Tremors Prevented by Vegan Diet?

Familial Tremors run very strongly in my family.  Most people don’t realize there are many different kinds of tremors, and Familial Tremors are Essential Tremors that are passed down through the genes (the family)!  I have one brother and no sisters, and my understanding was that there was a 50% chance I would get the disease, so I figured the disease would hit either my brother or me – 50% chance him/50% chance me.  My brother thought he might be the one to get the disease and I thought I might be the one.  I even had a doctor tell me I had the disease by just looking at how my fingers trembled when I held them out in front of me.  She was aware I drank a lot of coffee too, so I figured my hands must have really been shaking!

Amusingly, it won’t be a case between my brother getting Familial Tremors or me getting them.  My sister-in-law, a nurse, gently explained to Brain-dead Bobbie, that my brother had a 50% chance of getting the disease, AND I have a 50% chance of getting it, independent of each other!  That doesn’t seem fair, because that’s 100% of the kids if we both get it! 

Recently I read an article by Dr. John McDougall about evidence that meats and dairy might be responsible for most tremors. Meats are where pesticides can become the most concentrated, and fats in milk and meats can destroy protective barriers in the brain.  You will have to read the article for more detail!  I will post the link to the article at the end of this blog post, but Dr. McDougall has 34 references for the article, so it is not just his opinion. What I found fascinating is that rural Africans, Chinese and Japanese have very little of Parkinsons Disease, and their diets are vegan or semi-vegan.  However, Parkinsons Disease is similar for blacks and whites in the United States who eat the typical Western diet; this shows diet to be a strong factor. (The past two sentences were partially lifted from the article!)

What I was not happy about is that consumption of milk in midlife has been found to be associated with development of Parkinsons.  Up until three years ago when I went vegan, I drank two to five glasses of milk per day.  This is not looking good!  And for any men reading this blog: “Men who consume more than two glasses of milk have twice the incidence of PD as men who do not drink cow’s milk.” 

It just looks like the sooner a person leaves meat and milk behind, the better (and safer)!

Here is the link to understand more fully:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2010nl/nov/parkinsons.htm