Diet

By diet I don't mean miracle cures. I mean the way you eat every day.

What Does the Research Say?

Observational studies show that people who eat a Mediterranean diet get Parkinson's less often and later in life: lots of vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, olive oil and fish. Whether changing your diet after the diagnosis slows the course of the disease has not been proven. The Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet derived from it come out best: lots of vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, plus berries, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fish and legumes, and little red meat, butter, sweets and fried food.

A high-fiber diet is also good for the gut flora, especially for the bacteria that produce butyric acid, and it helps against constipation, a common problem in Parkinson's.

New (2026): first studies with patients. In Istanbul, 40 patients ate for six months either a plant-focused, mildly ketogenic diet with a twelve-hour overnight fast or as before. In the diet group, motor scores improved by 11 points on UPDRS part III, while the control group got slightly worse (Journal of Parkinson's Disease). The study is small, but it fits my own diet. A large French cohort of more than 71,000 women also confirmed: with a MIND or Mediterranean diet, the risk of Parkinson's was about a quarter lower, but only for disease onset before the age of 71 (Annals of Neurology).

How I Eat

After my first microbiome transfer in November 2021, the doctor advised me to avoid gluten as much as possible. Since then:

• I avoid wheat products, cow's milk products and industrially processed foods
• I eat little meat and fish and lean toward a vegan and, as far as possible, alkaline diet
• I skip breakfast, because I am convinced that longer breaks between meals support the cells' self-cleaning

I used to think diet was one of the most important building blocks. Today I rate its share somewhat lower than that of exercise, TPS or the microbiome transfer. It still matters, though, especially for the gut. More on fasting under Fasting and Fasting-Mimicking, and on supplements under Supplements.

Effort and Cost

A healthy diet mainly costs you change and discipline, not necessarily more money.

My Conclusion

Eat as naturally as possible, with plenty of fiber and little processed food. It doesn't hurt anyone, and it helps the gut, the heart and the brain.