Do you prefer your doctor and hospital incompetence NOT KNOWING? OR NOT DOING?
Eating about a dozen
servings of ultraprocessed food each day could more than double your
risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study.
A
single serving in the study was 8 ounces of diet or sugar-sweetened
soda, a single hot dog, one slice of packaged cake, a mere tablespoon of
ketchup or 1 ounce of potato chips — a typical small bag of chips is
1.5 ounces.
“Our
research shows that eating too much processed food, like sugary sodas
and packaged snacks, might be speeding up early signs of Parkinson’s
disease,” said senior study author Dr. Xiang Gao, a distinguished
professor and dean of the Institute of Nutrition at Fudan University in
Shanghai, China, in a statement.
This latest study is part of the “growing evidence that diet might influence the development of Parkinson’s disease,” Gao said.
While
the study found that people who ate more ultraprocessed foods tended to
report more early symptoms, it did not find a direct increase in the
risk of Parkinson’s disease itself, said Dr. Daniel van Wamelen, a
clinical senior lecturer in neuroscience at King’s College London. He
was not involved in the new research.
“The
study did not track whether participants were diagnosed with
Parkinson’s later on,” van Wamelen said in a statement. “That said,
having more of these symptoms suggests a higher risk over time.”
Brain health begins ‘at the dinner table’
The study analyzed years of health and diet data on nearly 43,000 participants of the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study,
two studies in the United States that have been gathering information
on health behaviors for decades. The average age of people in the study
was 48, and none had Parkinson’s disease at the beginning of the study.
All self-reported what they ate every few years — a limitation of the
new research as participants may not have remembered their food intake
accurately.
Ultraprocessed
foods measured by the study included artificially or sugar-sweetened
beverages; condiments, sauces and spreads; packaged sweets snacks or
desserts; yogurt or dairy-based desserts; breads and cereals; and
packaged savory snacks.
The
study found a link between early signs of Parkinson’s disease and all
types of ultraprocessed foods except breads and cereals — a finding that
indicates an underlying feature among most classes of ultraprocessed
foods that may explain the results, the study said.
One
reason could be ultraprocessed foods typically have less dietary fiber,
protein and micronutrients — but do have added sugar, salt, and
saturated or trans fats, the study said. Ultraprocessed foods also may
impact the balance of flora in the gut, while additives may increase
inflammation, free radicals and neuron death, the study said.
The
hot dog is one serving of ultraprocessed food, and the bun made of
refined grains is another. – Chan2545/iStockphoto/Getty Images
“With
a sample size exceeding 42,800 participants and a long follow-up period
up to 26 years, this study stands out not only for its power but also
for its methodological rigor,” wrote the authors of a corresponding editorial published with the study.
The
editorial was coauthored by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas, an associate
professor of clinical neurology at Columbia University in New York City,
and dietitian Maria Maraki, an assistant professor of sports medicine
and exercise biology at the National and Kapodistrian University of
Athens, Greece. Neither were involved in the new research.
“The
prevention of neurodegenerative diseases may begin at the dinner
table,” they wrote. “Excessive UPF consumption not only is a risk factor
for metabolic diseases but may also accelerate neurodegenerative
processes and associated symptoms.”
Early symptoms appear years before motor function declines
In the new study, published Wednesday
in the journal Neurology, researchers looked at the prodromal stage of
Parkinson’s disease — early signals that appear years to decades before
the tremors, stiff muscles, slow gait and changes in posture that are hallmark symptoms of Parkinson’s.
Body
pain, constipation, signs of depression, changes in the ability to
smell or see colors, and excessive daytime sleepiness can all be early
signs of Parkinson’s disease, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
An
extremely unusual sleep disorder, in which people can move during REM,
or the rapid eye movement stage of sleep, is also a key early sign, according to research. The body is typically paralyzed during REM sleep so it cannot get up and act out any dreams.
