It is with astonishment that I hear in episode 109 that anything relating to complementary or alternative treatments is dismissed outright, even without checking the context. Symbyx Biome is a reputable company with doctors. (You immediately labelled them quacks.) Matthew Phillips has conducted serious research into the ketogenic diet and Parkinson’s, yet he was also dismissed from the podcast as a charlatan. It’s just pills and the same old line in everything: dose regulation. It’s not all about Parkinson’s, so why not include segments where you let others with a different perspective have their say? That would be very interesting. By the way, thank you for the work you put in; it’s a real asset.

Those of us who are interviewed on the Parkinson’s podcast and hold professional qualifications need to be careful about what we recommend and stick to evidence, i.e. scientific proof, so-called conventional medicine. Of course, alternative/complementary treatment methods can be effective and should be treated with respect, but until there is robust scientific support for their efficacy, we must regard them as ineffective, however promising they may be. And unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous companies (sometimes even staffed by doctors) that sell expensive treatments which are ineffective, and I find that distasteful and would like to warn people about it. /Dag Nyholm