Perhaps the most famous person living with Parkinson’s disease is the actor Michael J. Fox. Since his diagnosis in 1991, which started with him noticing a twitch in his left little finger, it has helped to increase awareness of the dramatically life changing condition.
To live a long and healthy life free of Parkinson’s its vital you put into motion a prevention strategy from today. So, we suggest you try looking into the following unusual ways, some of which could also be useful in managing already diagnosed cases of Parkinson’s:
#1 Stimulate the Spinal Cord
A recent study suggests that electrically stimulating the spinal cord during long-term treatment has improved the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in rats.
This long-term treatment involves electrically stimulating the spinal cord and has shown improved symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in rats, researchers from Duke Medicine discovered.
We know we probably don’t need to say this but just in case we have some wild ones reading this post, only get this treatment carried out by certified health professionals.
#2 Creatine Isn’t Just For Muscles
Thought that creatine was just for body builder types? Well think again. As study results have shown over and over that creatine supplementation improved Parkinson’s disease symptoms.
The first human study was published in 2006 by the Neuroprotective Exploratory Trials in Parkinson’s Disease, where they studied 200 subjects who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease within 5 years but who did not need medication for their symptom management.
The subjects were given 10 grams a day of creatine, the drug minocycline 200 mg per day or a placebo over 12 months. Tolerability was 91% in the creatine group and only 77% in the minocycline group, which showed promise for the treatment of creatine in Parkinson’s Disease which was then backed up by another study in 2008.
#3 Eat Nicotine Foods
As a study published in the journal Brain and Cognition found that after giving participants chronic nicotine, improvements were seen in several motor measures suggesting improved extrapyramidal functioning.
Positive results were also sustained for up to 1 month after giving the drug that containing nicotine. So researchers concluded that nicotinic stimulation may have promise for improving both cognitive and motor aspects of Parkinson’s disease.
Instead of taking up smoking to get nicotine – rather look at obtaining it from food. Yes you read that right – certain species of a flowering plant family called “Solanaceae” contain nicotine and are edible according to the journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society.
#4 Avoid Pesticides and Petrochemical Solvents
More than 100 studies conducted around the world have concluded that exposure to pesticides, or bug and weed killers, and solvents is likely associated with a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. This research appeared in Neurology which is the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
One of these such studies carried out by Dr.’s Emanuele Cereda, MD, PhD, San Matteo Hospital Pavia Fondazione IRCCS and Gianni Pezzoli, MD, Parkinson Institute, ICP, Milan, found that exposure to bug or weed killers and solvents increased the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 33 to 80 percent.
Bonus Tip – Move Your Body More
Exercise seems to crop up as a preventative measure for many diseases, and it’s done it again for Parkinson’s disease. This time, the exercise announcement came from the March 2012 Harvard Health Letter that concluded exercise may be one of the best and most underutilized ways of combating Parkinson’s after several prospective studies showed a link between exercise earlier in life and a reduced chance of developing Parkinson’s later on in life.
These studies followed tens of thousands of people for many years, and also found that exercising in your 30’s and 40’s may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson’s by as much as 30%. What better excuse do you need to renew that gym membership card that’s been collecting dust?