health info ~ DHA Deficiency Linked to Parkinson's

[Guest guest]

Namaste to all Vegans,

 

Dr Joel Fuhrman,MD who is a staunch vegan himself, presents scientific evidence

that for VEGANS, NOT supplementing with DHA, B12 and vitamin D can be

potentially dangerous and even life threatening.

 

There are of course many advantages to being vegan; and my wife and I are both

vegan; but from now on, we will make sure we are even more diligent in

supplementing our vegan diet with DHA, B12 and vitamin D.

 

Amma Bless,

amarnath

 

Dr Fuhrman's article:

 

Leaders of the. Vegan Movement Develop Parkinson's: Case Studies

 

Herbert Shelton (1895 - 1985) a naturopath and chiropractor and the influential

founder of the American Natural Hygiene Society and Nature Cure movement in

America and prolific health writer advocated a natural food vegetarian diet of

mostly raw fruits, vegetables and nuts. I read all of his highly motivating

books, newsletters and writings in my teens. He lived in Texas, was physically

fit, grew lots of his own food and ate carefully and fasted periodically. Of

course he did not get cancer, he did not get heart disease, but he died of

Parkinson's disease and was so severely affected by the age of 78 that even

walking was difficult. In 1973 when I met him he was already severely hunched

over and had a difficult time walking and caring for himself. Though he lived

many years with this significant disability, the quality of his later years was

extremely poor.

 

Prominent Vegetarian and Health Advocate - this leader in the natural health

movement and a personal friend to me also suffered from and eventually died from

a fall related to his Parkinson's disease. During his young adult life he

embarked on the path of healthy living and vegetarianism. A follower of

Shelton's works, he operated a large health food store, one of the first to sell

organic fruits and vegetables in America; he became a leader in the health food

industry. Of course he was not at risk of cancer or heart disease with his

excellent diet, but he developed Parkinson's which limited the quality of his

later years.

 

When he was developing his Parkinsonian tremors, I ordered blood tests and was

shocked to see his blood results showing almost a zero DHA level on his fatty

acid test, in spite of adequate ALA consumption from nuts and seeds eaten daily.

I had never seen a DHA level that low before. Since that time I have drawn DHA

blood levels on other patients with Parkinson's and also found very low DHA

levels.

 

Was it a coincidence, that these leaders in the natural food, vegetarian

movement, who ate a very healthy vegan diet and no junk food would both develop

Parkinson's? I thought to myself--could it be that deficiencies in DHA

predispose one to Parkinson's? Do men have worse ability to convert short chain

omega-3 into long chain DHA? Is that why Parkinson's affects more men than

women? Is there evidence to suggest that DHA deficiencies lead to later life

neurologic problems? Are there primate studies to show DHA deficiencies in

monkeys leads to Parkinson's? The answer to all of these questions is a

resounding, yes.

 

 

More than 1 million Americans suffer from Parkinson's Disease (PD), a

neurodegenerative disease that is clinically characterized by resting tremor,

muscular rigidity, gait problems and impaired ability to initiate movements.

Recent scientific findings show diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids, in particular

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), have a protective effect on this type of

neurodegenerative disease. Studies in animals clearly show that supplementation

of DHA can alter brain DHA concentrations and thereby modify brain functions

leading to reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and

Parkinson's.1

 

A recent study examined mice which were exposed to two diets; one group was fed

a diet with DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids; while the other group was given

ordinary food, lacking DHA. After a period of time they were given a dose of a

chemical that causes the same damage to the brain as Parkinson's disease. The

mice on the DHA diet seemed to be immune to the effects of the chemical, whereas

the mice that ate ordinary food developed symptoms of the disease.

According to the researchers, among the mice that had been given omega-3

supplementation - in particular DHA - omega-3 fatty acids replaced the omega-6

fatty acids in their brains. Due to the fact that concentrations of other

omega-3s (LNA and EPA) had maintained levels in both groups of mice, the

researchers suggested that the protective effect against Parkinson's indeed came

from DHA.2

 

Another conclusion drawn from this finding is that a brain containing a lot of

omega-6 fatty acids may create a fertile ground for developing Parkinson's

disease. These fatty acids, are abundant in foods rich in either vegetable oil

or animal fat, which we already know contribute negatively to our health.

