Excess Iron - Linked to Parkinson's

It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Our bodies need iron. Iron is a necessary component in our blood and without enough iron your body cannot produce healthy red blood cells. This causes iron deficiency anemia. Children and adults all need iron.

Deficiency can cause you to become pale, tired and cold. it can even make you crave strange substances, like chewing on ice cubes.

But as essential as iron is to our body's health; too much can be a bad thing.

Excess iron has been found in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is an incurable disease that causes neurodegeneration and affects motor function.

Parkinson's is a combination of genetic and environmental exposures that usually hits people over age 60. Neurologists look for loss of pigmentation of the substantia nigra and the presence of Lewy bodies in the early stages of the disease to make the diagnosis. When the substantia nigra is damaged that causes striatal dopamine deficiency which causes resting tremors, rigidity, postural instability and a slow shuffling walk.

Too much iron can impair the process of cellular recycling which results in toxic oxidative stress.This is the body's inability to reverse harmful effects, repair damage and detoxify.

It is unclear exactly how iron causes the damage linked to Parkinson's disease. Studies suggest that it stems from an impairment in the lysosome and the impairment allows excess iron to escape into the neurons.

Don't stop eating your spinach. Your body still needs iron to function.

Do come to Second Nature Care.

The gut is where I begin treatment. We remove all gluten, most grains and dairy out of the diet. Processed carbohydrates aggravate SIBO and don't allow leaky gut mucosa to heal properly. High-protein foods block the absorption of the main Parkinson's medications - Levadopa or L-dopa which affects their efficacy. I also test for Herpes 6 and elevated heavy metals with an eye on mercury. The golden triangle in Parkinson's is poor gut function, high viral loads, previous exposure to pesticides and elevated mercury.

Because of poor gut function I strongly recommend I.V. therapies. Ozone chelation and I.V. glutathione both improve function while we are healing the gut with L-glutamine, fish oils, NAC, turmeric, probiotics, gelatin, phosphatidyl choline and resveratrol.

http://www.secondnaturecare.com/good-gut-probiotics

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