Parkinson's Disease: Can Your Gut Be the Key to Managing Symptoms?

Discover the surprising link between your gut and Parkinson's disease on the Live Parkinson's Live and Exceptional Life podcast!  

In this episode, we explore the emerging science behind the gut-brain connection and how it might influence Parkinson's symptoms. 

You'll learn about:

• The trillions of tiny tenants living in your gut and their impact on your health 
• How gut imbalances might be linked to Parkinson's development 
• The potential role of "leaky gut" in Parkinson's progression 
• Promising strategies to support a healthy gut microbiome, including diet, probiotics, and prebiotics 
• The importance of working with your doctor to create a personalized plan 

Join the host of Live Parkinson's Live and Exceptional Life as we explore the exciting potential of gut health in managing Parkinson's symptoms.  (#parkinsonsresearch #hope)

Share your thoughts! Do you have a question about gut health and Parkinson's? Leave a comment or reach out on social media!

#parkinsonsdisease #gastrointestinal  #gutmicrobiome #braingutconnection #microbiome #digestion #immunity #leakygut #inflammation

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References:
New Evidence Suggest Link Between Gut Health & Parkinson's Disease - Duke Health, December 8, 2023.

What are the Gut Microbiota and Human Microbiome?, Medicalnewstoday.com, Markus MacGill, February 15, 2023.

Gut Microbiome - Cleveland Clinic
The Gut - Brain Connection:  Why Diet Can Help Parkinson's Symptoms & Brain Health, Parkinson's Foundation, October 31, 2023.

Study in Humans Finds Link Between Parkinson's and Gut Health Imbalance, Medical newstoday.com, Deep Shukla, January 18, 2023.

Metagenomics of Parkinson's Disease Implicates the Gut Microbiome in Multiple Disease Mechanism, Wallen, et.al, November 15, 2022.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only is not intended to treat or diagnose Parkinson's Disease. Please ensure that you are following the treatment plan developed by your doctor. Please ensure before starting anything new you get approval from your doctor. The information being provided is based on my own personal experiences and does not guarantee that it will benefit everyone.

Please visit me at Liveparkinsons.com

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

Hello and welcome to Live Parkinson's live an exceptional life. I'm your host, chris Kustenbotter, and I've been living an exceptional life with Parkinson's for the past 14 years. The mission of this podcast is to help as many people living with Parkinson's as possible live a great quality of life. Today's topic is Parkinson's and gut health the surprising connection. Now, before we dive in, I just have a brief disclaimer. This podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat Parkinson's disease. Please ensure that you're following the treatment plan prescribed by your health care provider. The information is based on my research and my own personal experiences and is for educational purposes only. Did you know that a healthy gut might hold the key to managing Parkinson's disease? I know it sounds crazy, right, but someone who has seen the impact of Parkinson's firsthand, having lived with it for the past 14 years and having many friends with Parkinson's, I'm always looking for new ways to improve the lives of those affected. That's why today, we are diving into the surprising connection between gut health and Parkinson's disease. So buckle up, because this episode is about to get interesting. Now, before we wade into the specific details of Parkinson's and the gut connection, I wanted to provide you with an overview of what we'll be covering in this podcast and the benefits it can hopefully provide you in your Parkinson's journey. We will start with an introduction on the surprising connection between Parkinson's and gut health. Then, in segment two, we'll examine the gut microbiome and its role in health. Then we'll cover the gut microbiome and its composition and discuss the importance of a balanced gut microbiome for overall health and explain the gut-brain axis and how it communicates with the brain. Section three we'll discuss research findings on the link between the imbalance of gut microbiome and Parkinson's disease. We'll explore how gut inflammation and leaky gut may contribute to the development of Parkinson's. Then we'll mention the presence of alpha-synuclein, which is a protein in both the gut and the brain, and its potential role in the connection. And then, finally, in segment four, we'll give you some strategies to help you improve your gut health with Parkinson's. We'll discuss the importance of a healthy diet for gut health and for Parkinson's management, mentoring and specific dietary recommendations. And finally, the role of pre and probiotics in improving gut health and potentially helping to manage your Parkinson's symptoms.

