Mental and Neurological Disorders 115
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) usually develops between the ages of fi fty and
sixty-nine. In cases where the cause is pesticides, asbestos, or other
airborne chemicals, symptoms often appear decades after exposure.
Carl is convinced he developed Parkinson’s as a result of the job he
had as a young man spraying polyurethane foam over metal frame house
structures. The swirling particles of white polyurethane, confi ned in an
old airplane hangar, became so thick, Carl said, that it looked like a
snow blizzard. Working without a mask, Carl breathed in this powerful
petrochemical for two years during his eight-hour workday. Thirty-fi ve
years later at the age of seventy he was diagnosed with PD.
For seven years before his diagnosis, Carl was presymptomatic. In
the beginning his only symptoms were stiffened legs after a long walk
and hands that were perpetually cold. Two years later he developed a
tremor in his left arm, and his handwriting became so small that it
couldn’t be read without a magnifying glass. This was followed by his
inability, when in a crowd of people, to focus on what was going on. It
was obvious that he had tuned out when his eyes glazed over.
Wary of the long-term effects of taking L-dopamine, he refused it.
Instead he went on a grain eater’s diet. He also has weekly acupuncture
treatments, which he believes is principally responsible for halting the
progression of the disease. Carl’s symptoms have not worsened during
the two and a half years he has been on this protocol.
In Parkinson’s disease, communication between the two regions of
the brain involved in speech and coordination—the substantia nigra
and the striatum—is cut off. This separation is due to the destruction
of the dopamine cells that carry messages back and forth between these➤ Acupuncture. This prevents migraine headaches in almost 60
percent of the sufferers who use it.
➤ B complex. Take a B complex capsule containing 100 mg each
of B 1 , B 2 , and B 3 three times a day. If you don’t get signifi cant
relief, take additional B 3 —up to 3,000 mg/day.*Take as many as possible of these nutrients in the form of whole-food complexes. Follow
the directions on the bottle for dosage.