Scientific study links ultra-processed foods to early signs of Parkinson's disease
A recent scientific study has found that people who eat a lot of ultra-processed foods are more likely to develop early signs of Parkinson's disease than those who don't.
However, despite expert warnings, ultra-processed foods are satisfying, cheap, and easy to prepare, making them popular in most parts of the world. In the United States, more than half of the calories adults consume at home come from ultra-processed foods.
According to an international team of researchers who analyzed decades of records from tens of thousands of health professionals, they found that people who eat a lot of ultra-processed foods are more likely to develop early signs of Parkinson's disease than those who don't.
This doesn't prove a causal relationship, but it does reveal a noteworthy association, especially in the broader context of health concerns related to ultra-processed foods. It also adds to the growing evidence that diet is essential for brain health.
'Eating a healthy diet is crucial because it is associated with a lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases, and the dietary choices we make today can significantly impact our future brain health,' says Xiang Gao, study co-author and nutritional epidemiologist at the Institute of Nutrition at Fudan University in Shanghai.
In the new study, published in the journal Neurology, researchers focused on signs of Parkinson's disease that appear before more specific symptoms appear, which can include body aches, constipation, depressive symptoms, excessive daytime sleepiness, and impaired sense of smell. At this stage, although patients may not exhibit any characteristic symptoms of the disease, neurodegeneration may already have begun.
There is growing evidence that diet may influence the progression of Parkinson's disease. Our research shows that overindulging in processed foods, such as sweetened soft drinks and packaged snacks, may accelerate the onset of early signs of Parkinson's disease, says Gao.
The researchers conducted a longitudinal analysis using data from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, allowing them to track dietary and health details of approximately 43,000 people for up to 26 years.
This sample included men and women with an average age of 48 who had no history of Parkinson's disease. Participants underwent regular medical checkups and completed bimanual health questionnaires, which Gao and colleagues reviewed for early signs of Parkinson's disease.
Participants also completed questionnaires at two- to four-year intervals, providing a deeper understanding of their eating habits. The researchers used this information to estimate each participant's average daily intake of ultra-processed foods, according to the NOVA Food Processing Classification System.
The study included several types of ultra-processed foods, including sauces, fats, or condiments; artificially sweetened or sugar-laced beverages; packaged savory snacks; packaged desserts; snacks or sweets; dairy-based yogurts or desserts; and animal products.
Participants were divided into five groups based on their ultra-processed food consumption. The highest-consumption group ate an average of 11 or more servings per day, while the lowest-consumption group ate an average of fewer than three servings per day.
The researchers adjusted for factors such as age, body mass index, physical activity, smoking, and others.
The researchers reported that people who ate 11 or more servings per day of ultra-processed foods were approximately 2.5 times more likely to develop at least three early signs of Parkinson's disease compared to people who ate fewer than three servings per day.
The researchers found that high consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with an increased risk of nearly all early signs of Parkinson's disease used in this study, except for constipation.
There are some important caveats to these findings. They demonstrate an association between ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of early signs of Parkinson's disease, but further research is needed to clarify the nature of this relationship.
Ultra-processed foods have been linked to a wide range of health problems, including an increased risk of obesity, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
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