AKG, AAKG, and my Parkinson’s

It has been six years since I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. (PD.) I am fortunate that the progression of the disease has been slow, and I like to think that this is largely due to my paying attention to my diet, exercise, and certain supplements I take on a regular basis.

The only medication I take is the very basic Levodopa/Carbidopa that has been around since the 1930s. It is relatively inexpensive compared to the latest treatments, probably contains more natural ingredients, and has less side effects. I also take a natural supplement, Dopa Mucuna which is a plant-based form of Dopamine.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that the body normally produces naturally, but sometimes as we age the body stops producing dopamine, which is the cause of Parkinson’s. Unfortunately, one cannot simply take a pill to replace the dopamine.

Most of what we take orally, never makes it past the gut and our digestive system, let alone make it to the brain where it is needed. It is better we exercise, eat healthy, and encourage the body to take care of itself.

In 2017 I started taking AKG and AAKG, supplements that are relatively safe, and are used by body builders to improve muscle mass, and endurance. At some point around 2019 I stopped taking it, I guess I felt there was no benefit.

About six months ago I came across a container of left-over AKG capsules. The expiration date was still good, so rather than throw them away, I decided to take them. This coincided with a disturbing development with my PD.

The only adverse effect with my PD up to that point was a tremor in my right hand, and the medication and supplements seemed to be taking care of that. This new development was in my facial muscles, my mouth would make involuntary movements, and my jaw would lock. This was somewhat painful and made it difficult to speak.

However, after about a week of taking the AKG capsules, I began to see an improvement. My wife even noticed and asked. “What are you doing different?” I got back with the manufacturers named “Simplesa,” and found that since 2019 they had improved the “Protocol” to include:·       

• ·         AKG,
• ·         AAKG,
• ·         Ubiquinol,
• ·         GABA,
• ·         Niacin.

Linked to the above list are articles explaining each of these ingredients. You can also do your own search, there are plenty of reliable online resources.

I eat a plant-based diet, I have not eaten meat since 2017. Fish, cheese, milk and eggs are my main source of protein. I eat a lot of fruit and green vegetables. I find as I grow older, I can get by on less food. I eat only twice a day, breakfast around 9 am. or 10 am. Evening meal is usually done by 6 or 7 pm.

This means I am effectively fasting 14 hours a day from 7 at night to 9 in the morning. This means my gut and digestive system gets a break each day.

I do not ride my bike as much as I used to, now I am in my eighties I am concerned with falling. I walk regularly, at a brisk pace for an hour or so. So far the Parkinson’s has not affected my walking. There are some nature trails near where I live, that are hilly and quite challenging. I also have a weight machine at home and do weights every other day.

As usual I must point out that I am not qualified to give medical advice, but I am simply stating what I have found to work for me. I know the Simplesa Protocol is working. I take three doses a day at six-hour intervals, and if I get off schedule, or miss a dose, I soon feel the facial seizures returning.

If you or someone you know has PD or possibly some other neurological condition, I hope you may find this useful. The human body is a wondrous thing, and for the most part will heal itself, but you must give it a fighting chance to do so.

Maintaining weight, eating right and feeling good

Six years ago, in 2015 I decided to make a concerted effort to not only lose weight but to maintain a healthy level. I wrote about it here on this blog. I will be 86 in three months’ time, and I now weigh 150 lbs. The weight I was in my teen years.

Key to maintaining this weight has been the practice of weighing myself every morning on rising from my bed and keeping a daily log. On reaching my eighties, I found it amazing the small amount of food I needed to take in daily, to maintain my current weight. Only 1,250 calories a day.

On a typical day for breakfast, I will eat a bowl of cereal, sometimes a cup of boiled rice, with blueberries added, or two eggs with a slice of sourdough bread.

Midday, a glass of A2 milk, and a hand full of nuts, or maybe two boiled eggs. Sometimes a protein shake made with milk and eggs added.

Evening meal, cheese, and crackers with fruit. Or for a cooked meal fish and a vegetable, or maybe a shrimp and vegetable stir-fry.

On occasions we may eat out at a restaurant, and a typical meal will be a thousand calories in one sitting. I can practically guarantee when I weigh myself the next morning, I will have gained three pounds, which is not a problem as I will be back down to my 150 lbs. the next day, two days at the most.

