Do diets low in zinc cause Parkinson’s? If people are anything like yeast they may. Scientists found a protein clumping phenomenon in yeast that is similar to what is seen in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. This particular clumping is caused by a deficiency in zinc. So scientists are now studying the association of zinc with Parkinson’s disease in humans. Vegetarians with diets rich in whole grains are often deficient in zinc.
- Description: “Scientists have made a discovery that, if replicated in humans, suggests a shortage of zinc may contribute to diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which have been linked to defective proteins clumping together in the brain.“
- Source Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130930200039.htm
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Annette is a fundraising consultant whose husband was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Annette found a team of scientists working on a technology she thinks can stop Parkinson's. She was then able to raise funding for the project from multiple financial donors. And that's how Stop Parkinson's was born.
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Should we be taking Zinc?
Pam, I’m planning a post on the relationship of minerals and metals in PD. Stay tuned.
Pam, From what I have seen in the research, any number of nutrients when deficient can contribute to worsening of Parkinson’s symptoms. If you have other signs of zinc deficiency (loss of taste/smell/appetite, slowness of cuts, wounds to heal, acne, repeated infections, prostate issues in men, macular degeneration, sensitivity to light, hangnails to name just a few), ask your doctor to tests for RBC Zinc. Testing for zinc in serum is usually not accurate reflection of an adequate supply.
My thoughts on pd. When I first started taking carbidopa/levodopa, I was diagnosed at 40yr. old. I began taking c/l, I asked my neurologist if I was taking c/l then wouldn’t my brain be suppressed and quit making the dopamine it once made? In,other words if I didn’t have pd then I would after
I started taking the c/l? My neurologist at that time said my question was controversial. No one has ever been able to answer that question to this day. Its been 23 yrs since my first diagnosis of pd. Can anyone answer this?
What causes the low zinc? It’s a high free copper. Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and ALS are all caused by an ATP7B gene defect, where the body can’t properly bind the copper to ceruloplasmin protein for evacuation out of the body. Wilson’s disease is still thought of as a childhood liver disease, but since identifying the defective ATP7B Wilson’s gene, we now know there are over 400 different gene mutations and counting. Many or most of these mutations are only partial defects, which means the body can still bind some copper, but over a lifetime the free copper gradually builds in the bloodstream, and when people get older their blood brain barrier sometimes deteriorates, which makes it permeable and allows the free copper to enter the brain and cause Parkinson’s, Alzheimers, and ALS. In cases of schizophrenia, which onsets at an earlier age, the person was born with this defect and at the same time a defective blood brain barrier. Zinc is a cure for schizophrenia, but it takes a few years. Zinc is a chelator of copper, and the manner in which it chelates copper is through intestinal cells. After you take zinc for 2 weeks straight, it sets up a protein in the intestinal cells called metallothionein, which has a high affinity for copper. It absorbs copper from the bloodstream and when the intestinal cells turn over every 8 days, it takes the metallothionein/copper laden cells out of the body through the stool, and new cells are formed and the process starts all over again. Your intestinal cells turn over every 8 days, which most people don’t realize. Going back to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and ALS, they are the same disease or disorder. I had several family members in Oklahoma that had all 3 conditions, and you put them side by side, and you couldn’t tell the difference between them. One of the relatives went to 3 different doctors and one said he had Parkinson’s while another said he had ALS and the 3rd doctor said it was Alzheimer’s. There is a cure for these conditions, and the cure is getting the copper levels down. The fastest way to do it is by taking a compound called (TM) ammonium tetrathiomolybdate, which will decopper a person in 8 weeks. They will still need to take zinc the rest of their life to prevent the copper from building back up. Zinc blocks the absorption of copper. Zinc is also a good chelator of copper, but it’s slow, and if you have someone suffering from one of these disorders, they need TM. If you go to a neurologist and tell him your family member has Wilson’s disease, they are gonna laugh at you. Just tell them you want a “direct measurement of free copper” lab test done. They most likely never heard of free copper, but tell them to run the test. Most times it will show high, but in some cases it will show normal, because the copper hides in the tissue. The brain is a secondary storage for copper, with the liver being the primary. When the BBB is defective, the brain will actually start trying to store the copper. Free copper is toxic and also conductive of electrical current and causes the brain signals to go haywire. Bound copper is non toxic and actually used in the body and brain for normal function. It’s this free or unbound copper that is the problem. I’ve researched this for years, and am currently curing a schizophrenic with zinc. Dr. Carl C Pfeiffer cured 20,000 schizophrenics in the 60’s and 70’s and big pharma blocked his cure from the medical school curriculum, because they were and still are making billions treating these patients. They don’t want anything cured.
Hello Mark, thank you so much for the information about free copper. Some of the benefits of phytochemicals and fiber may be their iron and copper chelating ability. Some of the substances that chelate copper include IP6, ascorbic acid and cysteine. I need to write a post on the relationship of minerals and metals to PD… See this article for a recent discussion of the “Copper-2 Hypothesis” for Alzheimer’s, and potentially relevant for PD as well.
I`ve noticed that zinc to copper ratios have a lot to do with my rigidity from the Parkinsons. Also finding that a keto diet helps hold a lot of symptoms at bay.
There are a lot of symptoms of zinc deficiency. Varicose veins, hair loss, loss of proper taste and smell, slow wound healing, cold hands and feet, the list goes on and on. I was diabetic because of being on Lasix, once I discovered it depletes zinc I started taking it. Blood sugar has since normalized. Hair color is coming back to what it was years ago.
I don`t know why, but I discovered years ago that vitamin c has a lot to do with severity of my symptoms. I can take up to 1 gram an hour with no problems.
Unfortunately Parkinsons is different for everyone experiencing it. Not the same thing works for everyone. If I had to pick the most successful things, I would choose diet and exercise.
Pretty much all medications deplete some vitamins and minerals. Levodopa/Carbidopa depletes vitamins b6, b12, and folate. There are some other B vitamins that I`m not remembering. I usually take a coenzyme form of vitamin B complex.
Richard, thank you so much for your observations and research. Self-experimentation is critical for highly complex and personal diseases like PD. Unfortunately it’s a long and sometimes frustrating process. I’m working on a computer application to bring together people who are more likely to see similar results from the same interventions. It should help.