Fat in the Hat
James Parkinson, M.D., was a 19th Century Scottish physician who published a number of papers on topics as diverse as child rearing and the regulation of asylums for the mentally handicapped. But he established his name permanently in the annals of medicine in 1817 when he published this title: “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.” The neurological condition described in that paper was later named after him: Parkinson’s disease.
Today we know quite a bit more about the shaking palsy, which is caused by a progressive degeneration of neurons in the areas of the brain that control voluntary movement. This degeneration results in a shortage of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that helps manage communication between neurons necessary for normal movement.
Dr. Parkinson’s disease is most common in those over the age of 50 and is caused by inherited genetic traits as well as environmental factors. But a new study shows how dietary fat intake may lower your risk of developing Parkinson’s. And as we’ll see, there are other dietary choices that may reduce risk even further.
Protecting neurons
“Unsaturated fatty acids are important constituents of neuronal cell membranes and have neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.”
That’s how researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, describe the background for their study that appears in a June issue of the journal Neurology. Their objective: determine the possible protection that an intake of unsaturated fatty acids might have on Parkinson’s disease risk.
The Erasmus team used data collected from the Rotterdam Study, an ongoing research project in which dietary and medical records for more than 10,000 male and female subjects over the age of 55 are followed to investigate risk factors for chronic diseases. For the Parkinson’s study, nearly 5,300 subjects were selected. At the outset of the study, all were free of dementia or Parkinson’s, and each subject underwent a complete dietary assessment. Subjects were monitored for an average period of six years.
At the conclusion of the follow up period, 51 subjects had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. The data revealed a significant link between a reduced risk of Parkinson’s and the highest intake of total fat, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
One of the primary forms of PUFAs is very familiar to HSI members: omega-3, mostly available through fish, fish oils and grass-fed beef. MUFAs are found in olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.
B cocktail
Without question, a diet that includes a high intake of MUFAs and PUFAs offers a wide range of health benefits. But increasing your intake of these unsaturated fatty acids is not the only way to reduce Parkinson’s disease risk.
In the e-Alert “Elevated Homocysteine” (3/6/02), I told you about research from the National Institute on Aging that found “the first direct evidence” that elevated homocysteine levels increase the risk of Parkinson’s.
The same research team found that homocysteine makes human brain cells more susceptible to the deadly affects of toxins like iron and the pesticide rotenone, which are known to cause some cases of Parkinson’s disease. In laboratory tests using human tissues, homocysteine “significantly enhanced [cell death] induced by rotenone and iron.”
As we’ve seen in previous e-Alerts, elevated levels of the amino acid homocysteine have been linked with atherosclerosis as well as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Considerable research has also demonstrated that foods and supplements rich in vitamins B-6, B-12, and folic acid may help reduce homocysteine levels.
Most people who raise their dietary folate intake – by eating asparagus, lentils, chickpeas, cantaloupe, watermelon, wheat germ, most varieties of beans, and especially spinach and other leafy green vegetables – respond with a lower homocysteine reading. But if the diet doesn’t do the trick, vitamin supplements often will.
Typical toxin
As I mentioned above, environmental toxins may also prompt the development of Parkinson’s, and one of those toxins may be in beverages you drink daily. According to a growing body of evidence, the primary toxin among food sources is the popular sugar-substitute aspartame – better known by its brand names: Equal and Nutra-sweet.
When aspartame is combined with the enzyme chymotrypsin in the small intestine, methanol is released and breaks down into formaldehyde, a potent neurotoxin. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers methanol to be a “cumulative poison” and recommends a safe consumption of no more than 7.8 mg per day. If you drink a one-liter beverage containing aspartame, you ingest 7 times that amount – about 56 mg of methanol!
Recently, several soda manufacturers are now offering diet options using Splenda in place of aspartame. And while that certainly isn’t as healthy as giving diet soda up altogether, early indications are that Splenda doesn’t carry the same types of potential health risks as aspartame. So if you’re not willing to ditch it, it might be worth trying the new Diet Coke or Pepsi One.
For safe alternatives to sugar, see the e-Alert “The Sweet Lowdown” (6/3/04), which you can easily find on our web site at hsionline.com.
Sources:
“Dietary Fatty Acids and the Risk of Parkinson Disease: The Rotterdam Study” Neurology, Vol. 64, No. 12, 6/28/05, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
“Fatty Acids Could Protect Against Parkinson’s” NutraIntgredients.com, 6/29/05, nutraingredients.com