If I did not religiously weigh myself and log my weight each day, it would be easy to gain a few pounds each day and before I would know it, I would be 10 or 15 lbs. overweight. This daily logging of my weight is an essential part of the weight loss and maintenance regimen.

In 2016, year after my initial weight loss success, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle became even more important. Here I am six years later, and I am still managing my condition well.

I occasionally have a tremor in my right hand, but not all the time. It does occasionally affect my speech and I stumble over certain words, but it has not affected my walking or balance yet. I view it as an annoyance rather than a disability.

The other big change I made four years ago in 2017, I stopped eating meat. I came to this decision not because I believe meat is inherently bad, but the way meat is produced today is not good.

Animals are raised in a small space, where they have no exercise, and just eat. This cannot be healthy for the animal, so can it be healthy for me to eat the meat of the animal?

The animals are fed genetically modified food, given growth hormones to make them grow in as short as time possible, and antibiotics to prevent them from becoming diseased due to the unhealthy conditions they live in.

I now eat a mainly plant based diet, and apart from that I eat wild caught fish and shrimp; I feel farm raised fish is no better than other forms of meat. I buy only free-range eggs. So where do I get my protein, everyone asks? You can get protein from plants, but I eat such a small amount, how can I possibly get enough?

It is true, most protein comes from meat, and our body turns those proteins into amino acids, which we then build muscle and neurons in the brain, etc. I take plant based amino acids in the form of supplements.

It has worked for me because during my last annual physical exam, when my doctor did extensive blood work, not only were my protein levels normal, but my heart, liver and kidneys were, “As those of a 25-year-old,” in the words of my doctor.

I also take supplements for my gut, and others that are anti-toxins for my joints, organs, and others to repair neurons in by brain. It is the fact that neurons in my brain are dying that has caused my Parkinson’s, and my diet, exercise, and the supplements I am taking, at least appear to be slowing the process down.

I also cut back on vegetables that are in the “Nightshade” group. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes. I have not cut these out altogether but limit them to once or twice a week. The result has been that my arthritis pain in my shoulders, hips and knees has ceased. My wife has had similar results.

People sometimes ask if I miss eating meat, and yes, I do remember the taste of a nice juicy steak with fries. But I enjoy feeling good, and being pain free a whole lot more. And growing old sucks a lot less.

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My Parkinson’s and how my diet is helping

In the summer of 2015, I began a diet to lose and maintain my weight. I did what I set out to do and wrote about it here. When I started, I did not know I would be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease a year and a half later at the end of 2016. There is no known cure for Parkinson’s, however, I have seen improvements in my condition, especially this year. I attribute this to my maintaining this diet and continued exercise.

I pass this information on in the hope it will help and encourage others. My main symptom is a tremor in my right hand and arm, I can control this to a certain extent due to exercise and practice. Typing was difficult for a while causing me to double type letters and insert extra spaces. This has improved greatly.

I should mention I resisted taking medication for the first two years, because there are side effects, one being that after time it no longer works. When I did agree, I settled for Carbidopa-Levodopa which is a basic, inexpensive medication that has been around for eighty years or more. The prescription calls for three tablets a day, I take only two per day, along with two capsules of Macuna Perens, a natural non-prescription L-dopa supplement.

I still have most of my motor skills, I can write, sign my name, draw, and even thread a needle. My tremors are resting tremors that come on when I am relaxing and not paying attention. My Parkinson’s may slow me down a little, but it does not stop me doing what I need to do. I am fortunate that my condition has not caused me any gait or walking problems, but I do include walking and balance exercises in my workout regimen.  

One of the things I have found essential is to weigh myself every day, I have a scale in my bedroom and weigh myself every morning the moment I get out of bed. I then log my daily weight along with the date. If I gain or lose weight on any given day, I can adjust my food intake and within a day or so, and I am right back on track.

For example, if I eat out at a restaurant it is easy to take in 1,300 calories (My whole day’s intake.) in one meal and I can find the next morning I have gained 3lb. or 4lbs. If I get right on it and exercise a little more or cut back my intake, I am back to my target weight. If I did not keep track by writing it down every day, within a week or ten days, I could quite easily gain back an extra ten or fifteen pounds.

