Thread by @gillespi

🧠🔍1/12 Michael J Fox has it, the late Muhammad Ali had it, Billy Connolly has it and 60,000 new cases of Parkinson's disease are being diagnosed every year in the US. If you want to avoid adding your name to that list, there's one thing you should do: don't eat seed oils.

📜2/12 James Parkinson first described this condition in his 1817 paper on shaking palsy. Born on April 11, 1755, that's why April 11 is now World Parkinson's Day. Dr. Parkinson outlined a disease causing involuntary tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, and more.

🧠3/12 Parkinson's is caused by the death of cells in our pars compacta, which controls motor function. When working well, it uses dopamine to control our movement, attention, learning, and reward-seeking. Damage to dopamine-producing neurons results in Parkinson's disease.

🚶‍♂️4/12 As dopamine-manufacturing neurons decrease, a Parkinson's sufferer has to exert greater effort to produce movement. Our brain is durable, losing ~50% of these neurons before symptoms appear. But once gone, they're gone forever. #BrainHealth

💊5/12 The only effective treatment is medication that increases dopamine production by squeezing more out of remaining neurons. Before meds were introduced in the '70s, a Parkinson's patient was expected to live 9.5 years after diagnosis. Now, it's 15 years. #ParkinsonsTreatment

📊6/12 Parkinson's disease is most prevalent in people over 50, but 20% of cases are diagnosed between 20 and 50. Michael J Fox was diagnosed when he was just 30. #MichaelJFox

📈7/12 In Olmstead County, Minnesota, researchers found annual new cases of Parkinson's almost doubled between 1944 and 1984. Like Type II Diabetes, Parkinson's occurs less frequently in populations not exposed to a Western Diet (processed food). #DietAndHealth

❓8/12 The official position on the cause of Parkinson's disease is that nobody knows what causes the dopamine-producing neurons to die. The only official risk factor is age. However, some dots need joining, and when connected, the culprit becomes clear. #ParkinsonsResearch

🌰9/12 A diet high in seed oils causes Omega-6 fats in our cell membranes to rise rapidly, leading to oxidative stress. A major product of omega-6 fat oxidation is 4-Hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), which is especially toxic to dopamine-producing neurons in our brain. #SeedOils

🔗10/12 So, eating seed oils or foods containing large amounts of omega-6 fats induces the production of a molecule that we know kills the neurons we depend on for dopamine production. Kill enough of them, and you have Parkinson's disease. #Omega6

🍔11/12 The processed food industry, with the help of the Heart Foundation, has saturated our diets with omega-6 fats. It's in packaged foods, deep-fried foods, and baked goods. Every bite is potentially taking out the neurons that keep us from the ravages of Parkinson's.

🚫12/12 While nothing can restore the neurons you've already lost, you can prevent further loss by avoiding seed oils. It's a simple step that could make a big difference in your life. Stay informed and make healthier choices. #NoSeed