Parkinson’s Disease

A Metabolic Dysfunction?

Yes, yes, I know.

Parkinson’s is an incurable, progressive condition that needs to be managed rather than ‘cured’.

But what if we could ‘manage it’ better?

I treated my husband solely with herbs for several years, until he decided to accept the Madopar he had been offered. He hoped it would improve his fatigue as he was still working.

The problem with orthodox drugs [as we know] is that for all the positives they offer there is often a catch. The catch in my husband’s case was, because they regularly increased the dose to maintain effectiveness over the years, there appeared quite distressing side effects. The most difficult was the dyskinesia.

Later, because he didn’t want to keep upping the Madopar and Amantadine he agreed to Deep Brain Surgery. When this was switched on it made a great difference.

For a time…

As many people have experienced before me, watching someone you love slowly deteriorate motivates you to think ‘what can I do?’ I have managed to keep up with some herbal treatment which he has found effective in several areas. But the disease marches on, taking more land as the months progress.

Looking at some of the research papers I am sifting through for my MSc, I have come across quite a bit of interesting stuff. Some of the reviews I have been wading through include interesting thoughts on sugar/carbohydrates in the diet for neurodegeneration.

Apparently mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance are prominent in PD, and the brain cannot use glucose efficiently. This creates an energy deficit state in metabolically vulnerable neurons. Recent reviews and imaging studies seem to show that PD is accompanied by systemic and regional impairments in glucose metabolism, which affects glucose uptake and glycolysis.

And this correlates with disease progression and dopaminergic neuron vulnerability.

Impairments in systematic and regional glucose metabolism exist in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) at every stage of the disease course, and such impairments are associated with the incidence, progression…which affect each physiological process of glucose metabolism. ¹

My husband’s consultant neurologist [he’s a nice man who tolerates me prescribing herbs to ‘his’ patient] may laugh at me [if I tell him] that I am steering my husband towards a ketogenic diet. BUT - the idea that we can meaningfully shift neuronal energy metabolism through diet is no longer fringe: it’s credible.

The review by Dai et al [2023] is a comprehensive review demonstrating that glucose metabolism impairment exists at every stage of PD. And it’s not the only one.

Recent studies suggest that glucose metabolism is a potential therapeutic target for PD, and describe how abnormal glucose metabolism is closely linked to the development and progression of PD.

Dysfunction of glucose metabolism impairs the normal functioning of neurons, which is widely observed in neurodegenerative diseases. ²

What can we do about glucose metabolism?

At the very least, we can do what people with pre-diabetes should do..

That is – as I am sure you know- is to reduce carbs. But whereas NHS advice is to eat whole grains and eat 6 small meals a day to keep blood sugar stable [yes, really], I think studies show that eliminating all carbs [even whole ones] is the way to go.

Systematic reviews and metaanalyses show that low‑carb and ketogenic diets can induce remission of type 2 diabetes in a substantial proportion of patients, including improvements in HbA1c. I wasn’t concerned with weight loss [my husband is a slim man] or diabetes 2 [I have tested his blood sugar alongside mine – never a problem], but I was concerned about the effect of potential impaired glucose metabolism in my husband’s brain.

Even if the neurologist may laugh, he isn’t the one living with a PD patient.

I am feeding my husband lots of good meat with butter and a few low carb vegetables. He seems happy. Most of all, he is thankful that someone cares enough to keep trying ways of lowering the inflammation in his brain and moderating his blood glucose levels.

At the very least, it makes me feel like I am doing something that may have a good effect.

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^{1 Dai C, Tan C, Zhao L, Liang Y, Liu G, Liu H, Zhong Y, Liu Z, Mo L, Liu X, Chen L. [2023] Glucose metabolism impairment in Parkinson’s disease. Brain Research Bulletin. 2023 Jul;199:110672. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2023.110672 PMID: 37210012}

^{2 Chen L, Wang C, Qin L, Zhang H. [2025] Parkinson’s disease and glucose metabolism mimpairment. Translational Neurodegeneration. 2025;14:10. doi: 10.1186/s40035-025-00467-8}

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