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What Every Person with Parkinson's Should Know About Diet

The Secret Life of Parkinson's

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Can what you eat really affect Parkinson's disease?

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Laurie Mischley to discuss the latest research on diet, lifestyle, and Parkinson's progression. We explore why nutrition may play a bigger role than many people realize, the evidence behind common dietary recommendations, and how researchers are using new tools—from remote monitoring to innovative technology—to better understand Parkinson's over time.

Whether you're newly diagnosed or have been living with Parkinson's for years, this conversation offers practical insights and a fresh perspective on what you can do beyond medication.

Chapters
00:00 Welcome & Meet Dr. Mischley
02:00 Why Diet Matters in Parkinson's
08:30 New Ways Researchers Are Studying Parkinson's
15:30 Foods That May Influence Progression
22:30 Dairy, Processed Foods & Nutrition
29:00 B Vitamins & Brain Health
34:30 Lifestyle Beyond Medication
39:00 Small Changes That Can Make a Difference

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The Secret Life of Parkinson's podcast is powered by Changing Parkinson's, a non-profit we started to meet PD patients where they are to help live their best life today. Visit www.changingparkinsons.org and sign up for our newsletter!

20 Comments

@thesecretlifeofparkinsons Creator 1 month ago Pinned

Subscribe and never miss an episode of The Secret Life of Parkinson's, powered by Changing Parkinson's: http://bit.ly/4gQM3CB

@JeffGR4 1 month ago

My dad's occupational exposure to a degreaser that contained the chemical trichloroethylene or "TCE" increased the risk for Parkinson's by 500%!!
He also used Roundup at home which has glyphosate — that certainly didn't help matters. He enjoyed drinking milk, and rarely drank coffee. His struggle with Parkinson's was an agonizing ordeal for him and his family. I miss him so much.
Let's eradicate this disease once and for all!!

@johnknox1490 2 months ago

I love how Dr. Mischley is not afraid to offend. So believes in her science and is not deterred. Thank you for bringing her on. Good stuff.

@karenrosenberg5784 1 month ago

I had a great opportunity to see Dr. Laura in person. She’s amazing & presents herself in a very unique way. I love the B12 she recommends & it has calmed my tremor down recently from a very stressful situation that I experienced for a year.

@HealingMyBody 2 months ago

this is an incredible podcast! Thank you so much for having this guest on your show!

@laurensaccu2426 1 month ago

Thank you for sharing !

@boshenaw.929 1 month ago

Looks like my husband has Parkinsons from the fall, when he knocked the back of his head on a concrete as we have been eating that perfect diet for years and he still got diagnosed with the illness. Maybe we should start drinking wine and smoking as those are the only two things we are missing 🙂

@KW-xl7mj 1 month ago

Jessica, your hair is so perfect now. Love it!

@freefallmode 2 months ago

Diet makes an immense difference to my PD symptoms, even down to a daily basis. Great work Dr Mischley on your evidence-basede approach!

@xjet 2 months ago (edited)

Perhaps I am an outlier but I eat a lot of dairy and my PD has progressed incredibly slowly -- now six years since diagnosis and still not regularly needing medication. My focus has been on diet and exercise. I make sure that every day I eat nuts, fruit, vegetables and high levels of protein (a lot of it dairy such as Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc) and supplement with creatine. Perhaps this reinforces the truth that every PD patient is different.

When I recently suffered a crushed sciatic nerve in my backside and was on my back for a month, my symptoms became very bad -- possibly because I was unable to exercise. I also lost a huge amount of weight because the medication (opiate painkillers) effectively killed my appetite and I wasn't eating much at all. I've been on regular hi-dose B12 injections since then and I have noticed a significant improvement. Perhaps because I'm exercising again, perhaps because my diet is complete again and perhaps because of the B12.

@zedman6516 2 months ago

Not buying it!
If you want to really avoid getting PD.. avoid exposure to manmade chemicals that are all around us in our environment. Such as, stay away from golf courses, a place where they spray chemicals to control their weed problems, or industry where chemicals that are known to cause PD are used, like in manufacturing for metal working, or used in the dry cleaning industry. This list is huge, I believe I did read a stat that said that 6% of PD patients got it through genetics and the rest was from the environment.
This is where they need to dig deeper and enforce laws harder, where health harming chemicals are being carelessly used.

@JiminyCricketBro 2 months ago

Thank you for helping people by spreading this info! We love Dr. Mischley!

@kellyrios5394 2 months ago

Very interesting podcast. I appreciate Brian questioning some of what she said. It’s important to get opposing perspectives. There are so many variables with Parkinsons.!

@robertkerr9527 2 months ago

Thanks for this interview.❤ Whenever I notice certain symptoms change in their severity I wonder if ill be able to properly track it for my doctors with my poor writing skills and Aspergers. I downloaded the app for tracking my symptoms and look forward to benefiting me. Tools and conversations like this give us hope instead of just sitting in the dark.

@carbonejack 2 months ago

I love your podcast. You always have such interesting and knowledgeable quests. I learn a lot. Good work.

@gailmarieerlandson66 2 months ago

Great conversation! I like the growth mindset and the belief we control our own destiny motivating. To some degree this is true, but also there are some things out of our control. Keeping the balance between acceptance and change is something I work at. Dr. Laurie Mischley is a wonderful resource, teacher, and researcher. I find the Pro 21 diet is too strict for me at this time, but I do find many of her suggestions helpful. Presently, I am focusing on the problem of getting enough protein and avoiding protein around the timing of my levodopa medication. I take levodopa frequently through out the day since I use 1/2 tabs of Sinemet as well as Crexont twice a day. At this time I am on more of a Mediterranean diet aiming also for low dairy and ample fish. The majority of my protein intake is at the end of the day so as not to interfere with medication absorption. I am a candidate for D.B.S. and look forward to surgery date (which i don't know at this time). I agree that we need to be evidence based. I think some of Dr. Mischley's research is more by association than hard core research. (But I could be wrong)...

@donnak.hoffman3159 1 month ago

Thank you for this information! Will investigate.

@michellelee4843 2 months ago

No dairy- no yogurt,no milk kefir...?

@CorvetteWiz-Z06 2 months ago

Interesting data. I eat cheese every day and yogurt 3-5 days a week, I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase of Parkinsons but I know that diet modification isn't going to be easy for me. I like to eat everything on your list that increases PD progression and while I eat most vegetables regularly, nuts, legumes and seeds are going to require a lot of changes on my part. FYI I have been deficient in B vitamins for many years and have been taking B vitamin supplements as part of my type 1 Diabetes treatment for at least 25 years. I started with B12 injections but transitioned to pills when "digestible" formulations became available. Given that studies show that exercise and diet modification slow PD progression, I think that everyone with PD needs to make their own decision on how much exercise and diet modification is right for them.

@HermanMelville-hp6cj 1 month ago (edited)

I’ve been incredibly blessed to have had several clinical sessions with Dr. Mischley …. she’s absolutely a superstar. I saw three neurologists before I found her practice and not one of them tested my blood or did hair samples to check my nutrient uptake and the health of my gut.She immediately focused on B12 as a key to my issues. In her first work up, she told me “your brain is on fire” due to my homocystine level. I’ve been so blessed to have her professional advice …… she is a league all of her own.