[lurkingforacure]

We grapple daily with low blood sugar from not being able to eat or else the sinemet doesn't work at all. It's a real choice: starve and feel dizzy and light-headed and lethargic from lack of food all day, and the drugs kinda work, sorta but not really that much....or eat something as seemingly benign as a TicTac and be off all day. I have been trying to understand the connection between all of this and in today's mail I got my newsletter from Dr. David Williams.

Among other topics (take coconut oil, take curcumin, take cinnamon, he recommends that people don't get the flu shot), he said this (my comments and paraphrasing in paranthesis):

"...one of the jobs of the adrenals is to counteract excessive activity of the pancreas. The pancreas releases the hormone insulin in response to a rise in blood sugar levels to keep it from reaching dangerously high levels. On the flip side, when the blood sugar levels fall too low, the adrenals release the hormone cortisol, which triggers the conversion of protein to glucose and raises blood sugar levels....(normally cortisol is only released in life-threatening situations, the flight-or-fight we know about...) ...most of our adrenal glands are overworked and fatigued for two reasons. First, high stress levels nowadays seem to be a constant problem. (we all know this) Second, we consume so many refined carbohydrates that our pancreas is routinely dumping enourmous amounts of insulin into the bloodstream in an effort to normalize blood sugar levels, which requires the adrenals to respond more frequently than ever...(guess what...they poop out)..The adrenals are responsible for the release of adrenaline (aka epinephrine), a hormone that helps relax and the dilate airways to improve breathing...."

All of this was in the context of asthma inhalers, and that there are ways to try to counter asthma naturally instead of inhaling corticosteroids which are being proven, decades after their first use, to show stunting of growth (many children grow up using these), high blood pressue, insulin resistance, and perhaps others. He suggests trying these things to beef up exhuasted adrenals:

1. avoiding/reducing stress
2. cutting the sugar in all forms (breads, cookies, etc.)
3. taking a B complex
4. taking vitamin C
5. something we just ordered: adrenal gladulars (Drenamin is what we are going to try).

This is pretty much the diet of Dr. Wahls as well as the nutritionist that had PD and recovered from it by diet, all discussed here on the forum.

We also are going on an epsom salt bath trial of one for 7 days, 20 minutes soaks once a day, and see what a difference it makes. Our Drenamin won't be in until next week anyway, so we will have the week to see what, if any, difference a daily epsom salt bath makes.