Exposure to pesticides, may boost the long-term risk for developing Parkinson’s disease by 70 percent, a new study suggests.
These findings do back up earlier animal studies linking pesticide exposure to motor function abnormalities and lower levels of the brain neurotransmitter dopamine. Declines in dopamine have long been associated with Parkinson’s.
“This is the first large human study that shows that exposure to pesticide is associated with a higher incidence of Parkinson’s,” said study lead author Dr. Alberto Ascherio, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
The researchers studied 413 participants who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Exposed patients were twice as likely to be blue-collar workers and 14 times more likely to work as either a farmer, rancher, or fisherman.
However, the same risk of disease was found between patients who experienced exposure because of their work, such as farmers, and those who came into contact with the chemicals because of home or garden use.
The Harvard team found that, regardless of occupation, pesticide exposure boosted long-term Parkinson’s risk by 70 percent over the long-term.
-Annals of Neurology.
Dr. Keith and Laurie Nemec’s comments on pesticides could raise Parkinson’s risk.
This study which was published in the Annals of Neurology was the first to show that exposure to pesticides may increase long term risk for developing Parkinson’s Disease by 70%, and was the first large human study that showed exposure to pesticides is associated with higher incidences of Parkinson’s according to lead author. Another interesting note in the study was exposure was 14 times more likely to be found in workers that either were farmers, ranchers or fishermen. Equally important as a risk factor was the home and garden pesticides that we are putting on our lawns and in our gardens. These chemicals are weakening our immune systems and increasing the risk of all types of diseases and as this study confirms Parkinson’s Disease, but also know that these chemicals will also increase our to immune suppressive diseases like cancer. The most alternative cancer treatment is prevention. What’s the answer? Very simply, go natural.
You can find by planting certain herbs in your garden they repel insects. By not needing to have a green, green lawn but tolerating some dandelions you might just save your life. Also chemicals enter your body by the food you eat so buy organic food whenever possible, eat a plant based diet instead of an animal based diet, animal concentrate chemicals, toxins and hormones in their fat tissue. You don’t have a risk of this when you are eating plant material. And you especially have no risk at all when you eat plant material that is organic. So in comparing organic plant material to eating animal products, there’s up to a thousand times greater toxins, chemicals, in the animal sources. So the more chemicals and toxins that go into the body, the higher the risks of all diseases. So if one adopts the 7 Basics Steps to Total Health Lifestyle, one becomes more disease protective in all areas.