 

Another study observed the effect of DHA on monkeys treated with MPTP, a drug

that induces Parkinson's like symptoms, and the results suggested that DHA can

reduce the severity of, or delay the development of these drug-induced symptoms

and therefore can offer therapeutic benefits in the treatment of Parkinson's. 3

 

Overall, this research provides evidence that DHA deficiencies can leave us

vulnerable to developing diseases like Parkinson's and Alheizmer's. If you are a

nutritarian, flexitarain, vegan, or vegetarian and you are not taking DHA or

confirming your levels are adequate with blood work you are being negligent, and

potentially increasing your risk of such a disease in later life. All the good

efforts on proper nutrition can be undone with one deficiency such as Vitamin D,

B12, or DHA. I see this every week in my practice.

 

History Repeats Itself

 

Some authors, doctors and leaders of the vegan movement today are heavily biased

towards the idea of not needing these supplements. They simply give inadequate

nutritional advice and in spite of all the science they still pooh-pooh taking

long-chain omega-3 DHA. They are risking the quality of their own lives and that

of their followers.

 

Likewise, I have seen so many vegan-promoting doctors and authors negate the

need for taking B12, as well as dismiss the need to take vitamin D, stating

minimal sunshine is enough. They also deny the need for omega-3 supplementation.

There is so much scientific literature available today pointing to the contrary,

however, this irresponsible information keeps radiating from the podium of

lecture halls.

 

It reminds me of all the statements in the past, that the need for B12 was

exaggerated and that the small amount of bacteria on organic produce or in

seaweed was sufficient.

 

 

TC Fry (1926 - 1996)- another long-term Natural Hygienist, raw foodest,

vegetarian-fruitarian, advocated you did not need supplements as food contained

all that we need. He died of an atherosclerotic-related embolism at the age of

70. I saw his hospital record at his death and reviewed his blood work drawn

immediately prior to his death. It was quite revealing. He had severe B12,

deficiency, so long-standing that his B12 levels were almost undetectable and

the lowest I have ever seen. It is kind of interesting reading internet

interpretations of why he died, such as " did not practice what he preached, "

" cheated on his diet, " " too much sex, " " ozone treatments for his vascular

disease " . He died prematurely simply because long-standing B12 deficiency leads

to extremely high homocysteine levels, which can cause intra-vascular

inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

 

I have seen this over and over again in vegans not supplementing with B12. I

even had a patient with extremely severe hyper-homocysteinemia and vascular

disease who flew in to see me from Scandinavia. When I diagnosed the problem and

discussed how to solve it, she still refused to take the B12 supplements,

stating that Dr. Shelton and Dr. Vetrano said that nature provided us with all

that we need in natural plant foods. She flew home angry that I disagreed. She

died soon after.

 

Don't be fooled into thinking that by merely eating right you are doing all you

can do to protect your health. People must be made aware that by neglecting to

take the supplements that are essential to assuring nutritional excellence, they

are putting themselves in harm's way. Specifically, not taking DHA, B12 and

vitamin D can be potentially dangerous and even life threatening.

 

Dr. Fuhrman's DHA Purity is a pure, fresh, all vegan, concentrated liquid. This

DHA is derived from algae grown under sanitary laboratory conditions.

 

1Calon F ; Cole G Neuroprotective action of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

against neurodegenerative diseases: evidence from animal studies. Prostaglandins

Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2007; 77(5-6):287-93

2M. Bousquet, M. Saint-Pierre, C. Julien , N. Salem, Jr., F. Cicchetti and F.

Calon Beneficial effects of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid on

toxin-induced neuronal degeneration in an animal model of Parkinson's disease

The FASEB Journal. 2008;22:1213-1225.

3 Samadi P ; Grégoire L ; Rouillard C ; Bédard PJ ; Di Paolo T ; Lévesque D

Docosahexaenoic acid reduces levodopa-induced dyskinesias in

1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine monkeys. Ann Neurol. 2006;

59(2):282-8

 

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