Berries may
help protect against Parkinson's
Berries may
help protect against Parkinson's
Rich in flavonoids
Eating berries and other
fruits may help to lower the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according
to the latest research.
A study published in the
journal Neurology found that men who ate the most flavonoid-rich foods such as
berries, tea, apples and red wine were 40 per cent less likely to develop the
disease, as compared to those who ate the least.
Flavonoids are a group of
antioxidants found in many plant-based foods and drinks. Previous studies have
shown them to have a protective effect against a range of diseases including
heart disease, high blood pressure, some cancers and dementia. But this is the
first study in humans to show that flavonoids may also help to protect against
Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological condition that affects around
127,000 people in the UK.
Researchers from Harvard
University and the University of East Anglia (UEA) tracked around 130,000 men
and women for 20 years, during which 800 developed Parkinson's disease. After
analysing their diet and adjusting for age and lifestyle, men who ate the most
flavonoids were shown to be 40 per cent less likely to develop the disease
compared with those who ate the least. No similar link was found for total
flavonoid intake in women.
Looking at berry
consumption alone, the researchers found that men who ate one or more portions
of berries a week were around 25 per cent less likely to develop Parkinson's
disease compared with those who ate none.
Professor Aedin Cassidy of
the Department of Nutrition, Norwich Medical School at UEA, said: "These
exciting findings provide further confirmation that regular consumption of
flavonoids can have potential health benefits. "This is the first study in
humans to look at the associations between the range of flavonoids in the diet
and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease and our findings suggest that a
sub-class of flavonoids called anthocyanins may have neuroprotective
effects."
Dr Xiang Gao of Harvard
School of Public Health, who led the study, said: "Interestingly,
anthocyanins and berry fruits, which are rich in anthocyanins, seem to be
associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease in pooled analyses.
"Participants who consumed one or more portions of berry fruits each week
were around 25 per cent less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, relative to
those who did not eat berry fruits. Given the other potential health effects of
berry fruits, such as lowering risk of hypertension as reported in our previous
studies, it is good to regularly add these fruits to your diet."
The scientists said the
findings must now be confirmed by other large epidemiological studies and
clinical trials. Dr Kieran Breen, director of research at Parkinson's UK, said:
"This study raises lots of interesting questions about how diet may
influence our risk of Parkinson's and we welcome any new research that could
potentially lead to prevention. "While these new results look interesting
there are still a lot of questions to answer and much more research to do
before we really know how important diet might be for people with
Parkinson's."
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