John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

We continue our discussion on the most common diseases of the nervous system and look today at Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

These are both diseases caused by the loss of brain neurons, though in very different ways. Parkinson's disease is caused by destruction of dopamine-releasing brain neurons in the area of the brain called the substantia nigra.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is essential to help with brain function. The loss of these dopamine secreting neurons results in the persistent tremor and other symptoms. According to PD researchers C. Henchcliffe and M. Beale (2008) the most likely cause of PD are certain genes that target the energy producing mitochondria of these neurons. This then causes a cascade of cell changes including reduced energy production and a significant increase in free radicals. When this damage accumulates it becomes toxic to the cell eventually resulting in cell death.

A number of antioxidants have been suggested as having potential to reduce this free radical damage, especially Co enzyme Q10 and alpha lipoic acid. My approach is to apply a broad range of antioxidants and then to add much higher amounts of a specific CoQ10 and R-alpha lipoic acid. Resveratrol and OPCs are the main grape derived antioxidants and these may well have an advantage in they are both anti-inflammatory.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is another progressive degenerative brain disease caused by the death of brain neurons. Neuron death is caused by the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques which are toxic to neurons. There are many theories as to the causes and processes of AD but it seems as the destruction is partially caused by an inflammatory response against the beta-amyloid proteins that form plaques. The body reacts to these as it would an invader. New anti-inflammatory drugs are now proposed as part of treatment for AD.

My approach is to add high doses of Omega 3 from fish oil as these increase the immune system production of anti-inflammatory compounds. Additionally, DHA in fish oil is the preferred fat for the brain so maintaining high levels makes sense. From a nutritional view, I like to add higher doses of antioxidants especially the OPC's and Resveratrol as these freely cross the blood brain barrier to protect brain cells. Give me a call if you need help. To join my weekly newsletter go to www.johnarts.co.nz and visit www.abundant.co.nz

John Arts is the founder of Abundant Health. To contact John, phone (local) 07 578 9051 or 0800 423 559.