Speaker 1: 2:45

Now, I know a lot of this probably sounds really technical and really complicated, but we're really going to try to boil it down and make things simple, but this is some exciting new research and that has great potential, so I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of it and help, hopefully, down the road here. It's going to help us all improve our quality of life. So now, before you roll your eyes in the back of your head and you're thinking, wow, this is way too deep for me, fear not, I will try to make this as simple as possible and so that we all get a better understanding of the connection between gut health and Parkinson's. Now I want to start out with a fun fact. According to published articles, about 70 to 80 percent of the body's immune cells are located in the gut, and the gut is often the first point of contact for microbes, and a well-balanced microflora in the gut plays a major role in keeping the immune system fighting off harmful bacteria and viruses. Probably weren't aware of that, were you? So 80% of our immune system protection comes from our gut. So all right, are we ready to get the party started? Let's crank up the sound system and hit the gas pedal, because here we go.

Speaker 1: 3:57

Did you know there's a growing body of evidence that the gut plays a role in developing Parkinson's disease and, in fact, in an article entitled New Evidence Suggests a Link Between Gut Health developing Parkinson's disease and, in fact, in an article entitled New Evidence Suggests a Link Between Gut Health and Parkinson's Disease that was published in Duke Health on December 8th of 2023. And in the article they state that the previous studies suggest Parkinson's disease begins in the gut and spreads to the brain, but they're not sure of the process. So they're trying to figure out if it starts in the gut and gets to the brain. What's the process for it to be able to do that? The article was a preclinical study and it was led by a Duke health researcher and it was reported in the journal JCI Insight. Now the Duke research team describes a process in which a protein found in the gut called alpha-synuclein travels through the nervous system and reaches susceptible nerves in the brain it in the gut. They are then able to spread to the brain and could form clumps known as Lewy bodies, which are the hallmark of Parkinson's and other forms of dementia. So there's some thinking out there that, and based on this study, that these alpha-synuclein are misfolded and then they travel to the brain, forming clumps, and that's what helps to lead to Parkinson's, and the article further states that there's a growing body of evidence that the gut plays a role in developing Parkinson's. One of the clues that they talk about is that gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation often happen before motor skills decline. And, if you'll recall, a lot of times when you're being diagnosed with parkinson's they ask you about constipation if you've experienced constipation, and that's one of the reasons why.

Speaker 1: 5:50

Now, dr little and his fellow researchers focused on specialized cells that line the gut, and they were called nro endocrine cells. It sounds technical. These cells react to the environment and sense toxicants like herbicides and pesticides in the intestine. I have done a lot of reading on Parkinson's. They talk about thinking that some of the causes of Parkinson's are exposure to pesticides. And these cells, the enteroendocrine cells that they looked at, harbor the protein alpha-synuclein, and that's the one that, if it's folding incorrectly, it can clump in the brain and lead to Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 6:30

Now, this is where the examiners were examining here. They're not sure whether the toxicants are causing the alpha-synuclein to misfold, but they were able to demonstrate that the misfolded alpha-synuclein can be transported from those enteroendocrine, those specialized cells, to the brain, where they can clump to form Lewy body deposits. Okay, that sounds pretty confusing, doesn't it? So, essentially, let's try to break this down and make it very simple. Alpha-synuclein is a protein in the body, and when it's damaged or it misfolds and it's in the brain, it can clump with other damaged alpha-synuclein cells and form Lewy bodies, and those Lewy bodies can then lead to Parkinson's. So what they're finding is that there's special cells in your intestine that if they become exposed to pesticides, for instance, or some kind of other toxicant, that it could cause them to either misfold or become damaged, and then they're transferred from your gut up to your brain and that's where the clomping could potentially lead to Parkinson's. But the question is, how does it get from the gut to the brain? So in this Duke study, they were able to show that the special cells in the gut that contain the alpha-synuclein were able to transport it from the brain, whether it was damaged or not. So whether it was alpha-synuclein that had no damage or misfolds, or whether it was damaged alpha-synuclein, the gut was able to transport that protein to the brain. Okay, so now that we see the surprising connection between the gut health and Parkinson's. So there's a connection there with the protein alpha-synuclein and gut health.

Speaker 1: 8:12

Let's switch gears and talk a little bit about the gut microbiome and its role in health. I know it sounds exciting, doesn't? It Brings you back to high school science class, but I'll try to make it understandable and relatable because I know personally, when I'm learning new things, I like to keep it as simple as possible and relate it to things that I'm familiar with. So let's shrink ourselves down and take ourselves on a stroll through the GI tract to learn more about all the organisms living there and why they are there in the first place. So let's start by defining some terms. So, according to the article, what are the gut microbiota and human microbiome? There are two terms that are often used interchangeably when they're actually different. These are microbiota B-I-O-T-A and microbiome.

