THE WORLD'S STRANGEST CAUSE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

31st July 2011 - New review

The world's strangest cause of Parkinson's Disease occurs in the western Pacific Ocean, amongst the Chamorro people. The Chamorro live in the Mariana islands, which includes the U.S. territory of Guam. The symptoms of Parkinson's Disease occur alongside ALS and dementia. It is thought that the Chamorro people develop the symptoms by eating a species of Flying Fox called the Mariana Fruit Bat. The Mariana Fruit Bats consume large quantities of neurotoxic cycad seeds. As the number of Mariana Fruit Bats has declined so has the illness.

Eating these bats is a centuries old tradition amongst the Chamorro people. The Chamorro consider it a culinary delicacy. Served at weddings, fiestas, and birthdays, the etiquette of bat-eating and preparation involves rinsing off the outside of the animal like you would a cucumber and then tossing it in to boiling water. The bats are then served whole in coconut milk and are consumed in their entirety. Meat, internal organs, fur, eyes, and wing membranes are all eaten.