Mediterranean or MIND diets can slow Parkinson’s by up to 17 years, finds study

14 Jan 2021 --- Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have found evidence for the first time that Mediterranean diets can significantly slow down the onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by up to 17 years in women and eight years in men. 

The study also shows different outcomes between sexes, indicating that certain dietary regimens are more beneficial to either men or women.

The connection between Mediterranean diets and later onset of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia has long been common knowledge in the scientific community. No prior connection has been made however with PD.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the UBC’s research investigating the diet’s potential benefits to PD – a less common variant of dementia disorders that affects cognitive and physical capacity. There is currently no cure for the disease. 

Following a Mediterranean or MIND diet could slow the onset of Parkinson’s by up to 17 years.MIND diets for the mind
The study employed a traditional Mediterranean diet, which is typically rich in nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and olive oil. It includes a moderate intake of fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, alcohol, and rare use of meats and sweets. 

It also used the MIND diet – a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. The DASH diet stands for “dietary approaches to stop hypertension” and focuses more on fruits and whole grains to prevent heart disease. 

The researchers employed 167 participants with PD and conducted food frequency questionnaires, including 119 controls relating to the MIND diet and two Mediterranean diet variations. 

The age of onset for PD was correlated with these dietary habits and then analyzed according to sex. 

“The study shows individuals with PD 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 Silke Appel-Cresswell of the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre at the UBC Faculty of Medicine. 

Appel-Cresswell emphasizes that the findings are important as nutrition could play an important role in filling the shortage of clinical options available to treat the disease. 

“There is a lack of medications to prevent or delay PD, yet we are optimistic that this new evidence suggests nutrition could potentially delay the onset of the disease.”

Different outcomes in men and women
Researchers are hoping new knowledge of the role nutrition plays in the disease could lead to more treatment advances.A key finding was that the MIND diet showed a more significant impact on women’s health, whereas the Mediterranean diet did for the male participants. 

The differences in these two diets are subtle, say the researchers, but could serve as clues to the impacts specific foods and micronutrients may have on brain health.

These different impacts of diets between sexes are particularly noteworthy since approximately 60 percent of those diagnosed with PD are men.

Lead researcher Avril Metcalfe-Roach asserts that this could, in the future, help lead to more fundamental discoveries about the occurrence of PD. 

“If we understand the sex differences between the MIND diet and Mediterranean diet, then we might better understand the sex differences that drive PD in the first place.”

Calls for further research 
The UBC research team behind the study plans to delve further into their findings by looking at the connection between the gut microbiome and the brain. 

“It drives home the connection between the gut and the brain for this disease,” says study co-author Brett Finlay.

“It also shows it’s not just one disease that healthy eating can affect, but several of these cognitive diseases.”

Last year, FrieslandCampina Ingredients highlighted the emerging evidence that nutrition plays an essential role in maintaining mental wellness. 

https://www.nutritioninsight.com/news/gut-brain-axis-holds-major-potential-for-mood-npd-flags-frieslandcampina-ingredients.html

Edited

By Louis Gore-Langton