Health: Ibuprofen May Cut Parkinson's Disease Risk

Health: Ibuprofen May Cut Parkinson's Disease Risk

New research from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston has suggested that taking ibuprofen two to three times a week could cut the risk of Parkinson's disease by over a third.  Ibuprofen being an anti-inflammatory may reduce the inflammation in the brain that contributes to Parkinson's.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation can be categorised as acute or chronic.  Most lifestyle diseases (such as Type II diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, etc) are known to be caused by chronic inflammation. 

Acute inflammation is an essential protection mechanism.  It is the initial response of the body to toxins with increased blood flow to the target area to promote the healing process.  Chronic (or prolonged) inflammation occurs over several years if not decades before presenting symptoms and is a constant cycle of concurrent damage and healing causing disease.  In the case of Parkinson's this chronic inflammation takes place over ten years according to Lead researcher Xiang Gao.

“Our findings suggest that ibuprofen could be a potential neuroprotective agent against Parkinson’s disease, however the exact mechanism is unknown.  Because the loss of brain cells that leads to Parkinson’s disease occurs over a decade or more, a possible explanation of our findings is that use of ibuprofen protects these cells and could help slow the disease’s progression.”

Risks with ibuprofen?

One downside to the use of ibuprofen is the increased risk of bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract as well as other side effects to their use. 

I would advocate a more natural or paleolithic approach to this - instead of taking ibuprofen several times a week.

An alternative:

How about eating more fish, or taking fish-oil supplements?

Increase the intake of omega-3 EFA (essential fatty acids) a known dietary anti-inflammatory found in oily fish, organic pastured meat and free range organic eggs and reduce the intake of omega-6 an inflammatory EFA (vegetable, seed oils). 

The ratio of omega-3:omega-6 should be a 1:2 or 1:1 which replicates our ancestral hunter-gatherers.  Rather than the typical Western dietary profile of 1:10 - 1:20+.  Why does this matter?  Well incorporating a more balanced omega-3 fatty acid profile positively modifies inflammatory and immune reactions thus providing therapeutic and preventative benefit.

Here is an excellent reference on the benefits of omega-3 EFAs and why animal based omega-3 in the form of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is much easier for the human body to use than ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) found in flaxseed oils: http://www.naturalnews.com/016353.html

Something to ponder, the brain is about 70% fat, and the most abundant fat in the brain is in the form of omega-3 DHA.