A new study suggests that people who eat a lot of ultra-processed foods—such as breakfast cereals, packaged snacks, and hot dogs—may be more likely to show very early signs of Parkinson’s disease.
These early signs, known as prodromal symptoms, appear long before the more well-known symptoms like tremors or movement problems begin.
However, this study does not prove that eating processed foods causes Parkinson’s. It only shows a possible connection.
The research was done by scientists at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and published in the medical journal Neurology. The team, led by Dr. Xiang Gao, followed more than 42,000 people over a period of up to 26 years. At the start of the study, none of the participants had Parkinson’s. Their average age was 48.
To understand if these people developed early signs of Parkinson’s, the researchers looked at symptoms like sleep problems, depression, body aches, poor sense of smell, and color vision issues. These problems can show up years or even decades before Parkinson’s is officially diagnosed.
Participants had regular health checkups and filled out detailed food diaries every two to four years. In the diaries, they listed everything they ate and drank, including how often they consumed certain items.
The researchers focused on ultra-processed foods. These included soft drinks, packaged sweets, dairy desserts, flavored yogurts, sauces, hot dogs, and more. A serving was considered to be something like a can of soda, a tablespoon of ketchup, or one hot dog.
Based on their food diaries, participants were divided into five groups, depending on how many servings of processed foods they ate each day. The group that ate the most consumed 11 or more servings of processed food per day, while the group that ate the least had fewer than three servings a day.
The results showed that the group eating the most processed food was 2.5 times more likely to have at least three early signs of Parkinson’s compared to the group eating the least.
This link remained even after researchers adjusted for other health factors like age, exercise, and smoking. The processed food diet was associated with almost all early signs of Parkinson’s, except for constipation.
Dr. Gao explained that eating healthy food is very important for brain health. Even though more studies are needed, the results suggest that cutting back on processed foods and eating more natural, whole foods might help protect your brain and delay or prevent the early signs of Parkinson’s disease.
One limitation of the study is that people may not have remembered their food intake accurately, as it was self-reported. Still, the large number of participants and the long time span make the results worth paying attention to.
In short, this research adds to growing evidence that diet affects brain health. Choosing healthier foods now could help protect your brain in the future.
If you care about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies These common drugs may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease and Researchers find an important cause of Parkinson’s disease.
For more about Parkinson’s disease, please read studies This type of exercise may help reverse Parkinson’s disease and Supplements for Parkinson’s: Can they work?
The study is published in Neurology.
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