Summary: Close adherence to the MIND and Mediterranean diets delayed the onset of Parkinson’s disease by up to 17.4 years in women, and 8.4 years in men.
Source: University of British Columbia
A new study from UBC researchers suggests a strong correlation between following the MIND and Mediterranean diets and later onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD). While researchers have long known of neuroprotective effects of the MIND diet for diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia, this study is the first to suggest a link between this diet and brain health for Parkinson’s disease (PD).
The MIND diet combines aspects of two very popular diets, the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
“The study shows individuals with Parkinson’s disease have a significantly later age of onset if their eating pattern closely aligns with the Mediterranean-type diet. The difference shown in the study was up to 17 years later in women and eight years later in men,” says Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell of the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre, the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and the Division of Neurology in the UBC Faculty of Medicine.
“There is a lack of medications to prevent or delay Parkinson’s disease yet we are optimistic that this new evidence suggests nutrition could potentially delay onset of the disease.”
In a study of 176 participants, researchers looked at adherence to these types of diets, characterized by reduced meat intake and a focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats, and the age of PD onset. They found that close adherence to these diets coincided with later onset of PD in women of up to 17.4 years, and 8.4 years in men.
The MIND diet showed a more significant impact on women’s health, whereas the Mediterranean diet did for the men. The differences in these two diets are subtle, but could serve as clues to the impacts specific foods and micronutrients may have on brain health.
The different effects of diet adherence between sexes are noteworthy as approximately 60 per cent of those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease are men.
“If we understand the sex differences between the MIND diet and Mediterranean diet then we might better understand the sex differences that drive Parkinson’s disease in the first place,” says lead researcher Avril Metcalfe-Roach, a PhD student at UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories.
These findings springboard to other research questions that could have significant impacts on the understanding of PD.
“It drives home the connection between the gut and the brain for this disease,” says Dr. Brett Finlay, professor in the departments of biochemistry and molecular biology, and microbiology and immunology at UBC. “It also shows it’s not just one disease that healthy eating can affect, but several of these cognitive diseases.”
The research team plans to further examine the potential connection between the microbiome and its effect on the brain.
“There is so much benefit to eating healthy,” says Metcalfe-Roach. “It is in everybody’s best interest to try to keep your microbiome healthy, to try and eat a rich variety of plant-based and other healthy foods. This study provides even more evidence for what we already know–that we should be trying to eat healthy and taking care of ourselves.”
About this Parkinson’s disease research news
Source: University of British Columbia
Contact: Sachi Wickramasinghe – University of British Columbia
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“MIND and Mediterranean Diets Associated with Later Onset of Parkinson’s Disease” by Avril Metcalfe‐Roach BSc, Adam C. Yu MSc. Ella Golz BA. Mihai Cirstea MS, BSc, Kristen Sundvick BSc, Daniel Kliger BA, Liam H. Foulger, Melissa Mackenzie MDB, Brett Finlay PhD, Silke Appel‐Cresswell MD. Movement Disorders
Abstract
MIND and Mediterranean Diets Associated with Later Onset of Parkinson’s Disease
Background
The MIND diet has been linked with prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline but has not been fully assessed in the context of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The objective of the present study was to determine whether MIND diet adherence is associated with the age of Parkinson’s disease onset in a manner superior to that of the Mediterranean diet.
Methods
Food Frequency Questionnaires from 167 participants with PD and 119 controls were scored for MIND and 2 versions of Mediterranean diet adherence. Scores were compared between sex and disease subgroups, and PD diet adherence was correlated with age at onset using univariate and multivariate linear models.
Results
The female subgroup adhered more closely to the MIND diet than the male subgroup, and diet scores were not modified by disease status. Later age of onset correlated most strongly with MIND diet adherence in the female subgroup, corresponding to differences of up to 17.4 years (P < 0.001) between low and high dietary tertiles. Greek Mediterranean adherence was also significantly associated with later PD onset across all models (P = 0.05–0.03). Conversely, only Greek Mediterranean diet adherence remained correlated with later onset across all models in men, with differences of up to 8.4 years (P= 0.002).
Conclusions
This cross‐sectional study found a strong correlation between age of onset of PD and dietary habits, suggesting that nutritional strategies may be an effective tool to delay PD onset. Further studies may help to elucidate potential nutrition‐related sex‐specific pathophysiological mechanisms and differential prevalence rates in PD.
