As I plow through the ever-increasing and voluminous volumes of PD research, I try to figure out how we can pull together what we know to find something that will help us better than what we have available today.

It is hard, as every PWP is different. And our human bodies so complex. But I am honing in on this idea in my non-medical/non-scientific background:

We have reason to believe PD begins in the gut. We have reports that many people feel better with regard to PD when taking antibiotics (they kill off the bad bugs), and conversely, there are anecdotal reports of fecal transplants improving health (because they supply good bugs). I've read that the cast of characters in our biome numbers in the trillions, and outnumbers the total cells in our body by 10 to 1. It's a wonder we're even alive

There is one, and probably more, things in our biomes that is particularly hard to get rid of: candida, a yeast. Candida has a tough outer shell (think barnacle) that is very hard to bust through, which is why it can not only survive inside our gut with its corrosive acids but thrive and make us sick and miserable.

Why focus on candida? Because it creates bad things in our bodies that may cause PD, or at least, symptoms that are collectively called PD:

1. acetyledehyde...acetaldehyde can damage our digestive system, creating microscopically tiny holes in your small intestine through which Candida can escape into your body. This permeability can also contribute to various digestive issues such as food allergies and a condition commonly referred to as leaky gut syndrome, LGS.

As the Candida makes its way through the body, it moves from place to place, creating a systemic infection or overgrowth. Once candida migrates into the bloodstream, new groupings of Candida can multiply within your organs, in our circulation and even in and around the brain, and in any area that is considered the “weak link” of the body, which can vary widely from person to person.

This helps explain to me why our symptoms can vary so much from PWP to PWP.

There is at least one other thread on the forum about acetyldehyde.

2. tartaric acid....this blocks a cell's ability to use glucose normally and forces the cell to anaerobically produce energy. Energy created in this bad way is 20% as much as the cell could normally produce if tartaric acid were not blocking function. No wonder PWP are so tired, 80% less energy!

How does it do this?

Tartaric acid inhibits our production of malic acid, a key intermediate in the Krebs cycle ( a biochemical process used for the extraction of most of the energy from our food). Specifically, tartaric acid is a known inhibitor of the Krebs cycle enzyme fumarase which produces malic acid from fumaric acid.

The effect on our heads: if sufficient malic acid cannot be produced, the body cannot produce the sugar glucose, which is the main fuel for the brain. We may feel weak and have foggy thinking because there is insufficient fuel for the brain. Consuming sugar may provide short-term relief but this will stimulate even more yeast overgrowth and within a short time symptoms are even worse.

3. acetyldehyde + tartaric acid = brain issues.....when tartaric acid and acetaldehyde combine, they prevent your brain from getting the energy it needs to survive, so we see brain fog, depression, fuzzy headedness. What a mess.

What to do?

1. Diet: eat a diet as unfriendly to candida as possible, no sugar (including fruits, try to limit those), grains, you can google this as there is a lot of information out there about candida and diet.

Remember Dr. Wahls recovered from MS by eating a boatload of veggies daily and keeping her glycemic (sugar) load extremely low: I read she ate a fruit only every few days, and then it was usually berries.

2. Malic acid supplementation? I have no idea, but have read that malic acid is OTC. Since candida creates tartaric acid which blocks production of the necessary malic acid, we may give this a go as well.

3. Candida is a yeast, which is a fungus. There are antifungal medicines out there, but my reading indicates that the yeast can often return once the medicine is reduced or stopped. There are varying theories about why this happens.

4. Get a urine organic acid test to see what your levels are.

5. Not recommending this, but turpentine apparently might be of use in dealing with candida. I've been surprised to read how far back people used it and for what ailments. Heavily diluted, of course, just google to research for yourself. I've already read about kerosene being used as well, incredibly.

Getting candida back in balance takes months, usually at least 9. That is how long it took for Dr. Wahls to notice an improvement. I'm not saying MS and PD are the same, but there is a huge overlap in symptoms in MS, PD, CFS, fibro, etc.

