Parkinson’s disease occurs mainly in middle and old age. About one in every 100 people over the age of 60 has Parkinson’s disease. It is estimated that there are currently 2 million patients in China. So far, there is no way to prevent or cure Parkinson’s disease, but good medication can help Parkinson’s patients recover their functions. However, long-term medication will bring certain side effects and affect the patient’s absorption of nutrients, so the patient’s diet should be adjusted as necessary. What effect will the medication have? First of all, we have to understand the composition of the drug, levodopa (levodopa) is the basic drug for the treatment of Parkinson’s, and its combination with carbidopa (carbidopa) under the trade name of Sinemet, and with benserazide (benzeride) under the trade name of methyldopa (madopar), are the most commonly used drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. However, if the drug is ingested at the same time as meat containing high protein and fat, gastric absorption is delayed for a long time. Secondly, proteins in food are broken down into amino acids in the intestines, and these amino acids must pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream with the help of a transporter “carrier,” and madopar or benzoin must pass through the intestinal wall by the same “carrier” in order to be effective. Meat contains a lot of protein. Meat contains a lot of protein, and its breakdown products, amino acids, quickly take up all the transit “carriers”. The drug has to wait until the “carriers” are free before it can cross the intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream. Therefore, it is best to take methyldopa or benzoin 30 to 60 minutes before ingesting meat, as this ensures that they are rapidly absorbed before they are interfered with by the food, otherwise the drug will take a long time to be absorbed and will not reach the necessary concentration in the bloodstream, and will not have the desired effect. How can the patient be assured of the necessary protein intake? The following two options are available: First, high protein foods should be consumed only at night. The patient will have reduced efficacy of the medication at night, e.g. difficulty in rolling over or getting up, but will be assured of good daytime activity. The second option is to eat a 7:1 ratio. That is, the diet should consist of 7 parts of carbohydrates (i.e. starch) to 1 part of protein. Carbohydrates are broken down to produce glucose, and proteins are broken down to produce amino acids, which enter the bloodstream together with glucose. When the proportion of glucose is large, it can cause the body to secrete a large amount of insulin, which transfers some of the amino acids, thus reducing the interference of amino acids in drug absorption. Most patients can consume a small amount of protein every day without affecting the effect of the drug after adopting this method (this method is not suitable for diabetic patients). Meat, poultry, fish, milk and eggs are all high protein foods, and milk especially interferes with the absorption of methyldopa or benzoin. In order to ensure that the drug works well, the intake of the above high protein foods in small amounts must be supplemented with plenty of vegetables, fruits and cereals such as bread and cereal. Cow’s milk can be replaced with soy milk and try to choose soy milk with added vitamin D and calcium. Plant proteins (soy products, nuts) can also fulfill part of the body’s need for protein, which contains a much higher proportion of carbohydrates than protein, while animal proteins such as meat, fish and poultry contain no carbohydrates. Therefore, patients are encouraged to consume more soy products to supplement their protein deficiency.