Transcription
That individuals who live within one mile of a golf course had a 126% increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to individuals who lived six or more miles apart. There's a tremendous amount of toxins sprayed to keep those golf courses looking so great. Is it a risk for people? Should they be worried? Should they stop golfing? What do they do to protect themselves? For sure, don't lick your golf balls, which I know people do to clean them. Tell us like if you're a golfer, WTF.
So, uh, Dr. Brittney Kryinowski is a geographer. She's at the Baron Neurological Institute and she worked with her colleague Dr. Rodof Sevika, one of our colleagues at Parkinson Specialist, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. And she was concerned about the effects of living near a golf course because golf courses use huge amounts of pest. A lot of people live on these golf course communities. And a lot of people live on these golf courses. So she looked at Rochester, Minnesota, which does a very good job of measuring new cases of Parkinson disease. And she found that individuals who lived within one mile of a golf course had a 126% increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to individuals who lived six or more miles apart. Oh my.
So why uh and so she spends a lot of time in her paper uh discussing water supply. And so we've talked a little bit about how pesticides can get into the water. For example, people who drink well water uh not really by the Safe Drinking Water Act, prone to contamination from nearby farms and rural areas into the ground. Yeah. Have a higher risk of developing uh Parkinson disease. So, she's focused on that. I worry a little bit about uh the pesticides that are sprayed into the air. There was a small little report in the analysts of neurology that uh two neurologists found that 18 of their patients lived near a golf course and 15 of the 18 live downwind of the golf course. So I worry about pesticides being sprayed on golf courses or on fields and people uh living downwind and inhaling them. We talked about how many individuals, most individuals perhaps Parkinson begins in the nose. So I worry about nerve toxins being inhaled uh and through the nose.
So what to do? Um one well pickle ball pickle ball you know why can't we ask golf courses pickle ball is one of the most dangerous sports so many people who are out of shape. Listen that's a whole another discussion are filling the emergency rooms with pickle ball. I have a whole pickle ball for Parkinson talk so we can talk about to keep people safe on the pick. Back to the golf back to the golf. So uh ask the golf course what pesticides they use. See if they can use less toxic pesticides. Right. Can they use less? Can they tell you when they're spraying? Right? So, you can take interventions, especially if you have Parkinson's, maybe, you know, get out of town when they're spraying. You can close your windows. You can get an air purifier. These are all things like an air conditioned golf cart. Well, you don't drink the water from the court. And it's and it turns out not just living near uh a golf course has been increased risk. Three different studies have found green space workers, including landscapers, to be at higher risk for Parkinson disease. And one study uh found that green space workers are higher risk for ALS or blue Garrick's disease. So there are lots of clues as what's causing these brain diseases whether it's Parkinson's, Alzheimer's or ALS. Lots of clues telling us this is a preventable disease and lots of clues saying that if we pay attention to our environment like Rachel Carson said we should.
But realistically like right can can people really like reduce their exposure if they're out on a golf course for 18 holes and like like isn't it just in there they're going to be walking on it's on their shoes. It's on their clothes. It's like I'm like you. I'm not a golfer but I can't imagine that golf courses couldn't be using 50% less pesticides. There are organic golf courses in Martha's Vineyard. They have organic golf courses. If we have organic wine, we have organic produce. We have organic cheese and uh dairy products and meats. Why would can't we have organic golf courses? Why can't we enjoy a nice sport without having to worry about getting maybe get President Trump on this regen? But practically speaking, you you have a right to know. So ask the course when do they spray the pesticides, right? Maybe you don't want to play right after they've sprayed the pesticides. Watch the water that's there. Get a carbon filter. Maybe bring your own water. And when you're smoking, for those of you that smoke, I'm not saying you should smoke. When you smoke your stogy and your cigar, don't put it on the ground like while you're you're you're going to hit the ball and then pick it right back up because you're going to put pesticide in your mouth. Oh, thank you. Thank you. That was a good answer to a hard question which still feels like a bit scary to think about golfing. But anyway, for those of you golfers out there, just take care of yourself. Get your liver working and uh reduce as much exposures as you can. If you loved that last video, you're going to love the next one. Check it out here.