The first glass of water chosen for the morning of Parkinson’s patients is the direct cause of their physical condition and steadiness throughout the day. Due to the body’s metabolism during the night, it is in a dehydrated state and its functions await activation. Water drinking at this time is the main step “water replenishment and health maintenance”. Nevertheless, a wrong water choice will aggravate the symptoms by irritating the nerves. Especially those two types of water that should not be drunk by Parkinson’s patients in the morning to avoid causing blockages in the body “and health foundation throughout the day.
One: “Ice water stimulates nerve excitement!”
For a morning refreshing pack of ice water, many people are used to it, but this glass of ice water can be called “a dual source of stimulation for the nerves and gastrointestinal tract” for Parkinson’s patients, which will double the body burden due to the two ways of stimulation.
In neuromodulation aspect, the dopaminergic neurons degeneration is already there in Parkinson’s patients and they endure the temperature changes much less than the average person. Body Yang energy rises in the morning, and the nerves are highly sensitive “just awakened”. By ice water the nerves get low-temperature stimulation and very quickly this stimulation is carried to the brain where sympathetic nerves get excited and thus breaking the already very fragile nerve balance.
Gastrointestinal-wise, these patients may also have autonomic disturbances, slow gastrointestinal motility, and high mucosal sensitivity. The gastrointestinal tract is in a “foodless state” after fasting for the whole night and here ice-cold water directly stimulates the gastric mucosa, causing constriction of blood vessels in the stomach wall and abnormal gastrointestinal motility, which, in mild cases, can manifest as gastric distension and acid reflux, and in severe cases, they may induce gastrointestinal spasm and abdominal cramps.
Thus, in the morning, Parkinson’s patients ought to make use of room temperature water to rehydrate and stay away from low-temperature drinks at all costs. During summers, if you prefer drinking cold water, you must first bring it to room temperature so that it is gently absorbed without further irritating the nerves and stomach.
The second type: make a thick tea to increase the burden on the nerves
Many patients get used to the habit of starting their day with a cup of strong tea, “disengaging the fatty taste in the mouth and refreshing the brain,” but the tannic acid and caffeine in strong tea will seriously interfere with the effectiveness of Parkinson’s drugs and make the condition worse by stimulating the nerves, thus causing the patient to land in a “medication doesn’t work” dilemma.
Caffeine that is found to be in tea makes nerves more active and causes the condition of anxiety and tremors to get worse. Caffeine is a stimulant for the central nervous system that speeds up nerve cell metabolism and, for degenerated nerve cells in Parkinson’s patients, is like “an extra burden”. In the morning, when the nerves are just awake, caffeine can put the nerves in the brain in a “hyperactive” state which not only tends to trigger anxiety but also exacerbates abnormal nerve discharges making the frequency of tremors to increase.
Most importantly, strong tea acts as a diuretic and taking it in the morning on an empty stomach will fasten the body’s water excretion which could mean “the more you drink the more thirsty you become” and also will put more metabolic load on the kidneys. If Parkinson patients also suffer from weak kidney functions, the metabolic load from strong tea will further hamper the body’s functions causing the problem of “hydration will not harm the kidneys”.
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“Dr. Puneet Girdhar, currently serves as the Director of Orthopedic Spine Surgery at BLK Centre for Orthopaedics, Joint Reconstruction & Spine Surgery at BLK Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi. With extensive experience, Best Orthopedic surgeon in Delhi, Dr. Girdhar specializes in microendodiscectomies, minimally invasive spinal decompressions and fusions, artificial disc replacements, and deformity correction in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. He expertly treats a broad range of spinal conditions, including congenital, degenerative, neoplastic, and traumatic.”