It really has not been that difficult, it just required I change a few daily habits. When I started out, I had to research how many calories each food had, but now I know what to eat from experience. In July 2017 I stopped eating meat. I detest labeling myself as a Vegan or Vegetarian, and do not want to become one of those boring people who treat food intake like some kind of religion.

When I stopped eating meat, I stopped eating dairy also, but the non-dairy part only lasted about two weeks. I now drink A2 milk, which comes from a certain breed of cow, and does not have the same protein as the regular A1 milk, it is easier on the digestion. I love it and it is a big part of my daily food intake.

I continued to eat cheese, but just this year I switched to goat’s cheese. It is an acquired taste, and I can’t say I prefer it over the regular dairy cheese, but I do feel less bloated with the goat’s cheese. And this is what it is all about, finding what works for me.

It was brought to my attention that plants in the “Nightshade family,” may contain toxins and should be avoided. This group includes, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, and even potatoes. There is no way I will stop eating potatoes; however, I have cut back on my intake and only eat potatoes or tomatoes no more than once a week.

For every article one reads online saying this Nightshade food group is bad, there is another that says this information is false, and these foods are safe. For me, an interesting affect from my cutting back on these foods, has been that my arthritis has improved. I had pain in both shoulders and could not raise my arms above my head. I also had severe pain in my left hip. Today I am pain free and have full motion.

I have stopped drinking soda and consume no High Fructose Corn Syrup. I will have the occasional beer, but not every day. On a typical day I start with coffee, black with no sugar. For breakfast a cup of cooked Balsamic white rice, with frozen blueberries or cherries added. Also, a tablespoon of local honey, which I have found helps with local pollen allergies. Alternatively, I may have two fried eggs with a slice of sourdough bread.

Quite often if I am not too active during the day, the rice may get me through until the evening meal, or I may manage with a glass of A2 milk and a handful of nuts. Or a slice of sourdough toast with almond butter and preserve. Almond butter I find is more nutritious than peanut butter, as the peanut is a bean rather than a nut. I eat bread sparingly, maybe two or three times a week, and because I eat so little I keep it in the freezer, then pop a slice in the toaster which thaws it out an toasts it at the same time.

About three times a week I will have a protein shake mid-day, consisting of 20 oz. of A2 milk, three raw eggs, a banana, or an avocado, and two scoops of Dr, Grey’s Super Food Shake for Men.

Evening meal will be fish, usually wild caught Cod or Salmon, with rice and a vegetable. Sometimes a shrimp and vegetable stir-fry, with rice. As mentioned occasionally a baked potato, or small red potatoes oven roasted with carrots, onion, broccoli. Sweet potato is not on the “Nightshade” list and I will often have one of those, baked instead of a regular baked potato. A green salad will often be included with the meal.

Most evenings, I will eat light with goat cheese and gluten-free crackers, and a large serving of fruit. Hommos (Or Humas.) will sometimes be a substitute for cheese. Eating this way is not at all costly, meat is expensive and by not buying it I can afford the best organic fruits and vegetables. I do not miss meat now I have become used to eating the way I do.

I stopped eating meat, not because I believe meat is bad in itself, but rather in the way it is produced. Animals and birds fed on Genetically Modified food and given hormones to make them grow faster. However, this is my reason, and my advice to anyone is, do your own research and find what works for you. I am not a qualified dietician, but I have laid out what is working for me, in the hope it may encourage others on their journey to better health.

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Another New Year

Here we are at the end of another year and the beginning of a new one. Not only a new year but a whole new decade. Time to reflect on the past year and decide what I want to achieve in the coming new year.

I ended 2018 and began 2019 with a four-month course of Chelation treatment. If you remember three years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I was tested for toxic metals, and found I had extremely high levels of Mercury and Lead and other toxic metals in my body. The Chelation Therapy was helpful in that it lowered the levels of all toxins by approximately half.

My condition has not worsened in the three years since my diagnoses and it some aspects it has improved. I take a very low dose of the prescribed medication, (One tablet a day, rather than the full three tablets daily.) I continue to exercise and maintain a strict, meatless diet. I still have a tremor in my right arm, but I can control it somewhat, and it does not stop me doing any I want to.

