An open letter to a son whose father has Parkinson's Disease
Recently I read an online essay that was written by a person whose father has had progressive Parkinson's disease for several decades. The tone of the essay was one of despair, confusion and frustration from a son who truly loved his father and would do anything to help him.
Given the fact that a lot of the medical information that is on the internet comes from Big Pharma websites, the author understandably repeated many of the myths about Parkinson's disease, such as the "no known cause" myth or the "it might be genetic" myth.
However, in the middle of the essay, the author did reveal that his dad had been a farmer in his younger years and had been exposed to some of the common agribusiness-promoted neurotoxins (such as insecticides and herbicides) that seem to have been accepted by the industry as normal parts of farming. Of course, physicians have known for a long time that neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease are one of the occupational hazards of farmers who are exposed to neurotoxins like farm chemicals, solvents and heavy metals.
So, wanting to encourage the author to keep on with his research, I wrote a note to him. As is my wont, the note turned into a 2500 word essay. I submit it below, keeping in mind Dr Marcia Angell's wisdom:
"It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines."
Comment: Which puts in evidence the complete absurdity of the fact that foods marketed for diabetics contain fructose. At this point, people only need to do the opposite of what official guidelines recommend in order to heal from their diabetes:
Want to reverse diabetes? Ditch the ADA guidelines and go low-carb