RSS Feed
April 5th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda WEDNESDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) — Regularly consumption of
food and drink rich in substances called flavonoids, such as berries,
apples, tea and red wine, can lower a man’s risk of developing Parkinson’s
disease by 40 percent, new research suggests.
For women, however, a reduction in risk was only seen when they ate at
least several servings of berries a week, according to the study. Men
also had a risk reduction from frequently eating berries.
“For total flavonoids, the beneficial result was only in men. But,
berries are protective in both men and women,” said the study’s lead
author, Dr. Xiang Gao, a research scientist at the Harvard School of
Public Health and an associate epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School
and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“Berries could be a neuroprotective agent. People can include berries
in their regular diet. There are no harmful effects from berry
consumption, and they lower the risk of hypertension too,” Gao added.
Results of the study are published online April 4 in the journal
Neurology.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative condition that affects the
central nervous system. It causes movement disorders, such as tremors,
rigidity and balance problems. About 500,000 Americans have Parkinson’s
disease, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke.
Flavonoids are substances found in plant foods that help prevent damage
to the body’s cells, known as oxidative damage. Anthocyanins are a type of
flavonoid plentiful in such berries as strawberries and blueberries.
For the study, the researchers reviewed nutrition and health data from
almost 50,000 men enrolled in the Health Professional Follow-Up Study and
more than 80,000 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study.
The researchers looked at dietary intake of five major flavonoid
sources: tea, berries, apples, orange juice and red wine.
Over 20 to 22 years of follow-up, 805 people developed Parkinson’s
disease — 438 men and 367 women.
When researchers compared those who ate the most flavonoids with those
who ate the least, they found that only men saw a statistically
significant benefit, lowering their risk of Parkinson’s by 40 percent.
Gao said it wasn’t clear why only men benefited from the extra
flavonoid intake, but he noted that other studies have also found
differences between men and women. Gao said it’s not clear if there’s a
biological mechanism causing these differences, or another factor.
But, when the researchers looked at the dietary compounds individually,
it was clear that berries could benefit both men and women, lowering the
risk of Parkinson’s disease by about 25 percent for those who had at least
two servings of berries a week.
Gao said that anthocyanins protect the cells from oxidative damage and
they also have an anti-inflammatory effect, which may be how berries help
to reduce Parkinson’s risk.
The study findings should be interpreted cautiously because the
participants were mostly white professionals, and the results might not
apply to other ethnic groups. Also, recollections of dietary intake may be
faulty, and it’s possible that other properties of fruits and vegetables
might have influenced the results, the authors said.
Dr. Michael Okun, medical director of the National Parkinson
Foundation, said, “It is exciting to see research emerging about
modifiable dietary issues that may affect the risk of getting diseases
such as Parkinson’s.”
But, he added, it’s important for people to realize that this research
isn’t applicable to people who already have the disease.
He also said it will be important to confirm these findings in other
studies and learn the mechanism of how berries and other flavonoids appear
to offer some protection against Parkinson’s disease.
More information
Learn more about Parkinson’s disease from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
