Healing Parkinson's Through the Microbiome: Martha Carlin's Journey from Accountant to Microbiome Pioneer

The Urban Monk podcast with Dr. Pedram Shojai

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🎙️ When Martha Carlin's 44-year-old marathon-running husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2002, she applied her auditor's mindset to examining the evidence behind this "old person's disease." What followed was a remarkable 20+ year journey from studying food toxins to pioneering targeted probiotic therapies that significantly improved her husband's condition.

🎯 What You'll Learn:

How Martha discovered two distinct Parkinson's phenotypes distinguishable by gut bacteria and developed targeted probiotic "teams" instead of single-strain approaches
Why her husband's UPDRS score improved from 35 to 20 using mannitol-producing bacteria that stopped protein aggregation
The hidden dangers of glyphosate: disrupts 3,900 secondary metabolites, chelates minerals, and blocks the shikimate pathway for essential amino acid production
How specific probiotic strains work together: Leuconostoc mesenteroides removes oxygen, Pediococcus acidilactici breaks down proteins, Lactobacillus plantarum degrades glyphosate
Why Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are being called "Type 3 Diabetes" and the microbiome connection to both

🔑 Key Insights: "Parkinson's requires ecosystem-based treatment, not 'magic bullets.' Total toxic burden matters more than single exposures—it's lifetime accumulation of air pollution, golf course chemicals, dry cleaning fluids, and glyphosate."

"We moved from 16S sequencing to functional genomics and discovered it's not about single strains—it's about microbial teams working together. The glycocalyx restoration was key to reducing tremors."

"Glyphosate doesn't just affect gluten—it's a mineral chelator depleting soil nutrients and disrupting the shikimate pathway that produces essential amino acids. It's systems biology, not either/or thinking."

💡 Action Steps:

Investigate your lifetime toxic exposure history: work environments, home chemicals, agricultural exposure, geographic pollution
Consider microbiome testing to understand your specific bacterial ecosystem rather than taking generic probiotics

🎧 Perfect for: Anyone with Parkinson's or neurodegenerative disease, those interested in the gut-brain connection, people concerned about environmental toxins and glyphosate exposure.

📚 Mentioned Resources:

BioticQuest.com - Martha's targeted probiotic company
"The Parkinson's Plan" by Dr. Ray Dorsey
"Missing Microbes" by Dr. Martin Blaser
Martha's Quest Blog and Substack
Ancient Organics Bioscience - soil probiotic formulas

🌐 Connect with Dr. Shojai:

Website: theurbanmonk.com
Books: The Urban Monk, Inner Alchemy, Focus
Documentaries: Interconnected, Gateway to Health, Trauma

#UrbanMonk #Parkinsons #Microbiome #GutHealth #GutBrainAxis #Glyphosate #TargetedProbiotics #Neurodegeneration #FunctionalMedicine #EnvironmentalToxins

100 episodes

#Fitness #Alternative Health #Pedram Shojai #Lifestyle #Religion #Urban Monk