Exposure To Environmental Toxics and the Parkinson Connection

Excess iron early in life and exposure to Paraquat - a very nasty herbicide, have been shown to increase the risk of Parkinson's Disease - certainly this study was done on mice, but it points clearly to the importance of detoxification of environmental chemicals to avoid neurone damage. The article linked above states:

Those mice treated with the antioxidant, which was delivered at the same time as the environmental toxin, had significantly less nerve death in the area of the brain commonly affected by PD.

It was also stated:

“The fact that the antioxidant treatment prevented much of the nerve damage in the mice points to the need for an early diagnostic test for Parkinson’s disease,” said Andersen. “Currently, by the time humans are diagnosed with the disease they have already lost 60% of the neurons implicated in PD; treatment with an antioxidant would likely be maximally effective if taken before symptoms appear in order to halt disease progression.”

Interesting the way the scientific mind works.. I would have said.. perhaps taking antioxidants could be a great preventative for many things - not just early diagnosis and then take them. How about taking them as a matter of course?!

And antioxidants are not just in pill form - green tea, green leafy vegetables as fresh and organic as you can get, juices (for a great juicer see here) and of course all those yummy berries the more red colour the better!

Yet more evidence that says eat your fruits and vegies!!