Hello everyone,

The whole of this article is very enlightening and I would like to think that this could make a difference to us all I have lifted out two sections which may just make you interested (sorry if this is old material and you have seen it before) and ifd I am doing this thread thing wrong sorry its my first time [blush]...

Skin Regeneration

Skin regenerates mostly during the night. Elevated cortisol reduces skin regeneration. Normal cortisol rhythm is essential for skin health, especially conditions such as "adult acne."

Individuals with skin problems often have low zinc and high copper levels. The connection with cortisol is that excess copper speeds the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine and adrenalin. The excess adrenalin tends to increase cortisol. Meanwhile, the lower dopamine increases the risk for Parkinson's and early Alzheimer's.

Also, skin problems such as eczema are associated with gliaden intolerance. Gliaden is a component of gluten grains. Gliaden intolerance is also exacerbated by high copper.


EnglishMalc ---And the article continues, who else wakes up thinking that it PD causing you to wake up every 4 hours. There is something about this that simply rings bells to me and my history before and after PD...

Eat Protein by 8 a.m. Each Morning and Every 5 Hours While Awake

Cortisol levels start to rise whenever one does not eat for 5 hours. During our daily overnight fast, cortisol levels rise to the level needed for us to "bounce out of bed." If one eats later than 8 p.m., then the peak cortisol elevation needed for easy wakening may be delayed, and one is likely to feel tired in the morning and not experience adequate energy to function properly until later in the day.

Likewise, if one does not eat by 7 or 8 a.m., then the morning cortisol level continues to rise and may overshoot the normal range. When the cortisol level overshoots its goal any time during the day, it is often difficult to bring the cortisol level back down in time to achieve the lower range needed in the evening for REM sleep. Thus, the fatigue problem perpetuates itself.

Some individuals who tend to skip breakfast do so unwittingly in order to use short-term starvation as a stimulus to secrete cortisol and thus bring subnormal morning cortisol levels up to normal. This approach has the disadvantage of stimulating adrenalin which itself is a "wear-and-tear" stress hormone.

Note that sleep will be interrupted if we have inadequate glycogen stores to provide the brain with energy throughout the entire night. Glycogen stores are replenished each time we eat protein (or eat a low glycemic meal) every 5 hours during the day. Glycogen stores in the liver are depleted a little each time we skip a meal or if we eat more carbohydrate than protein within any 5-hour period. If we skip meals habitually or eat excess starches and sugars, sleep disruption is predictable. For individuals who have depleted their glycogen stores in this fashion, a bedtime snack of 2 bites of protein may be required for several days or even weeks until the glycogen stores in the liver are replenished enough to sustain the brain throughout the night.

Much confusion about which foods raised glycogen stores arose in the 1970's when it was common for coaches to encourage athletes to "carbohydrate load" before major sporting events. Indeed, one of the popular diets of the era encouraged individuals to eat only fruit before noon. These practices of eating inadequate protein actually led to glycogen depletion, not to mention derangements in cortisol rhythm. The assumption that high glycemic foods increase glycogen stores was erroneous, and a generation of athletes and diet enthusiasts suffered fatigue and adrenal exhaustion as a consequence. We still find a carryover of this notion adversely affecting patients and athletes today.

Happy Reading...

The full article can be found here...
http://www.nutrition4health.org/NOHA...rdingAging.htm

Cortisol levels are a critical component of the PD picture and are key to our relationship with stress. Ever find yourself "jumping" when a sudden sound startles you? Or becoming symptomatic from stressful situations?

Prenatal exposure to maternal stress hormones as well as bacterial endotoxins can result in chronic elevated cortisol levels. They also seem to set the stage for future PD.

In any case, most PWP have elevated cotisol. They also have a disrupted pattern of cortisol production - almost a "flat line" - instead of the cyclic pattern of high in the morning to low in late evening.

A lifetime of elevated cortisol takes a toll.

Welcome, Englishmalc, and thanks to you and Rick. Here's yet another interesting article. However, I'm not sure I can process any more of these findings and discoveries, I'm telling you, I'm stressed out trying to keep up-to-date with all the dos and don'ts. AAAAGGGGHHHH!
We cannot eat proteins or grains because our Sinemet quits working, but then again I have to make sure that I don't end up malnourished (which I already am) and lose my teeth. Now it turns out that if we don't eat proteins (which we can't) we'll have a cortisol imbalance and wake up every 4 hours at night. Nobody has been able to explain how you can reconcile these contradictory requirements. Between the alpha-synuclein protein, the excess iron, the low copper (or was it low zinc?), the mercury, the timerosal, the lead, nickel and cadmium, I feel like I have a pack of dead batteries instead of a brain.

I don't mean to be impatient, but really...wouldn't it be better if they all stopped that endless hair-splitting and concentrated on finding a way to transplant stem cells without giving us tumors?