Speaker 1: 9:01

Microbiota are the variety of different bacteria and viruses and fungi, that and other microorganisms that are present in one place like your GI tract. So, believe it or not, we actually have more bacteria and type of microorganisms than we do our human cells, but they we have a lot of both good and bad bacteria living in our GI tract and it consists of bacteria, viruses and fungi and some other organisms, but that is called microbiota. Now, the microbiome is the entire habitat of the body, including its microorganisms and the surrounding environmental conditions. So let's try to illustrate this as an example. If we weren't talking about microorganisms for a minute, as an example of the biota, it would be men, women, children, cows, sheep, chickens. So you have a variety of different organisms. You have humans, you have cows, you have sheep, chicken and they're living on a farm in the southern US. That's the biome, that's the habitat they live in and that's the environment they live in. So they live in maybe a hot, humid climate. So the easy way to think of it is the microbiota or the different variety of organisms there, and then the microbiome is where they live and what are the environmental conditions is where they live and what are the environmental conditions Now?

Speaker 1: 10:26

According to the article that was published in Medical News Today, what are the Gut Microbiota and Human Microbiome? The human gastrointestinal system has roughly 10 times more bacterial cells than it does human cells, and the gut microbiota, which again is the variety of organisms, has a profound impact on your health. These organisms have many functions in our body that include they help harvest energy from our digested food, they protect against pathogens, which are harmful bacteria and viruses, and then they help regulate our immune system, believe it or not. So you have both beneficial and harmful bacteria living in your GI tract, and as long as the healthy bacteria are more prevalent, they can take up space and keep the bad bacteria out and keep them from multiplying. So think of it as if you have an area where you have all these good people living, but then you have a gang or something that wants to come in and try to take over. As long as there's more good people, they can keep the gang at bay.

Speaker 1: 11:34

Now the problem is when the balance becomes upset or you ingest something with harmful bacteria, you can get an infection, for example, food poisoning. Food poisoning can cause vomiting and diarrhea. So you ate something maybe you ate some bad chicken with salmonella or you ate something else that was contaminated or had bad bacteria in it. In that case, a lot of times those bad bacteria will take over and that's what causes the vomiting and diarrhea. Now, the bacteria in your gut help you break down complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber. So when you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, they're there to help break the fiber down that you can't break down on your own. Now, according to the Cleveland Clinic, the bacteria in your gut also help provide enzymes that are necessary to produce certain vitamins, including vitamin B1, b9, b12, and vitamin K. So there's certain vitamins where we need additional help to be able to synthesize or make vitamins, and in this case, some of these bacteria give us enzymes that can help us make these vitamins.

Speaker 1: 12:41

Okay, now that we understand that the microbiota are a collection of different kinds of microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and fungi, and they're responsible for lots of functions in our body, this is where the microbiome wonderland, where they live, is located. Now, according to the Cleveland Clinic, again, the gut refers to the GI tract. So we're talking your stomach, your small and your large intestine, and typically the GI tract actually starts in your mouth and goes down the esophagus into the stomach and all the way through. Now they say that while you have some microbiota in your stomach and small intestines, most is in your large intestine or your colon. So what are some of the factors that affect your gut?

Speaker 1: 13:24

Microbiome, and that's again, that's the environment in which these bacteria live. Number one is diets Diets that are high in whole, unprocessed foods, like fruits and vegetables, whole grains. They tend to favor the helpful, beneficial bacteria, while diets high in sugar and processed foods create an environment favoring the less beneficial type of bacteria. A second factor affecting the environment in which they live is chemicals. Chemicals that may poison your microbiome include alcohol, smoke and pollutants. Now pesticides and antibiotics can also wipe out the good and bad bacteria. That's why sometimes people get diarrhea when taking certain antibiotics and that's why a lot of them will tell you to take it with food to help that particular problem. A third thing that affects your gut microbiome and the environment in which they live is the different organisms support each other, so it's all about diversity. So when you have less diversity of organisms, there is the potential to be overrun by the bad bacteria. It's like a weed taking over when there aren't enough good plants to crowd out the weeds. That's a good way to think about it.

