Has anyone tried the ketogenic diet here? I remember someone mentioning it a while back. A friend of mine is on thta diet for her diabetes and it works well (although her doctor accused her of having an eating disorder and she is very thin). It's a less extreme version of the Atkins Diet. I think coconut oil is a big feature - I try to eat a spoonful of coconut oil a day in a smoothie but haven't noticed any change. Anyone know more about this?

thanks

Trixiedee

Trixiedee,

Please see the thread "Pass the fat, please..." it is all about ketogenic diet, coconut oil,anti-inflammatory diet, paleolithic diet, mitochondrial diet,...To date there has been only one study on the ketogenic diet for PD and many could not hack it because well meals are rather unpalatable. I know that the ketogenic diet has been used since the 20's to control epilepsy; it especially works well for children basically they only have to do diet for a year or so then are seizure free after this; they can leave the diet behind. I thought of trying but am trying to to lose weight.

There is more in the archives if you type in ketogenic.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ketogenic+diet

As for coconut oil...the studies are on Alzheimer's and show positive results.If we develop dementia it is entirely different brain systems involved between two diseases. I tried and it did not make a noticeable difference in my symptoms; however, oddly it is a great boost to your metabolism. More energy and helps you lose weight. I shed several pounds on it but noticed no symptom benefit. See the writings of Mary Enig on coconut oill plus dits.

Hope this helps.

Laura

Thanks Laura. To be honest I can't even cut out gluten so I guess it's not the diet for me. I wonder if at least cutting down on carbs and eating lots of protein (not with sinemet) helps. It's something I instinctively have felt drawn to for years.

How do you take coconut oil? I have it in a smoothie but don't get it together to make one every day. There are lots of raw food recipes with coconut oil, must try to make some...

Trixiedee

Funny, Trixiedee, I have no will power either. Friends and family keep encouraging me to try gluten free diet, but I can't see it happening unless my symptoms dramatically change as in disappear altogether. ha. Same with ketogenic. Modified Zone diet which is like a ketogenic lite diet and also used to control epilepsy might be worth a look.

On cocout oil...

The funny thing is unless coconut is in a sugary, frou frou cocktail, I really do not like the flavor of it. To integrate it into my diet took some real effort let me tell you. I think the goal is 1-2 tablespoons daily. You are on the right track with the smoothie. I hope you melt it first? What makes it more palatable to me is to heat, add to smoothie, and it solidifies to texture of ice chips- I just have trouble with idea of adding a grease blob to my food.

The other ways I could tolerate were cooking with it. It is a medium chain triglyceride which is the healthy aspect. You can cook with it at a high temp; other oils become harmful for us at high heats - they become free radicals and given that we have the rave to end all raves already going on in our brains, we do not need any frisky cells looking for a place to mutate.

Honestly, you only notice coconut after taste for a short while and now I don't detect it at all. I use it for browning meats to making pancakes. I do; however, draw the line at cooking eggs with it. Also if you eat oatmeal everyday, try adding a bit to your cooking water.

Who knows? It could be working for me at the molecular level and too soon to tell...I try to tell myself that PD didn't happen over night, so if it takes 5-10 years before our symptoms appear, it is doubtful that any sort of repair is going to be noticed immediately. I am pretty sure Ron Hutton said he took a daily dose of curcumin and it paid back in 8 years -he has significantly lowered his meds.

I am glad you brought up this again because I have slacked on taking enough so I will start again in earnest tomorrow. Incidentally, to anyone who needs to take off a few pounds, the coconut oil works! Odd I know but apparently it takes fat to get our metabolism going. See the book "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Mary Enig, nutritionist.

Another thing to contemplate is intermittent fasting. This is in a mouse model, mind you, but I think the approach makes sense. Researchers found that it was neuroprotective in animals, but it does seem to show some real benefit humans too.

Laura