This supermarket food has been linked to Parkinson’s disease

The treat none of us seem to be able to give up

Researchers believe they've found a link between our favourite guilty pleasure snacks and Parkinson's disease while conducting a new study.

We know from coffee, chocolate and fish that what we put in our bodies affects our brains.

Whether that’s causing positive feelings of energy, alertness, calm, or the less ideal lethargy, brain fog or nausea.

Fish such as salmon have been linked to memory and brain function, dark chocolate to heart health, and high fibre foods to digestion, while ultraprocessed foods have been linked to some cancers, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and now Parkinson’s disease. 

While not blaming the inflammatory foods as a cause of the brain condition, researchers from China and the US have associated consumption of ultraprocessed foods with a higher likelihood of developing early signs of Parkinson’s. 

What foods are considered ultraprocessed? 

Ultraprocessed foods contain ingredients the average person wouldn’t have in their pantry and contain additives, preservatives, sweeteners, emulsifiers or colours and flavours. Think soft drinks, ice creams, sauces, instant soups, packaged chips and biscuits.

These foods often contain large amounts of saturated fat, sugar and salt.

While there are plenty of reasons a person could experience a reduction in their sense of smell, depression, constipation, difficulty differentiating colours, daytime sleepiness or starting to act out their dreams in their sleep, these can be early signs of Parkinson’s disease. Image: iStock

The link between ultraprocessed foods and Parkinson’s disease

While there are plenty of reasons a person could experience a reduction in their sense of smell, depression, constipation, difficulty differentiating colours, daytime sleepiness or starting to act out their dreams in their sleep, these can be early signs of Parkinson’s disease. 

As a part of the new study which was published in the Neurology journal, researchers analysed the diet data of close to 43,000 Americans that had been self-reported from the 1980s to the 2000s.

The team found that those who ate the largest amounts of ultraprocessed foods were more than two times as likely to experience at least three of the symptoms associated with Parkinson's compared to those who didn’t consume as much.

Could ultraprocessed foods affect our brain health?  Image: Pexels

Co-author Alberto Ascherio was a part of a previous study, where researchers found that older men who presented with constipation, a dampened sense of smell and started acting out their dreams while asleep were 23 times more likely to receive a Parkinson’s diagnosis three years later. 

Many factors can contribute to a person’s likelihood of developing the brain condition, including genetics, environmental factors, and lifestyle factors such as sleep habits. These factors weren’t addressed in the study, so more research is needed to determine a clearer link between a diet high in ultraprocessed foods and Parkinson’s disease. 

Could ultraprocessed foods affect our brain health? 

Ascherio theorised that additives in ultraprocessed foods or chemicals in their packaging could harm brain cells by way of inflammation, changes to the microbiome or cell damage. Image: Pexels

Speaking to The New York Times, Ascherio theorised that additives in ultraprocessed foods or chemicals in their packaging could harm brain cells by way of inflammation, changes to the microbiome or cell damage. 

Nutritional epidemiologist Puja Agarwal on the other hand, suggested the issue could be as simple as people missing out on eating healthier foods when they choose ultraprocessed options instead, depriving their bodies of nutrients such as fibre and antioxidants. 

The study doesn’t suggest that ultraprocessed foods can cause Parkinson’s disease, but eating brain-boosting foods can never be a bad choice.

Originally published as This supermarket food has been linked to Parkinson’s disease