Parkinson's disease and diet

People suffering from Parkinson's disease tend to experience particular problems such as difficulty in swallowing, changes in their weight, their appetite, and problems with constipation.

It is important, therefore, to ensure that Parkinson's sufferers obtain adequate nourishment as this is vital for them to maintain their health. Similarly, they should eat a wide variety of foods and eat regularly so that they are receiving a good variety of nutrients.

Constipation tends to be a problem experienced by many. It is possible to find effective solutions for constipation by:

- Ensuring there is enough fibre in your diet

- Drinking lots of fluids

- Regular exercise

Fibre helps because its absorbs fluid as it moves through your bowels - and in doing so helps form soft stools that are passed out of your body more easily. Fibre is found in seeds, nuts, vegetables, fruit and cereal. High fibre foods are things such whole-wheat pasta, wholemeal bread and brown rice.

For breakfast try to incorporate those cereals that contain wheat, oats or wheat bran - Weetabix and porridge are excellent sources. Also make it a point to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. These may be raw or cooked and can be fresh or frozen - whatever is more convenient for you. Pulses, such as peas, beans or lentils are also an excellent source of fibre.

Similarly, increasing your fruit intake is also advised and this can be fresh, dried, tinned or even stewed.

As well as increasing your fibre intake, it is very important to increase your fluid as well. This is required as it will aid the fibre to do its work. The ideal is to have about 8 to 10 cups a day. This need not necessarily be water and can also be fruit juice, squashes, milk, tea or coffee.

When preparing your meals, try to ensure you include the following food groups:

Meat

This could be meat, fish or alternatives such as quorn and you should aim for about 2 to 3 servings daily.

Fruit and vegetables

As mentioned previously - these can be fresh/frozen/tinned etc. You should aim for about 3 to 5 servings daily.

Dairy

This could be milk, yoghurt or cheese. You should aim for about 3 to 5 servings daily.

Parkinson's sufferers usually tend to be underweight. Sometimes this may be related to swallowing problems that they may experience. A way to deal with this is to have 3 regular daily meals or 4 smaller ones AND snacks in between. You can also substitute full cream milk, as opposed to semi-skimmed, or skimmed milk (if that is what you currently have) into your diet and add high calorie foods such as cream, sugar and butter to meals.

Chemists sell nutritious drinks such as Complan which can boost your nutritional intake. It is also possible to obtain food supplements such as Ensure Plus and Entera, amongst others, via a doctor's prescription.