As for why so many people have a candida overgrowth, it seems simple: over-use of antibiotics which kill off the good bacteria in our gut (how many times do toddlers get antibiotics for ear infections, coughs, etc.) and horrible diet from birth forward which leads to not only continuation of the problem but actually makes the candida flourish all the more. No wonder we cannot get well.

What do you all think?

Besides the critical function of allowing our cells to process glucose correctly, malic acid also binds to excess aluminum and pulls it out of the body, helping prevent aluminum toxicity (and, if you believe in the aluminum/Alz. connection, may prevent Alz.). Here's this clip:

"The Aluminum - Magnesium Link

Research have suggested that aluminum may be more likely to accumulate in the brains of persons whose diets are magnesium-deficient -- which, unfortunately, includes 90% of Americans! Several studies have shown that animals fed diets low in magnesium accumulate high concentrations of aluminum in the Central Nervous System. One of magnesium's many functions is to activate the enzyme tubulin involved in the maintenance of nerve tissue cells. It has been suggested that when there is not enough Magnesium in the body to plug into the appropriate receptor site on the tubulin enzyme, aluminum takes its place instead. This leads to the inactivation of tubulin and, consequently, inadequate nerve function. Malic acid can pull aluminum away from this enzyme, making a place for magnesium. This may be a protection against Alzheimer's disease. Malic Acid is found abundantly in fruits such as apples. Malic Acid is also produced in the human body. It is a metabolite of the Krebs cycle the set of biochemical reactions used to produce 90% of all energy in the cells of the body. Malic Acid readily crosses the Blood-Brain-Barrier and has been shown to bind to aluminum. It functions in the body by drawing aluminum away from the tubulin enzyme, so that Magnesium can plug into the receptor sites instead. Malic Acid's unique ability to bind with aluminum means it can be flushed out of the body, preventing unwanted build-up."

From: http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthursto..._toxicity.html

Flouridated water, by the way, contributes to our aluminum load:

"Treated municipal water - Many municipal water supplies are treated with alum (aluminum sulfate) to get rid of murkiness. At least seven separate studies have shown that people drinking water high in alum are more likely to develop Alzheimer's than people drinking water low in alum. The worst part is that alum can combine with flouride in the blood to form aluminum fluoride. About 300,000,000 pounds of sodium fluoride, an industrial waste from aluminum refiners, is added to our water supply each year. (see Fluoridated Water)

Aluminum researcher Elizabeth Jeffery has found evidence that flouride interferes with the body's ability to get rid of aluminum. She says, "My research indicates that flouride readily combines with aluminum in the blood, and that aluminum flouride, once formed is very poorly excreted in the urine." She believes that the aluminum fluoride then becomes concentrated in the bones (where flourine replaces calcium) and continues to slowly release and recycle through the body over time. Albert Burgstahler, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Kansas, has found that aluminum flouride can pass unusually well through biological barriers, notably the blood-brain barrier, and accululate in the brain."

From the same website source as above.

Aluminum is everywhere, in our water, in our foods, deodorant, shampoos, toothpastes, medicines, even fillings. Like most things, we have to have a small amount of aluminum to survive, but in our world of today it looks like we are being inundated, and our bodies cannot process the stuff out fast enough.

My take away from this is that we are all probably getting way more aluminum than we need, and to offset that, eat foods rich in magnesium and/or supplement, and be sure you get enough malic acid, either from apples (or other food source, but apples appear to be one of the highest food sources) or a supplement.

I am dealing with it as I type. I cannot touch contaminated from water, beauty products, veg & meat etc. I had to get a shower filter and take coconut baths everyday. Coconut for toothpaste, hair, cooking, skin. I have to wash clothes in ammonia if I cannot afford natural detergent, I use crystals for deodorant, have to eat organic, call the Hinkley springs to delivery spring water, tons of kefir, coconut everything, olive oil, holistic enzymes, multi vitamin, parasite killer all herbs etc.....very complex and expensive! But it is coming along in a positive way.Life changing