Speaker 1: 14:36

When your gut biome loses its balance and becomes unbalanced, you have an unhealthy gut, and doctors refer to this as dysbiosis. So unhealthy gut is dysbiosis and this means there's loss or deficit of your beneficial bacteria and there can be an overgrowth of potentially pathogenic or bad bacteria, and this is caused a lot of times by the loss of the diversity and the different kinds of bacteria that you have. So an unhealthy gut is when you have typically not enough good bacteria and too much bad bacteria. So it's important that we eat healthy diets to make sure that we try to maintain those good bacteria to help keep the bad out. Those good bacteria to help keep the bad out.

Speaker 1: 15:28

Now some conditions that indirectly relate to gut dysbiosis or an unhealthy gut, according to the Cleveland Clinic, include anxiety and depression and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. So how do you know if your gut microbiome becomes unbalanced? Nobody's tapping you on the shoulder and saying, hey, your microbiome is unbalanced, you better check it out. No, we don't have anybody doing that. So some of the typical symptoms of gut dysbiosis or an unhealthy gut include gas pain and bloating, lower abdominal pain and then diarrhea or constipation. So in those cases, nobody has to tell you that you have an unhealthy gut. You quickly realize, hmm, something's not right here. I better make some adjustments or get this checked out.

Speaker 1: 16:18

Okay, so now that we understand the key role the gut microbiome plays in our health and all the functions it performs from helping with our immune system to helping us break down our food and the delicate balance that's needed in our GI tract to keep the good bacteria there and available and to help try to keep the bad bacteria pushed out. We need to understand how the gut and brain talk to each other, because that's going to help us understand the link between the unhealthy gut and Parkinson's. Now the Cleveland Clinic says that microbes in your gut can affect your nervous system through what's called the gut-brain axis and all that is. It's a network of nerves, neurons and neurotransmitters run through your GI tract and then can transport things to your brain. Now the Cleveland Clinic has an article on gut microbiome, also notes that certain bacteria actually produce or stimulate the production of neurotransmitters serotonin. That sends chemicals signals to your brain. They've got evidence that your gut can transport neurotransmitters to the brain and help send signals there. Okay, now that's a lot of technical information, but hopefully it gives you a better understanding of what the microbiome does and how it contributes to your overall health.

Speaker 1: 17:47

So let's switch gears now and look at the link between gut health and Parkinson's disease. So I want to start out with some statistics on gut health and Parkinson's and how they're linked together. There's an article the Gut-Brain Connection and why Diet Can Help Parkinson's Symptoms and Brain Health, and it was published in the Parkinson's Foundation on October 31st of 2023. And the article states that gastrointestinal dysfunctions are some of the most common and troublesome non-movement symptoms in PD. So I'll say that again that GI problems are some of the most common and troublesome non-movement symptoms in PD, and that constipation affects up to 70% of people with Parkinson's and it often begins before the onset of PD's movement symptoms. So people with constipation are going to be at a potentially higher risk of developing Parkinson's. Now the article also says that up to 75% of people with Parkinson's will also experience speech and swallowing issues.

Speaker 1: 18:49

Interestingly, the article also discussed research on a protein marker of intestinal absorbency, and that's called zonulin. And what are we talking about when we're saying intestinal absorbency? We're talking about how well your intestine is able to absorb nutrients without having them leak out or be transported across some of the membranes. So zonulin is formed in your GI, and zonulin is found in GI conditions such as celiac disease, and that's where people can't digest gluten. It's also found in inflammatory bowel disorders like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, and it's also significantly elevated in people with Parkinson's. Now the increase in intestinal permeability and all that means is how easily things can pass across the intestinal barrier leads to a addition called leaky gut. And what is leaky gut? Well, it's a decrease in that barrier in your intestine that can lead to inflammation and disease. So if some of the contents of your intestine can leak through and across the membranes and cause leaky gut, that can cause inflammation, which a lot of times you hear that inflammation is what causes disease.

