What is the best diet for Parkinson’s disease?
A heart-healthy diet is also beneficial for brain health. “This is because a heart-healthy diet is good for blood vessel health, and that includes the blood vessels in your brain,” says Oliveira.
So, what foods are good for Parkinson’s disease? Rather than focusing on a limited list of foods, Oliveira suggests following a pattern of eating that includes:
A variety of many plant-based foods
“Parkinson’s disease is an inflammatory brain condition. We’re finding that inflammation in the brain and body has a lot to do with the gut microbiome, the billions of microbes, or ‘gut bugs,’ that live in your digestive tract.”
The beneficial gut bugs love the fiber that plant foods contain. “As the gut bugs break down plant fibers, they produce chemicals that have anti-inflammatory effects in the body,” Oliveira says. “These chemicals may also boost your immune function.”
Plant-based foods that feed our gut bugs include:
Probiotic foods
To further support your microbiome, Oliveira suggests eating probiotic foods that contain microbes that benefit gut health. Healthy probiotic foods include:
She only recommends taking probiotic supplements if you’re working with a knowledgeable health care provider. “The high doses of probiotics you get in supplements can be too much for your system,” she says.
Enough lean and plant protein
“It’s really important to get enough protein because every cell in your body needs protein daily,” Oliveira says. How much protein is enough? “We recommend getting a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day.”
To calculate your minimum daily protein intake, multiply your body weight in pounds by 0.36. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need at least 54 grams of protein per day.
Your protein doesn’t have to come from meat. In fact, plant proteins can be very beneficial. “Some studies show that plant proteins such as tofu, beans, nuts, and tempeh help reduce inflammation,” Oliveira says. “And these protein foods also contain the fibers that gut bugs prefer.”
Timing your protein intake may be important if you take levodopa, a common Parkinson’s treatment. “Eating protein at the same time you take levodopa could make the drug less effective,” Oliveira says. She recommends taking levodopa at least an hour before or after eating protein.
Foods to avoid with Parkinson’s disease
Oliveira says while it’s important to understand what foods are good for people with Parkinson’s, the right diet isn’t about following strict rules but an overall pattern of eating that best supports your health. “It’s about the synergistic effect of many different healthy foods working together,” she says.
But some types of foods don’t support this healthy eating pattern. She encourages limiting:
Saturated fat
A diet low in saturated fat is better for blood vessel health because saturated fat can cause inflammation in blood vessels. “You want to do what you can to keep the blood vessels of your brain as healthy as possible,” Oliveira says.
Ultra-processed, low-nutrient foods
Ultra-processed foods with long ingredient lists, artificial ingredients, unhealthy fats, added sugars, and preservatives contain little nutrition. And they can negatively affect your microbiome. “We want to encourage the growth of beneficial gut bugs, which means limiting these types of ultra-processed foods and eating plenty of high-nutrient foods,” Oliveira says.
Excessive alcohol
“We recommend no more than moderate alcohol consumption for people with Parkinson’s disease,” Oliveira says. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that means a maximum of: