When it comes to implementing lifestyle changes to outpace Parkinson’s, there is so much that can be done, but there’s only so much one can do! If you try too many things, you may not be able to maintain these practices, and consistency is key. Additionally, if you make too many lifestyle changes at once, you won’t be able to distinguish what is effective from what is not. So, I have adopted an incremental change approach – trying to add only one new practice at a time, assessing its effectiveness, then maintaining it, tweaking it, or parking it depending upon the results. It is far from a precise science. In the absence of clones in my closet, there is no replication, and my assessment of effectiveness is inevitably somewhat subjective. My adoption of lifestyle practices to outpace Parkinson’s is based upon the following fairly systematic process:

• Learn about approaches that people have done to outpace Parkinson’s via scientific and popular literature, social media, word-of-mouth, etc.
• Learn about the putative mechanism of action of the approach, which helps establish credibility in my eyes.
• Adopt the practice.
• Observe any changes in PD symptoms in the ensuing weeks and months.
• Depending upon the results, keep, park or adapt the approach.

The reason I use the word 'park' rather than 'abandon,' 'drop,' or 'reject' is that I may reinstate the approach at some point, so it is good not to be too definitive in my judgment.

In this blog, I introduce the current top ten lifestyle changes I believe are helping me to outpace Parkinson’s. The list is in no particular order as ranking the practices implies spurious precision. I also list certain practices that I’ve parked for now, as well as others that I still practice, which I cannot say have made a tangible impact. Next, I list some practices that I may explore in the future.

It is important to note that this blog only provides an account of things that I do, and it should not be considered medical advice. That is the domain of your healthcare providers.

Lifestyle changes I have implemented that appear to have a tangible impact on my PD symptoms

• Dopamine replacement therapy
• Ozone therapy
• Exercise
• Osteopathy/massage
• Ketogenic diet and fasting
• Speech therapy (SPEAK OUT!)
• Restoring circadian rhythms
• Meditation
• Tapping
• Magnesium supplementation

 
Lifestyle changes that I continue to implement, but for which I’ve not noticed any tangible impact on my PD symptoms

• Cold therapy
• Sauna therapy
• Drinking hydrogen water
• Red light/near-infrared light therapy
• Vitamin D lamp (UVB)

I’ve maintained these practices due to their widely documented overall health benefits and negligible recurring costs.

Practices that I’ve parked for now

• High-dose B1 supplementation
• Lithium supplementation
• Ginkgo supplementation

I’ve parked these practices because they’ve shown no clear benefits to me and incur tangible recurring costs.

Practices that I may explore in the future

• Psilocybin therapy (“Magic mushrooms”)
• Low-dose naltrexone
• Neurolinguistic programming (NLP)
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)
• Facial yoga

I am still in the learning/research phase, with time and cost implications in some instances.

There can be no doubt that dopamine replacement therapy has massively enhanced the quality of life for many people with Parkinson’s (PwPs) in the half-century or so since it became widely available, at least to people in more developed parts of the world.
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Dopamine replacement therapy (DRT), as the name suggests, supplements natural dopamine, which is in short supply in PwPs. Initially, I did not observe any beneficial effects, but a few weeks into my treatment, I noticed that my tremors appeared to ease. I did not feel any other symptom relief. However, at various times, I have inadvertently or deliberately reduced the dose, and I have found that tremor and neuropathy symptoms do increase, although the effect is somewhat delayed. Dopamine replacement therapy does not delay Parkinson’s progression, but it helps to provide a window of opportunity during which you can practice lifestyle interventions that go beyond symptom relief. Despite its imperfections, I’m very grateful for DRT. Levodopa/carbidopa is a safe and effective treatment option for Parkinson’s. In stark contrast, despite enormous research investment, there is no equivalent for Alzheimer’s disease.

While dopamine replacement can alleviate PD symptoms, exercise of various kinds can actually reduce Parkinson’s rate of progress and even, in some cases, reverse specific symptoms. While there is widespread disagreement on the efficacy of many therapies for PD, the medical establishment is unanimous in its support for the benefits of exercise. There are various opinions on what the most effective exercise regimes are, and numerous studies have examined the benefits of single exercises or combinations. When it comes down to it, the most effective exercises will be those that people end up doing on a consistent basis. As somebody who has exercised throughout my life, a lack of motivation/apathy is not a major issue for me, but this can be quite a barrier for many people with Parkinson’s. Dopamine plays a central role in motivation, and PwPs produce insufficient dopamine. Dopamine production, in turn, is stimulated by exercise, which, in the best-case scenario, can create a virtuous circle. Of course, the converse also applies; many PwPs are caught in a vicious circle from which it is difficult to escape.

But while motivation is not a limitation in my case, I do have an issue that constrains the amount and intensity of my exercise. I have a congenital heart issue, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which never gave me any problems in my youth, but now limits my ability to do very strenuous workouts. So, things like high-intensity interval training, which I used to thrive on, are now beyond me.
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My exercise regime, however, is very consistent, consisting of regular morning dog walks, weight training, cycling, swimming, Qigong, dancing, and play-fighting (also with our dog). I notice an increase in sluggishness and rigidity if I miss a day or two of exercise.

Ozone therapy has been successfully employed for a variety of conditions, ranging from cuts, bruising, and contusions to COVID-19, and even Ebola haemorrhagic fever. It is not a new therapy, having been used since the late 19th century, but it fell out of prominence with the rise of antibiotics, although it has experienced a resurgence in recent years. Ozone gas (O3) can be administered through various means, including blood transfusions, ozonated water, ozonated oil, and rectal ozone. Its healing effects are believed to work through its role in the modulation of cellular antioxidants and inflammation, among other mechanisms. 

I invested in a home ozone setup in May 2024 and almost immediately felt the positive impacts. Among the symptomatic benefits I noticed were diminished anxiety levels, reduced neuropathy and increased flexibility. Setting up the equipment takes some time and expense, but ozone generation is straightforward once the setup is in place, and the running costs are minimal. The mainstay of my ozone therapy is ozonated water, which I drink every day. I also have a small portable infrared sauna into which I discharge ozone gas. I find the sessions to be very invigorating, but I cannot say they are any more effective than drinking the ozone water.

Having been a competitive athlete for much of my life, I have never been too far away from injuries of various sorts. There are the aches and pains that come from exercise and day-to-day activities, as well as those associated with ageing and those associated with PD. It isn't easy to disentangle cause and effect. Whatever the root causes, these various aches and pains, if not addressed, could prove to be barriers to regular exercise. This is problematic for everybody, but the consequences of physical inactivity for PwPs are particularly severe.

My fortnightly osteopathy and massage sessions help to alleviate aches and pains, mobilise my limbs, which have become far less fluid since PD raised its ugly head, and correct my posture, which would otherwise become more stooped and asymmetric over time. This is more than a cosmetic issue, as these changes reduce our ability to undertake simple day-to-day tasks, increase our vulnerability to falls, and impact our self-confidence. 

I am lucky to have access to the services of Esther Barton and Braam van der Walt of Wrington Vale Osteopaths, who are outstanding practitioners and wonderful people. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

What is the point of having a mind if you can’t change it? This statement very much applies to me and my opinion of the ketogenic diet. Long story short, simple carbohydrates formed the foundation of my diet from my days as an endurance athlete until recent times. Last year, I first encountered the work of Matthew Phillips on the benefits of the ketogenic diet for people with Parkinson’s. In the words of Gloria Gaynor, “At first I was afraid…” and considered this to be a fad approach. It was only in 2025, after watching a video by Nick Norwitz — A Ketogenic Diet for Parkinson’s Disease: Shaking Up the Science — that I became receptive to the idea of the ketogenic diet. I dove into the admittedly limited research literature and became convinced that this approach could be beneficial.

In a nutshell, it is thought that people with Parkinson’s do not process glucose efficiently but can become more metabolically healthy by using ketones as fuel. A state of nutritional ketosis can be induced by a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet and fasting. Since adopting this practice only about three months ago, I have found much greater levels of mental clarity and an amelioration of numerous PD symptoms. It is early days, but it appears that the ketogenic approach, coupled with intermittent and prolonged fasting, is also alleviating my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy symptoms. I sincerely believe that I will maintain a predominantly ketogenic diet for the rest of my life.

As the saying goes, “If you see one person with Parkinson’s, you have seen one person with Parkinson’s.” In other words, every PwP manifests the condition in a different way. Some people are initially troubled by tremors. Others are overcome with anxiety. My most debilitating symptom from the outset has been a deterioration in the quality of my voice. I tried various therapies with mixed results until I came across SPEAK OUT!® Therapy as pioneered by Parkinson Voice Project – a not-for-profit organisation based in Dallas, Texas.

SPEAK OUT! Therapy is based around a daily home practice which consists of several exercises which help people with Parkinson’s and related conditions retain and regain their speech and swallowing. The exercises make use of the fact that you can consciously activate your intentional motor system, which is less dependent on dopamine, to override the dopamine-based automatic motor system. Thus, activities such as speech, which are automatic for most people, can be made intentional through consistent, purposeful practice. The importance of the intentional system to PwPs and its role in retaining and regaining speech and swallowing is beautifully explained in the 25-minute video What is Parkinson’s? Which I recommend to everybody with a skin in the Parkinson’s game.

​Meditation has become mainstream in the Western world in recent decades, and convinced of its value, I have long maintained a stop-start practice. In recent months, my practice has become much more consistent because of the clear positive impacts on my anxiety levels. If my masked face represents the visual signature of my Parkinson’s, and the slurred speech represents its auditory signature, it is heightened anxiety levels that represent an internal, largely invisible, but highly significant aspect of my condition. Whether it's breath work, mindfulness, or balancing the chakras, meditation helps in the moment and beyond. Its calming influence is the incentive that I need to maintain the practice. It has now become a non-negotiable.

Tapping or Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), sometimes known as “acupuncture without needles,” is an energy healing and talking therapy. Involves tapping with your fingertips on various meridian points whilst saying how you feel about a particular issue that is troubling you. Despite the name, the problem does not have to be purely emotional. My issues de jour are usually work-related and involve anxiety, which leads to procrastination and further anxiety! The tapping sends calming signals to the brain, thus bringing down anxiety and ushering in a resourceful state, which enables me to do the work at hand and further reduce my anxiety levels. For those who are interested, I often practice the WOOP-Tap, which I summarised in a blog a few years back. Tapping is an invaluable tool for anybody, but I think it has particular value for people with Parkinson’s, many of whom suffer from chronic anxiety, which is untouched by dopamine replacement therapy. Full disclosure: my wife Julie is a qualified EFT therapist and her expertise and support help keep me on the straight and narrow... in all aspects of life!!

Most of our physiology is tied to the predictable cycles of night and day. The importance of these cycles of light to life has given rise to the discipline of Chronobiology – the study of the biological rhythms that exist in all living organisms. Biological rhythms are classified according to their cycle length into three main types: (1) circadian rhythms (from the Latin circa diem – about a day, characterised by a period of approximately 24 hours), (2) ultradian rhythms (period shorter than 24 hours, e.g. hours, minutes or even seconds or fractions of seconds), and (3) infradian rhythms (period longer than 24 hours, e.g., days, weeks, months, or years). Circadian rhythms are the most studied of these rhythms and ultimately govern almost every aspect of our biology.

Thomas Edison’s first commercial incandescent light bulb was invented in 1879, launching a change unprecedented in planetary history, the health effects of which are only recently being elaborated. Re-establishing natural circadian rhythms can be challenging, but it can be hacked in various ways, such as using apps that reduce blue light, wearing blue-blocking glasses, taking regular breaks outside to bask in natural light, walking barefoot on the ground, and using circadian-friendly nightlights.

Unlike many people with Parkinson’s, I sleep very well at night, which is something I do not take for granted. However, for as long as I can remember, I have suffered a massive post-lunch dip in energy. This post-prandial tiredness became a thing of the past once I adopted a suite of circadian rhythm hacks. I do still indulge in the occasional afternoon nap, but it is now more of an optional extra rather than a near necessity.

For a detailed account of the health impacts of unnatural light regimes and how to mitigate these impacts, check out my recently published Big Book of EMFs: Everything You Need to Know about Electro-smog to Optimise Your Health without Living in a Cave. 

I am not a big fan of supplements, as in an ideal world, the vast majority of our energetic and nutritional needs should be met by food and exposure to natural light. Unfortunately, however, the world we live in is far from ideal and nature and the food we eat are very different from what our distant ancestors would have experienced. Even still, I prefer nutrients contained in food to those synthesised into a pill. However, I do have particular go-to supplements, and I find that magnesium is beneficial for various PD symptoms. 

