Listen to Your Gut

When I was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2013, I was obsessed with what caused it. I read articles from journals and magazines alike. I scoured the internet. I talked to medical professionals with whom I worked. The best theories I learned were bordering on conspiracies. One online source blamed Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s on his constant consumption of Diet Coke. I grew up drinking Diet Rite, one of the first zero calorie sodas. The number four selling soda of the 1970s, the Diet Rite jingle stated, “Diet Rite Soda, good for you and children too…” There it is right there. There’s no way it causes Parkinson’s.

The idea of the disease process being driven by the foods we eat and the drinks we drink seem to be more popular today than ever. Most of it makes sense. I can’t take back what I have eaten in the past. I can control what I eat and drink today. The fact is I have Parkinson’s. There is a family history of it. For some reason I am comforted in blaming my ancestors rather than the beverage my parents chose when they were at the grocery store when I was a kid.

Recently, there has been a lot of research about the role of the “gut” in causing Parkinson’s. Researchers have found evidence in the gut of a specific protein that is known to have a role in Parkinson’s. They might be onto something but all I have in my gut is a handful of levodopa/carbidopa and the sinking feeling that I might as well get used to having Parkinson’s.

Original Painting © Steve Steinberg