Kathy Kolasa: Mediterranean diet may be useful to prevent, treat Parkinson’s

Q My brother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; how can I help him manage his symptoms, and should I do anything to lower my own risk of developing it? — KM, Winterville

A Bryce Pugh, a second-year Brody medical student interested in everything about brain health, has returned to answer your question. I think most of us know someone with this condition. Here is what Bryce wants to share.

Parkinson’s disease is a lifelong disease where parts of the brain become increasingly damaged leading to changes in movement (like tremors), emotional changes and other symptoms. It is the second most common brain degeneration disease in the United States, and cases are rising as people live to older ages. I have seen patients with Parkinson’s in clinic, and I spend a lot of time in a lab studying it, so this is an important topic to me.

What causes Parkinson’s? We can’t pin it down to one cause, but we know it’s usually a mix of the genes you are born with and your environment. Few cases are caused by inheritance only, but it is twice as common in men as in women. Our best options are treating a person’s symptoms. The good news is you can have some control in decreasing your risk and helping the symptoms.

Just like with other chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, eating is our superpower — by controlling what we put into our bodies, we can manage how they react to some things. Many scientists are exploring how diet is connected to Parkinson’s and overall health.

It can be confusing knowing what to eat with hundreds of diets saying different things, but thankfully, most scientific papers I found on Parkinson’s look to the Mediterranean eating approach, both for prevention and treatment.

The Mediterranean diet doesn’t have you eat specific meals or count calories; it focuses on overall eating patterns. You eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, like nuts and extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil can be pricey, so a more affordable option with most of the same properties is canola oil.

Red meats and sweets should be eaten only once a week, while other meats and proteins like fish, poultry and beans should be eaten at least a few times a week.

There are modified Mediterranean diets that might be better if you want to focus on a specific area of your health. My favorite is the MIND diet, designed for having a healthy brain, and combines the Mediterranean and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). There are small differences between the two; for example, the MIND diet’s vegetables are dark, leafy greens and its fruits are mostly berries.

Leafy greens such as spinach and kale are full of vitamins and antioxidants that play a big role in protecting your brain from damage. You should aim to have some with every meal. Berries like blueberries and strawberries are great because they have natural compounds called flavonoids that protect the brain from diseases; try to eat a handful each day.

Nuts such as almonds and walnuts and fish that have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon and sardines can slow loss of brain function and prevent inflammation, protecting your brain from diseases like Parkinson’s and dementia.

Another key component of this eating plan is whole grains. Foods like whole wheat bread, oatmeal and brown rice contain fiber and essential nutrients that have a big impact on your health. Many whole grain products have a whole grain stamp, but ones that don’t will usually say on the package that they are made with whole grains or whole wheat.

Some nutrients play an indirect role in managing Parkinson’s. Vitamin D makes your bones and muscles strong. People with Parkinson’s disease are at a higher risk for falls and bone fractures, so it’s important to make sure you get enough vitamin D. You can do this by getting regular sunlight, vitamin supplements or eating dairy or foods like fish and egg yolks. Some studies found that more than 40 percent of people in North Carolina are vitamin D deficient, so this may be something you didn’t realize you needed to address.

You may have heard people with Parkinson’s trying a ketogenic diet, known to be effective in treating epilepsy in children, but it’s very difficult to do, and right now the evidence of it working is not great.

If your brother has not visited a registered dietitian nutritionist, it would be helpful to establish nutritional goals that are important to him like maintaining desirable body weight and hydration, incorporating food preferences in an eating plan which probably includes more dietary fiber than he was getting before, learning about adaptive equipment and preventing nutrient deficiencies that could lead to bone thinning or anemia.

It can be scary when you or someone related to you is diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but focusing on what you can control, such as your eating patterns and exercise, is essential in managing your health. Your brother and his family may have access to a Parkinson’s support group where excellent information is exchanged. The Parkinson’s Foundation website also has resources on diet at www.parkinson.org/resources.