Magnesium is a common deficiency in people with Parkinson’s and indeed the population as a whole. Magnesium is essential in many physiological processes, including sleep and the maintenance of circadian rhythms, as well as the regulation of our autonomic nervous system, thereby impacting stress levels. Additionally, a vicious circle appears to exist, with increased stress heightening magnesium loss, thereby exacerbating the initial magnesium deficiency.

​The most obvious benefit of magnesium to me is its ability to mitigate restless leg syndrome at night. I take a daily dose of 1000 mg 6 in 1 magnesium (providing 300 mg of elemental magnesium) and magnesium glycinate (providing 200 mg of elemental magnesium) every day. I virtually never get restless legs, except if I forget to take supplemental magnesium. The twitching and discomfort are cues to take the magnesium, and within half an hour, things return to normal. I cannot speak to its effect on anxiety levels, but I would not be surprised if it is helping in that regard as well.

This may seem like quite a daunting to-do list. Indeed, it can be, and in the absence of multiple clones against whom to monitor treatment effects, I cannot objectively verify that any of it is working. All I can provide is anecdotes – I can do my tie up now whereas I couldn’t last year, I can eat food in an aeroplane without fear of spilling things everywhere whereas I couldn’t last year, I virtually never choke my food now, and I am overtaking people on the bicycle now whereas I wasn’t last year. All very subjective, but to my mind, the plural of anecdote is evidence, so my positive felt experience in multiple dimensions is sufficient proof for me.

Currently, I am able to find enough time to do all that I seek to do, work-wise, home-wise and outpacing Parkinson’s-wise. That said, I cannot continue to layer intervention upon intervention, unless I wish to become the Bryan Johnson of Parkinson’s – a prospect that does not appeal to me. So, I do not envisage adopting many new practices unless there is compelling evidence for their efficacy, or they are neither time-consuming nor expensive to implement.

I will post some more detailed, referenced descriptions of each of these interventions in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I would love feedback from people with Parkinson’s on the positive impacts of your favourite lifestyle intervention(s). I’m very keen to learn from the community.

​I have a terminal condition that causes progressive diminution of physical and mental capacity and eventual death. It is a universal condition, commonly known as ageing. I have also been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Many of the symptoms of these two conditions are interchangeable, with each condition accelerating and accentuating the other. And many of the practices I’m adopting to manage my PD also help manage the symptoms of ageing. I officially received the PD “prize” in the neurological disease lottery on 27 July 2023, but the outcome was about as surprising to me as a Harlem Globetrotters victory over the Washington Generals. I had seen it coming for some time, but it still took me a while to process.

In this article, I explain how PD affects me, why there is reason for optimism, and some of the things I do to “Outpace Parkinson’s.”

​Although not quite “diagnose and adios” a PD diagnosis can feel like the beginning of the end. It is presented as incurable, meaning that there is currently no pharmaceutical or surgical intervention to eliminate the symptoms. It is true that the symptoms of the vast majority of people with Parkinson’s (PwP’s) progress but there is a significant minority whose symptoms remain steady over many years, and the symptoms can even reverse in certain instances. So rather than seeing PD as an inevitable progression, I prefer to reframe it as a constellation of symptoms that may or may not progress. This goes beyond mere semantics, as words create worlds - hope helps build dopamine, the limiting neurotransmitter in PwP’s. This hopeful outlook feels empowering, engendering a possibility/growth mindset, which encourages me to learn from the behaviours of those who have experienced the best outcomes. There are, of course never any guarantees, so I must trust the process despite the inevitable moments of doubt.

​As a template for action, I have leaned heavily on Dr Laurie Mischley’s research in which she has correlated disease outcomes with lifestyle practices. A particularly revealing output of her work is the chart of her patient’s progress over time. The chart shows the typical progress of the disease but what is interesting to me is the outliers - those individuals who buck the trend. And there are many of them. Mischley’s research is dedicated to uncovering the modifiable lifestyle factors that contribute to these outliers – the “positive deviants”. My task is to take the results of this research and incorporate them into an approach that can work for my unique circumstances... To quote Brian of Nazareth “we are all individuals” so there is no one size fits all. I summarise some of the components of my approach below.

