April 2022 is Parkinson’s Awareness Month and Monday April 11th has been selected as World Parkinson’s Day.
Once again, I have received a barrage of emails and social media posts begging for donations to a variety of organisations who claim that their research will:
1. Bring us closer to finding a “cure” for Parkinson’s;
2. Help identify specific drug “targets” to mitigate symptoms;
3. Improve our understanding of the illness process.
These seem to be worthy aims but lack meaningful impact when we realise that:
1. We already understand the major causes of Parkinson’s (see my last blog);
2. We have developed and are developing strategies to reverse those causes and repair the damage caused over many years;
3. Understanding the minutiae of the illness process is interesting and even exciting, but lacks importance if we neglect treating the fundamental causes of that illness process.
People with Parkinson’s (PwP) are individuals and the health of each person will be influenced by individual history and circumstances. However, we can group these causes, as detailed in my last blog, and identify the major influences that have led each Person with Parkinson’s to manifest their unique illness symptoms.
IDENTIFYING THE CAUSES
Creating a detailed and honest history of family and the life of each PwP can reveal major sources of stress and trauma which will be of at least some significance for 98% of those diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Ideally the history will include events in the lives of grandparents and parents (e.g. places/times of birth and childhood, occupations) when known, social conflicts or traumas they experienced, plus as much detail as possible in the life of the PwP. Circumstances, time and location of birth, siblings, parental relationships, home stability or instability, rural or city living, socioeconomic status, parents’ occupations and work done by the PwP are all influences on health.
This history can also help identify contact with environmental toxins influencing health (significant for over 90% of PwP). Crop/weed/pest sprays, animal dips and ground water pollution can affect rural dwellers while traffic, EMF, water chemicalisation, noise and lack of open spaces can affect city dwellers.
Food habits over the years may be a major contributor to healthy resilience or illness, so honesty about this is essential.
Once a history is established, any hint of toxic influence can be followed up with a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA), a relatively inexpensive, non-invasive test showing levels of nutrient minerals (important for metabolic function) and/or toxic minerals such as arsenic, lead, aluminium and other heavy metals.
If we suspect the influence of rural chemicals such as glyphosate or paraquat (there are many others), a urine toxin test can identify which are impacting health and to what extent.
History and, if needed, a couple of simple tests will establish cause for 70% of PwP and allow us to develop strategies to help them return to much more resilient wellness.
Stealth infections, while requiring skilled treatment, are significant for at least 30% of PwP, ARE reversible and the process of identifying the presence of a hidden infection can start with the MSIDS questionnaire, developed by Dr Richard Horowitz and included in my book, “Rethinking Parkinson’s Disease", on page 76. If the score indicates the likelihood of an infection, following up with a skilled, experienced practitioner can begin the journey to illness reversal and re-creation of wellness.
It's not “rocket science” but it IS science – the science of common sense and wellness. Everything mentioned here is based on many years of excellent and published research too long ignored by conservative medicine.
It would be wonderful if, during Parkinson’s Awareness Month 2022, we saw vast increases in funding for wellness projects based on known causes. This is probably a utopian dream but, as People with Parkinson’s, carers and/or practitioners determined to help our patients become well, we CAN discover the causes for each PwP and begin their journey to robust health.