Parkinson's Disease and My Sweet Tooth

I read a Tweet from the Michael J Fox Foundation on Friday, April 6, 2012.  It said:

Interesting associations found w/ #parkinsons from @23andme, "sweet tooth," loss of smell http://bit.ly/HjFovS cc: @YumaBev  

Since they had cc'd it to my attention, I read the article right then.  

Guess what?

It turns out the folks at 23andme (a genetic testing company looking for bio-markers for Parkinson's Disease) found some surprising associations. One of them was a tendency to develop a sweet tooth after Parkinson's Disease diagnosis.  

Angel food with strawberries

The story piqued my interest and I began thinking about my own sweet tooth. 

Lemon meringue pies

I was a strange child.  I did not like sweets.  My parents and my siblings all loved sweets. I used to joke that by the time I was born, all the sweet tooth genes were gone.  When we bounded in the door after school, the others grabbed a handful of cookies and I grabbed a chunk of cheese.  This made my birthday celebrations tricky for my Mother, who was an exceptional baker.  I did not like cake or pie and I really didn't even care for ice cream, so Mom would improvise. Candles in cubes of cheese, in slices of apple, sticking out of the bowl of mashed potatoes or my favorite memory: She made a fancy jello ring, only it didn't quite set firm enough and the candles slowly fell over the sides on the way to the table. 

My lack of interest in sweets continued into adulthood, I only ate a bite or two of my own wedding cake and I still prefer cheese.  

Our wedding cake

In the last couple of years, things have changed.  I find myself coming back from the buffet with desserts on my plate instead of fruit and salad.  Unless it's chocolate, which I still don't like, I will eat birthday cake with ice cream at parties.  I've begun to eagerly look forward to my neighbors making holiday cookies and my walking buddy Freida, hasn't made one dessert yet that I didn't want a second piece.  

Pineapple upside down cake

What is going on with me?  
Has my sweet tooth gene finally awakened? 

Bev and a cake

Apparently not, apparently I can blame it all on Parkinson's.  Yes, it's all Parkinson's fault.

Pumpkin cake

Now, I have a question for the researchers. My sweet tooth only started AFTER I started taking medications for the Parkinson's. I had no sweet tooth for the 8+ years that I was searching for a diagnosis. So, is the sweet tooth caused by the Parkinson's or just another strange side effect of the medications we take?

Cherry cheesecake

Clicking on anything COLORED in a story will open another window and take you to that link.

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parkie Day!