There’s no shortage of research about how consuming ultraprocessed foods (things like pre-packaged baked goods, soda, potato chips, and meats like hot dogs and salami) harms your health. High in saturated fat, sugar, and artificial colors and flavorings, these foods are attributed to an increased risk of colon cancer, dementia, and even premature death. And now, scientists say that a diet high in ultraprocessed foods could also be “speeding up early signs of Parkinson’s.”
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A new study looked at how the consumption of ultraprocessed foods relates to Parkinson’s disease.
Published this week in the journal Neurology, the study examined the association between long-term consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPF) and prodromal Parkinson’s disease.
Promodal is the earliest stage of Parkinson’s disease, when neurodegeneration begins, notes MedicalXpress. This can begin years or decades before the onset of typical Parkin’s symptoms, such as tremors, balance problems and slow movement.
To arrive at their findings, the researchers used health data from 42,853 U.S. participants with a mean age of 48 and without a history of Parkinson’s disease. The participants self-reported their diets from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s and completed regular medical exams. From 2012 on, the participants also self-reported their symptoms, including seven symptoms of prodromal Parkinson’s disease:
- REM sleep behavior disorder (pRBD)
- Constipation
- Hyposmia (decreased sense of smell)
- Impaired color vision
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Body pain
- Depressive symptoms
The researchers then compared the rate of these symptoms to a person’s UPF consumption. MedicalXpress reports that the foods were divided into the following categories:
- Packaged sweets
- Artificially or sugar-sweetened beverage
- Animal-based products
- Yogurt or dairy-based desserts
- Packaged savory snacks
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Research suggests that ultraprocessed foods are associated with early symptoms of Parkinson’s.
The researchers concluded that long-term UPF consumption was “positively associated” with prodromal Parkinson’s symptoms. In fact, “participants who ate the most ultraprocessed foods were about 2.5 times as likely to have at least three early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease compared with those who consumed the least,” reports The New York Times.
Having these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean a person will develop Parkinson’s disease, but it could indicate brain changes that will eventually lead to a diagnosis, the Times explains.
“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,” study authorXiang Gao, MD, PhD, professor at the Institute of Nutrition, Fudan University in Shanghai, China, told MedicalXpress
However, despite these findings, it’s important to note that the study does not prove that ultraprocessed foods cause Parkinson’s, but that there is an association. Therefore, Gao added, “More studies are needed to confirm our finding that eating less processed food may slow down the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease.”
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How does diet affect Parkinson’s risk?
As Best Life reported earlier this year, emerging research suggests that Parkinson’s disease may develop in the gut before attacking the central nervous system and brain.
In an interview with The Harvard Gazette about one such recent study, author Trisha S. Pasricha, a neurogastroenterologist and director of Clinical Research at the Institute for Gut-Brain Research, said, “Many people who get Parkinson’s disease experience GI symptoms like constipation and nausea for years — even decades — prior to developing motor symptoms like difficulty walking or tremors.”
How does this relate to ultraprocessed food consumption? One theory is that these foods increase inflammation and cellular damage in the body, according to the Times.
In fact, a 2023 study published in the journal Movement Disorders found that participants with Parkinson’s had “significantly higher levels of brain inflammation” than those without the disease, states the Parkinson’s Foundation.
Additionally, several studies have connected certain vitamin deficiencies to an increased risk of Parkinson’s—and a diet high in UPFs is often lacking in essential nutrients.
Content shared from bestlifeonline.com.