Speaker 1: 20:07

Now, in another article in medicalnewstodaycom, it was entitled Study in Humans Finds the Link Between Parkinson's and Gut Bacteria Imbalance, and that was published in January of 2023. And the article was interesting because it noted that there was a large study that found people with Parkinson's disease had an imbalance in their gut microbiome composition and function, showing an overabundance of opportunistic pathogens, and what that means is that you had more bad bacteria and species associated with inflammation than they did good bacteria. So people with Parkinson's tend to have more of an imbalance towards the higher the bad bacteria. In a study published in Nature entitled Metagenomics of Parkinson's Disease, it implicates the gut microbiome and multiple disease mechanisms, and that study showed that people with Parkinson's disease show an imbalance in gut microbiota, expressing differences in 30% of bacterial species and pathways compared to neurologically healthy individuals. That was a mouthful, so what does that mean. So this study found that people with Parkinson's had an imbalance in their microorganisms living in their gut and a 30% difference in terms of the types of bacteria that they had in their GI tract compared to people that were neurologically healthy individuals. And a number of studies here consistently show that the imbalance of gut microbes are associated with neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson's. So when you have an imbalance in those gut microbes you have a greater risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 21:58

So let's try to put all these studies on gut health and Parkinson's in a nice box and see if we can just summarize it and make it simple on what some of the key findings were. Okay, the first one is a preclinical study led by Duke Health. Researchers found that a protein in the gut called alpha-synuclein can travel through your nervous system and reach susceptible nerves in your brain. And when the alpha-synuclein becomes corrupted in the gut and it spreads to the brain that it forms clumps known as Lewy bodies, which are the hallmark of Parkinson's. So that was the study. That was a summary of the study that I talked about earlier. So the alpha-synuclein becomes misfolded or corrupted and it's transported from your gut to your brain where it deposits and then hangs out with other and forms Lewy bodies and the other Lewy bodies all get together and they clump together and that's what helps lead to Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 22:54

Two studies also showed that gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation can occur before your motor skills decline, suggesting that the gut plays a role in developing Parkinson's. So people with chronic constipation may experience that several years before developing any motor symptoms with Parkinson's. So there are studies that support that that can be a precursor to developing Parkinson's disease, but that can be a precursor to developing Parkinson's disease. Researchers have also found that the gut bacteria in people living with Parkinson's differs from people living without Parkinson's. So those of us that have Parkinson's organisms living in our GI tract are going to be different than people that don't have Parkinson's. Is all that saying.

Speaker 1: 23:38

And then, finally, gastroparesis. That sounds pretty technical, but what that means is a delay in your stomach emptying. So it takes longer for, when you eat food, for your stomach to empty the contents into the small intestine where it can be further broken down. Aphasia, which is difficulty swallowing, and constipation are all associated with more than a doubled increased risk of developing Parkinson's. So if you have delayed stomach emptying, you have difficulty swallowing or you have constipation, you're at double the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. So hopefully I was able to take some of that information and boil it down and make it a little bit more simplified, because it can be very technical.

Speaker 1: 24:27

Okay, so now we've reviewed the clinical data on evaluating the link between gut health and Parkinson's disease, let's turn our attention to potential strategies to improve gut health and Parkinson's. But before we do that, I want to share with you an offer from audiblecom for the listeners of Live Parkinson's. But before we do that, I want to share with you an offer from audiblecom for the listeners of Live Parkinson's. Now, if you're not familiar with Audible, they're your one-stop location or one-stop shop for everything audio related, and they have thousands of titles with audio books to podcasts. They also have Audible originals that are produced by celebrities and renowned experts that you can learn from, and Audible is offering a free audio book and a free 30-day trial to listeners of Liv Parkinson's. Now there are several books on audiblecom that I have read personally and recommend, and they are no Time Like the Future by Michael J Fox and 10 Breakthrough Therapies for Parkinson's Disease by Dr Michael Okun.

Speaker 1: 25:28

Now, to take advantage of the free audiobook and free 30-day trial. Visit audibletrialcom. Slash exceptional life. Now I'll include a link in the podcast description. Now the audiobook is yours to keep, even if you don't sign up for the Audible membership. Now, for complete transparency and for my own personal integrity, if you sign up for the free audiobook and the free 30-day trial, audible pays me a small commission that I use to support this podcast and the liveparkinsonscom website. Now, if you decide to try these free trial and the free audio book, I thank you for supporting the podcast, but there's no obligation to become a member. That's a personal choice, but I wanted to make you aware that you are supporting the podcast if you decide to do that.

Speaker 1: 26:18

So let's now look at some of the strategies to help improve gut health and Parkinson's. Now it's important to note that diet and lifestyle all impact gut bacteria diversity. So your diet and some of the things that I'm going to talk about in just a minute are going to determine how diverse and how many different kinds of organisms that you have living in your GI tract. Some of the factors lifestyle factors that have a big effect on that are the type of foods we eat, how often we exercise, where we live and what stage of life we're in. So are we middle-aged, are we older, are we younger? That's all going to affect your gut micro diversity.

