4 Tips to Help Lower Your Risk for Parkinson’s Disease

Legendary National Football League quarterback Brett Favre was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a progressive and debilitating nervous system disorder that affects cognitive and motor abilities. In the early phases, symptoms develop slowly, are mild and possibly overlooked. For instance, people with PD may experience an occasional tremor in their jaw, finger or foot.

However, as time goes on, Parkinson’s will rob them of facial expressions, their arms swing as they walk and normal speech patterns. Additional symptoms include:

• Rigid muscles
• Slower movement
• Poor posture
• Unstable balance
• Deteriorated penmanship
• Emotional issues like depression and anxiety
• Sleep disorders
• Urinary incontinence 
• Lack of sense of smell
• Fatigue
• Trouble swallowing and chewing
• Loss of voluntary movements, e.g., blinking
• Cognitive skills such as thinking, reasoning, memory and learning
• Chronic pain
• Low blood pressure, causing lightheadedness, dizziness and possible fainting

Currently, PD doesn’t have a cure – just medications, surgeries and supportive therapies that help control it. The number of new PD cases is rising in the United States. Before 2012, between 40,000 and 60,000 new PD cases were diagnosed each year; however, that number has risen to 90,000 a year – an increase 50 percent. Experts expect that number to double before 2040, according to American Scientist.

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

PD occurs when nerve cells in the brain break down or die. The loss of cells interferes with the with the brain’s ability to produce and distribute dopamine, a chemical that helps brain cells communicate with each other and the rest of the body.

Low dopamine levels compromise brain activity, making it difficult for the body to function. As a result, many bodily systems don’t work properly, causing PD patients to struggle to move, think and communicate. There’s also a drop in norepinephrine levels, another chemical messenger responsible for attention, cognitive function and reaction to stress, causing anxiety, depression, headaches, loss of memory, sleeping issues, low blood pressure, low blood sugar and poor attention span.  

What Causes Parkinson’s Disease?

There’s no definitive cause. Johns Hopkins Medicine explains that diagnoses are often a combination of risk factors that include:

• Age. This is the biggest risk factor. On average, PD patients are diagnosed at age 60. The average age of Americans has been rising over the last few decades, one reason the number of PD cases is rising.
• Genetics. An immediate family member with PD doubles your risk for developing it.
• Gender. Men have a greater risk than women.
• Head trauma. Concussions and other forms of head injuries increase the chances of PD. Severity and frequency of injuries play a role and may help explain why Favre was diagnosed at age 54 and famed boxer Mohammed Ali was diagnosed at 42.
• Environmental hazards. Contact with heavy metals, solvents, pesticides and herbicides raises the risk. American Scientist and Earthjustice believe the growing PD problem may be related to Americans’ exposure to paraquat -- a deadly herbicide banned in many countries but still used in American farming and agricultural communities. Another influential factor is exposure to the carcinogen trichloroethylene (TCE). This chemical is used, used to decaffeinate coffee, dry-clean clothes and degrease metal was linked to parkinsonism in 1969. A small study found that occupational and hobby exposure to TCE raised the risk of PD by 500 percent, according to a study published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a ban on TCE; however, currently, it’s still possible to drink water contaminated with TCE and eat foods that have been processed or washed in water contaminated with TCE, according to the National Cancer Institute. It’s believed that chemical exposure contributed to iconic actor Michael J. Fox’s PD diagnosis at 29 years old.

Additional Risk Factors

Toxins such as illicit drugs, particularly those with amphetamines or MPTP are thought to raise the risk for PD. Alcohol is not fully understood. PD patients who have a drink can experience a short-term rise in dopamine levels in certain parts of the brain, temporarily easing some symptoms. However, PD patients who engage in long-term, chronic heavy drinking wind up with depleted dopamine levels and an exacerbation of symptoms.  

Another risk factor is metabolic syndrome (MetS), an increasing common condition that affects up to one-third of American adult, according to Mayo Clinic. This is a cluster of conditions -- unhealthy blood fat levels (cholesterol and/or triglyceride), insulin resistance, high blood pressure and excess abdominal weight -- that raise the risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, dementia and PD. Climbing MetS rates may be related to higher PD rates. In fact, people with MetS had a 24 percent higher risk of PD than individuals without MetS, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine.

Metabolic syndrome is associated with producing oxidative stress, which Cleveland Clinic defines as an imbalance of free radicals (an unstable molecule produced during normal cell functions) and antioxidants (a substance that helps protect your body from free radical damage). Oxidative stress causes free radical attacks on brain cells, raising inflammation markers in the brain, blood and cerebrospinal fluid, which cause cognitive degeneration. PD patients have significantly higher levels of these inflammatory markers compared to people without PD, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

There’s also a connection between the individual conditions involved in metabolic syndrome and PD. 

• High cholesterol – has been linked to PD. Cholesterol is essential for healthy brain function, but elevated levels are believed to raise the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia and PD when combined with overweight/obesity, according to a study published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy.
• Abdominal obesity – generates inflammation, resulting in more oxidative stress and brain cell death. Keep in mind, obesity isn’t always rooted in excess calories. Evidence has shown that unhealthy gut biomes can cause obesity and related neuroinflammation, raising the risk for cognitive issues including PD. Obesity also has ties to insulin resistance.
• Insulin resistance – promotes inflammation and obesity, raising oxidative stress and is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, an established risk factor for PD. Type 2 diabetes not only raises the risk for PD, but having type 2 diabetes can help determine the course of the disease and prognosis, according to a study published in the journal Neural Regeneration Research.            
• High blood pressure – creates an inflammatory response that can damage the midbrain cells responsible for releasing dopamine, ultimately causing motor skill deficits.

4 Tips to Help You Lower Your Risk for Parkinson’s Disease

PD is not fully understood, so it’s not preventable. However, you can take steps to lowering your risk for developing it by incorporating these five lifestyle tactics.

Exercise. University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center promotes regular exercise as one of the best ways to prevent and/or delay the onset of PD. Exercise helps control MetS and its individual components. It also improves muscle strength/endurance, coordination and balance, as well as circulation, helping the brain develop protective mechanisms. Regular exercise also can help manage symptoms and slow the progression of the disease, according to Yale Medicine.

Drink caffeinated beverages. Coffee may lower the risk of PD. Studies suggest caffeine may protect your brain, possibly helping to delay the onset or improve certain symptoms. It also may help ease some side effects of PD. Keep the caffeine intake reasonable, though.

Maintain a healthy gut. Your gut affects your overall health and there is a connection between the brain and the gastrointestinal system, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Eat a Healthy diet. A diet rich in plant foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes can help lower the risk for PD, according to a Mass General Brigham. An easy way to get enough plant foods into your diet is by following a Mediterranean-style diet.

Before you change your diet or exercise regimen, talk to your doctor. If you don’t have a doctor, consider joining an MDVIP-affiliated practice. MDVIP-affiliated physicians have more time to help you in your pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. Find a physician near you and begin your partnership in health »