​Medications can only offer symptom relief, but this can be pivotal. Medications can buy time during which you can find the motivation to pursue the activities that can halt, slow, or even reverse disease progression. Lack of dopamine can contribute to lethargy which is the opposite of what is required to outpace Parkinson’s – a vicious circle for PwP’s. Medications to increase the availability of dopamine can help break the vicious circle, thus facilitating empowering actions. My forays into Parkinson’s meds thus far have led to unwanted side effects but, together with my neurologist, we are exploring all options.

If there is one thing that all PD schools of thought agree upon it is the role of exercise as the best PD medicine. When it comes down to it, all exercise is good, and the best exercise is the exercise that you will actually do! My current favourite is Dr Joachim Farias’ Dystonia Recovery Program which consists of a diverse mix including dance, yoga, tai chi, and other modalities. My morning dance routine is a sight to behold! The programme is not specifically designed for PwP’s, but the exercises promote neuroplasticity which is critical in PD management. My other exercises include the daily dog walk, cycling (to be rekindled after a winter break), weight training and taking opportunities to move throughout the day. Weight training is particularly important for PD as muscle wastage is common given the characteristic diminished speed and coordination. PD does not directly affect your strength, but it compromises day-to-day movements which contribute to strength. I am very blessed to have overall good health which allows me to exercise. Other PwP’s with comorbidities are less fortunate.

One of my most important exercises is ongoing speech therapy, initially provided by an excellent speech and language therapist who has been trained in the clinically proven SPEAK OUT! Technique as provided by the Parkinson Voice Project (PVP). The technique demands daily practice, which is facilitated by PVP’s daily YouTube speech exercise videos. 

​Parkinson’s is the world’s fastest growing neurological disease, and contrary to what you may hear in certain circles, this cannot be entirely explained by the increasing numbers of elderly people. There are likely to be multiple causes of what could be a constellation of diseases. One such cause is the growth in environmental toxins, such as heavy metals, pesticides, and plastics. The herbicide paraquat has been strongly associated with PD - incidentally paraquat has not been authorised for use in UK since 2007 but it is still manufactured in the UK and exported to countries such as the US, Japan and Australia, and much of the developing world.

Consumption of canned fruits and vegetables has been associated with faster PD progression.  Bisphenol A (BPA), a known endocrine disruptor, is widely used in the inner coating of food cans, while aluminum is an established neurotoxin. Toxic metal tests revealed that I had high levels of aluminium in my system. I have also been exposed to large quantities of pesticides, notably when working in the Philippines to help farmers step off the pesticide treadmill. There is nothing I can do to change these past exposures, but I can minimise toxic load going forward.

Other avenues I’m exploring, to manage toxins of all kinds, include mind-body healing, increased social support, speech therapy and breath support.

Berry, S. et al., 2020. Personalised REsponses to DIetary Composition Trial (PREDICT): an intervention study to determine inter-individual differences in postprandial response to foods [online]. Protocol Exchange. preprint. 

Doidge, N., 2007. The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. Penguin.
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Mic the Vegan, 2018. 5 Ways a Vegan Diet Can Help Parkinson’s Disease. Available from:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSxdNJk-ej0

Mischley, L. K., 2023. Parkinson’s disease "What do successful people do to slow down PD progression?”, 2021. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdpfNnnAzKI. 

Mischley, L. K. et al., 2023. Parkinson Symptom Severity and Use of Nutraceuticals. Nutrients, 15 (4), 802.

Mischley, L. K., Lau, R. C. and Bennett, R. D., 2017. Role of Diet and Nutritional Supplements in Parkinson’s Disease Progression. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2017.

Mischley, L. K., Lau, R. C. and Weiss, N. S., 2017. Use of a self-rating scale of the nature and severity of symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease (PRO-PD): Correlation with quality of life and existing scales of disease severity. npj Parkinson’s Disease, 3 (1), 1–7.

Mischley, L. and Rountree, R., 2019. Preventing and Slowing the Progression of Parkinson’s: A Clinical Conversation with Laurie Mischley, ND, MPH, PhD, and Robert Rountree, MD. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 25 (2), 59–67.

Müller-Nedebock, A. C. et al., 2023. Different pieces of the same puzzle: a multifaceted perspective on the complex biological basis of Parkinson’s disease. npj Parkinson’s Disease, 9 (1), 1–11. 

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