Speaker 1: 27:02

Now, healthy microbiomes have different types of microorganisms, and what are some of the strategies that we can employ to help ensure that we have a healthy microbiome in our GI tract? The first one is you want to improve gut health by increasing your fiber intake. Now, according to the Parkinson's Foundation, a fiber-fueled diet can break down by multiple types of gut bacteria to encourage a new microbial community in the gut. So the more fiber you eat, it's going to be broken down by a lot of different types of bacteria in your GI tract and that's going to encourage a new microbiological community to grow in your gut, meaning that you're going to have a lot more good bacteria, hopefully living there than you do the bad bacteria good bacteria, hopefully living there than you do the bad bacteria.

Speaker 1: 27:55

Now, as an example for some of the things that you can eat, a Mediterranean diet is associated with lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Higher microbial diversity and improved heart health and cognitive health are also seen when people tend to eat a more Mediterranean diet. So how do you get your fiber recommendation levels, which are at least 14 grams of fiber for every thousand calories that you consume on a daily basis. And one of the ways that you can get 14 grams of fiber if you're eating a thousand calories, which isn't very much, but if you're eating a 2000 calorie day diet, 28 grams most people don't get anywhere near that. But one of the ways to get there is to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables to start off, because they're both high in fiber, same with some of the whole grains and oatmeal and those type of things. They tend to be higher in fiber and the fiber is going to help you with those beneficial bacteria and the fiber is going to help you with those beneficial bacteria. You want to eat prebiotic fibers such as bananas, onions, garlic, chicory root, artichokes, beans, grapes and cranberries. These prebiotic fibers also are going to help get you the fiber you need and to help the good bacteria to have something to feed on and break down.

Speaker 1: 29:14

And then scientists are exploring the use of probiotics, prebiotics and what they call synbiotics Now probiotics. Their benefits are typically specific to one species and strain. So, for instance, when I was working, I had a product that I used to sell and it was a probiotic and it had one of the bacteria in. It was a bifidobacterium strain, but there's also lactobacillus and some others. So it's important that you understand that probiotics typically have usually one type of strain of bacteria in species and strain that are designed to help boost those types of organisms in your GI tract.

Speaker 1: 30:03

And then you have postbiotics and they're a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and their components and they confer a health benefit on the host. So postbiotics show some potential for easing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, treating infections, and they're looking at it for other additional benefits. And then you have what's called synbiotics, and synbiotics are prebiotics and they combine those with probiotics. So I talked about some of the prebiotic fibers being like onions and cranberries and artichokes. So they take a prebiotic and a probiotic and they mix them together and they comprise live microorganisms and they convey a health benefit to the person and they're being investigated as a potential to improve PD symptoms. So they're called symbiotics. So that's another strategy that is hopefully coming down the road.

Speaker 1: 31:04

Now it's important to review any dietary changes with your health care professional to ensure they're appropriate for your treatment plan. So just don't jump in to say, oh, I'm going to start eating 50 grams of fiber every day and I'm going to make all these changes. Make sure you review those with your healthcare provider first. All right, we've reached the end of our exploration into the fascinating world of gut health and its connection to Parkinson's disease, and what we've learned is we learned about the incredible gut microbiome, which is the environment in which all those different kinds of bacteria live, and its role in our overall health and its potential link to the development and progression of Parkinson's. So if you have an imbalance and the proteins in your GI tract become corrupted and they're transported to the brain, they're going to form the Lewy bodies, which are going to clump together and can lead to Parkinson's. So we also discussed some of the promising strategies to improve gut health, like dietary changes and exploring pro and prebiotics.

Speaker 1: 32:09

Now remember, while the research on the connection is ongoing, there's immense potential for gut health to play a significant role in helping to manage Parkinson's symptoms down the road. So if you're living with Parkinson's, consider talking to your doctor or a registered dietitian about incorporating gut healthy strategies into your treatment plan. They'll be able to help you create a personalized approach that fits your needs. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and family, especially those that might be interested in learning more about Parkinson's disease and gut health, and together, by continuing the conversation and supporting further research, we can unlock the full potential of gut health in the fight against Parkinson's. So please visit my YouTube channel, live Parkinson's, live an Exceptional Life Tremors to Triumph, and please subscribe. Visit my website for additional resources and I thank you for listening and being a part of the community to help us live a great quality of life with Parkinson's. Have a spectacular day and I hope to see you on future podcasts.