2019 was a busy year for my wife Kathy and me. We moved from Summervile, South Carolina, near Charleston and the East Coast, inland to Easley near Greenville South Carolina. It was this week after Christmas last year that we took a week off to visit Easley for the first time. In the months that followed we bought a new home and sold the old one.

We moved in June 2019, and we are now pretty much settled in, and putting the finishing touches to our new home. The Charleston area is a beautiful part of the country, but people are moving there in large numbers and traffic is becoming horrendous.

Plus, every time a hurricane heads towards the east coast the news media throws everyone into a panic, even though the threat might be 100 miles away. People evacuate, businesses shut down, gas stations run out of gas, etc., etc.

Where we live now, there is no threat of hurricanes, it is less populated, and is very rural, like living in the country. Yet we are only half an hour away from Greenville and all the retail shopping we would ever need. Our utility bills are cheaper, and we spend less on gas because we drive less, and spend less time sitting in traffic. I feel the move was a good decision.

At this point I would like to thank all my followers here and those on the Dave Moulton Bikes Facebook Group, for your continued support. My past requests for donations to help cover the cost of maintaining this blog and my Bike Registry, has this year exceeded my expectations.

For example, after my move, my computer quit, and it was necessary to buy a new one. There was enough money in my PayPal account, to cover this unexpected expense. This was largely due to your kind and generous donations. I appreciate your help and thank you.

This year I plan to attend the NAHBS Show in Dallas, TX. March 20 to 22, 2020. I will be giving a short seminar, and I hope to meet many old friends and make new ones. I am preparing by doing hour long brisk walks, as I know the show will involve a lot of standing and walking.

I wish you all a happy, healthful and prosperous New Year.

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Toxic Metals

In my post two weeks ago when I revealed I had Parkinson’s, I mentioned I was being tested for toxic metals in my body, as most neurological diseases are caused by metals in the brain. Especially Mercury in the case of Parkinson’s.

This week I got those test results back and my Mercury and Lead levels are both extremely high. “Off the charts.” Was how my doctor described it.

Also quite high were the levels of Arsenic, Cadmium, and Nickel. Over a life time, metals build up in a body and in my case that is already a long time. As a child I had toys made of lead, and if they were not made of lead they were painted with lead paint.

All through my first forty-odd years I lived in England in older houses that had lead water pipes, and old layers of lead paint. The Mercury could have come from food I ate, or from dental fillings, some that have been in place from as far back as the 1960s.

I probably breathed it a lot of metal fumes while brazing bike frames, which probably accounts for the cadmium and nickel. Anyway it serves no purpose to dwell on how the metals got there, except as a warning to others. 

The next step is to remove these metals. This will be done by a treatment called Chelation (Pronounced Key-lation.) The Chelation medication is administered through an IV in the arm. The metals then attach themselves to the medication and they pass out though the urinary tract. In other words you pee them away.

I already underwent one Chelation session, when my pee was tested to find these levels of toxic metals. Now I will have further weekly sessions for the next 20 weeks which will pretty much be the rest of this year.

Chelation treatment is not FDA approved, except for the treatment of metal poisoning. I find this interesting, because what the FDA is saying, is that Chelation will remove metals from a body, but there is no proof that it will cure Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Autism, and other neurological disorders it is being used the treat.

But as I see it, remove the toxic metals that caused the problem in the first place and you give the body a fighting chance to heal itself. Some of my brain cells have died because of these toxic substances, and as a result I have the beginning symptoms of Parkinson’s.

The human body is an amazing thing in that it can actually grow new brain cells to replace dying ones. However, if the toxic metals are destroying brain cells quicker than I can grow new ones, you can probably understand my reasoning why I need to remove these metals.

Unfortunately, Chelation will also remove things like Copper, Iron, Magnesium and Zinc and other metals a body needs, so I will be taking extra supplements to replace these. Also, the treatment does remove plaque that builds up in the arteries, so that’s an added bonus.

Chelation is not without risks, but as I am in otherwise excellent health, I am not too concerned. My first treatment will be this coming week. I don’t expect to see immediate improvements, any changes will most likely be gradual. I will keep you posted.

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