum, green tea extract, lots of exercise, vitamin D, getting off the computer, and rasagiline.
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Summary of my idea of an ideal morning PD routine:
16 oz coffee
Nicotine gum
exercise: basketball in garage with music, weight lifting
food: blueberries, broccoli, 1/2 to 1 beer, sardines in olive oil
nutrients: green tea extract, black tea extract, zinc, vitamins: B-complex, A, C, D, fish oil
black tea drink to swallow pills (not fun...hopefully nausea does not occur...keep ginger gum on hand)
pyruvate rest of day to reduce hunger
Niacin if the buzzing in my head is still present
Nicotine gum significantly worsens my balance, as it is known to do, but I believe it's a good thing. Nicotine increases dopamine, but not in the PD part of the brain, the SN, and that's also a good thing. I do not really want more dopamine in the SN to improve my symptoms because I want to train the remaining neurons to do their job (exercise) in the hopes of reducing the progression. Exercise and diet can worsen the generalized tremors if not the twitching tremors, but it's possibly a good thing because it shows a reduction in dopamine which may be a way of exercising the SN neurons. So starting the day without breakfast, some nicotine gum, and then exercising, followed by blueberries, broccoli, 1/2 beer, and a can of sardines is my plan. Food after exercise produces the most muscle mass, which is the same as saying reducing fat if calories the rest of the day are restricted. The sardines have fish oil and can be packed in olive oil (omega 3s). The purines and alcohol from beer, lactic acid from exercise, and purines from sardines all increase uric acid which may cause gout but is strongly associated with lower incidence of PD, presumably because it reduces iron. To clarify, I want to take nicotine gum before exercise under the possibility that it is the impaired balance (not just its iron chelation) from nicotine that might cause smokers to build a better SN which might be the reason they normally do not get PD. All these effects are strongest in men, some of them not seen in women. Green tea extract, grape seed extract, B-complex, and zinc need to be taken with this food since they each easily cause severe nausea, especially at the 2 or 3 pill levels I take of the extracts (but not zinc). Black tea extract does not cause the nausea. I take coffee before exercise (3 tablespoons in 16 oz) and black tea (2 bags Earl Grey in 16 oz) after exercise with the meal.
I wonder if the reason sleep is a problem is because the brain is suffering from lack of oxygen during the night and symptoms force us to wake up. All symptoms seem worse when waking up, but hyperventilating seems to help a little, not to mention water (or rather, the coffee).
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