You know the feeling you get when you learn something new about a health problem you've

been trying to reverse, maybe high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease?

Well, there's nothing I like better than bringing you the information that will help you do

just that.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Today we begin a fascinating new series on treating Parkinson's with diet.

And we begin with a question.

Since Parkinson's is caused by a dopamine deficiency in the brain,

what if you ate foods rich in the dopamine precursor leave adopa?

Two centuries have passed since James Parkinson's essay on the shaking palsy,

described a disease characterized by tremor and problems with movement.

Today, treatment options include surgically implanting electrodes into the brain.

There has to be a better way.

We've known since the 1950s that Parkinson's disease is manifested by a dopamine deficiency

in the brain.

Well, then why not eat a dopamine diet?

A variety of fruits and vegetables contain the same dopamine made by our brain.

Unfortunately, dopamine can't cross the blood-brain barrier,

and hence is ineffective as therapy.

However, the dopamine precursor, known as L-dopa or L-dopa,

or L-dopa, can get from the blood up into the brain,

...