Study reveals that people with the disease have vitamin deficiency and eat a lot of red meat; new diet made the average motor recovery of patients jump from 44% to 70% in just three months of treatment
Include vitamin B 2 and take out red meat. These two small changes in the diet of people with Parkinson's disease are bringing great benefits to a group of 31 people participating in a study by Cícero Galli Coimbra, a neurologist and professor of Experimental Neurology at Unifesp. The patients, most of them being treated at the Hospital do Servidor Público Municipal, are checking not only the disease's stagnation but also its regression. Preliminary research data was presented at the 6th International Congress on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, held in Seville, Spain, in early May.
With only three months of treatment and diet, the average recovery of the patients' motor function went from 44% to 70%. "The best results are found in patients who are in the early stages of the disease", explains Coimbra. "However, there are cases of people who have been treated for a long time and who have had an improvement in motor function from 15% to 90% after the intervention." One of the cases described by Coimbra is that of Professor Cirlei Favaro, 66 years old. Parkinson's carrier for almost ten years, she needed help to get up and complained about the lack of balance even with the medication intake. Her symptoms before starting treatment in September 2002 were characteristic of phase 4 of the problem (see box).
Seven months after taking vitamin E and eliminating red meat (beef and pork) and derivatives (cold and small) from the menu, Cirlei celebrates: her symptoms have regressed, allowing her to drive and walk again in streets without fear of falling. Today, its characteristics resemble those of patients who are in stage 1 of the disease. "Now, I have an aversion to the food I consumed most in life: red meat."
The relief was also great for housewife Nirce Alves dos Santos, 66, who had her diagnosis confirmed just two years ago. Before starting vitamin B2 replacement six months ago, she consumed red meat at least four times a week and her symptoms put her in stage 2 of the disease. Currently, she is free not only of these symptoms but also of the medication indicated for Parkinson's patients. "My only concern now is to take the vitamin at the right time."
Source: http://www.unifesp.br/comunicacao/jpta/ed179/pesquisa4.htm
Guyton AC, Hall JE. Human Physiology and Mechanisms of Diseases. 6th ed. Koogan: São Paulo, 1998.
