Is this the smoking gun behind Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is one of those medical mysteries.
Despite the fact that 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with PD every year, specifics as to a cause are few and far between.
But now, all of that might change.
A new study done by a group of Canadian researchers has uncovered what well may be the reason why so many develop this frightening and debilitating neurological condition.
What’s come out of this research is vitally important information that could be key to preventing yourself or a loved one from receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
And although a cure still hasn’t been found, the best “medicine” for this terrible disease is to take whatever steps are necessary to not develop it in the first place.
A chemical connection
While the idea that Parkinson’s disease can be triggered by environmental causes has been floated for years, research has been limited to laboratory animals or based on population observations (such as how many farm workers develop PD). In effect, no concrete evidence has been found.
But researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario recently took another approach.
Armed with the knowledge that two specific chemicals have been linked to the risk of developing PD, they exposed human cells to the pesticides paraquat and maneb.
And they found that if you have a genetic risk factor for PD and come into contact with even minute amounts of these chemicals, your chances of developing Parkinson’s jumps by a whopping 250 percent!
The Canadian scientists discovered that these pesticides can cause a type of disruption in cells that actually “mimics” the Parkinson’s genetic mutation. This means that anyone with that defective gene is being put in grave danger by even the slightest exposure to these chemicals. The tiny amounts that can set the disease cascade in motion were far below what the EPA considers to be the “lowest observed effect level.”
If the dose makes the poison, it sure looks like these poisons come in very small doses!
But even if you don’t have this genetic predisposition, there’s still a risk — the only difference being that the amount it took to cause these disastrous cellular changes is slightly higher.
Frighteningly, these chemicals are liberally applied to the food we eat… the lawns our kids and grandkids play on… and even the links you might be golfing on. One of them is so easy to come by that you can purchase a mixture containing maneb on Amazon.com… to use right in your own back yard!
And despite the fact that paraquat is extremely poisonous (according to the EPA, “one small sip can be fatal, and there is no antidote”) and has been banned in the European Union since 2007, it’s still one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S.
Why, even China has announced that it will be phasing out this toxic chemical!
And as one expert said, paraquat’s connection to PD is “overwhelming.”
To make matters even worse, mixing deadly paraquat with Roundup to spray on genetically modified crops such as soy and corn has now become a common practice! That’s because the Roundup chemical glyphosate was used so haphazardly and for so long that even bigger guns were needed to kill weeds.
And even though the EPA noted two years ago that paraquat use is likely linked to Parkinson’s, it continues to turn a blind eye to the danger.
I wish I could tell you an absolute way to avoid being exposed to these toxins, but apart from moving into a bubble, there isn’t. What you can do, however, is take certain steps that will help you and your loved ones keep as great a distance from them as possible.
For example:
#1 While maneb can be applied to practically anything (with the EPA’s blessings!), three crops — apples, potatoes, and tomatoes — are especially likely to have been sprayed with it. That makes buying only organically grown varieties a must!
#2 The fact that paraquat is often mixed with glyphosate makes dodging GMO crops such as soy, corn, canola, and sugar from sugar beets more urgent than ever. Any food that contains those four ingredients should only be purchased when it’s labeled organic or certified to be GMO-free.
#3 You also want to completely eliminate any food that contains cottonseed oil (often found in chips and nuts), as paraquat is frequently used to strip the cotton plant of its dense foliage before harvest.
#4 Instead of using chemicals to kill weeds and bugs around your home and yard, take a more natural approach. It may not be as quick and easy, but from what we’re learning about the neurological damage caused by numerous weed and bug killers (above and beyond maneb and paraquat), having a perfectly green, weed-free lawn just isn’t worth the risk. And that’s especially true for your kids, grandkids, and pets who play on that lawn!
Right now, we know enough to say that the link between these pesticides and developing this incapacitating disease is quite real, and it’s one we need to take very seriously – regardless of whether our federal “watchdogs” decide to do.
“U of G study uncovers cause of pesticide exposure, Parkinson’s link” University of Guelph, May 23, 2018, news.uofuelph.ca
