Charina Hanley
Berries & Parkinson's Disease
A new study published on April
4th reveals that people, particularly men, who include more berry fruits, tea,
and red wine into their diets are associated with having a slower progression
of cognitive degeneration and Parkinson’s disease as they age. The researchers
studied 130,000 people of both genders for 22 years, and every four years they
were asked how frequently they ate certain groups of food. Berries like
blueberries and strawberries contain the highest amounts of flavonoids. A link
was found between both men and women’s risk of Parkinson’s and consumption of a
particular subgroup of the compound, called anthocyanins. The study showed that
people who ate at least one serving of berries a week were 25% less likely to
develop Parkinson’s disease compared to those who did not. Further research
will need to be done before the hypothesis that people who eat more berries may
indicate that they have made other healthier lifestyle choices, which has been
recommended by doctors to decrease the chance of cognitive decline and
Parkinson’s disease.
This topic is relevant to the
current term because Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder, and the brain is
the essential part of the Central Nervous System. Nerve cells in the brain use
a chemical called dopamine to help control both voluntary and involuntary
movement. In Parkinson’s disease, the cells in the brain that produce the
chemical are slowly damaged and die. The loss of the chemical causes the cells
in that part of the brain, where the cells were destroyed, to be unable to send
messages properly, which leads to loss of muscle function. The causes for the
loss of these dopamine producing cells are unknown. Symptoms of the disease
(which express problems in the somatic and autonomic nervous system) include:
drooling, no facial expressions, difficulty with many movements,
tremors/shaking, slow/quiet/monotone speech, and loss of coordination. Also,
symptoms like low blood pressure when getting up after laying down or sitting,
lack of body temperature control, drooling, and sweating are especially
associated to malfunctions in the autonomic nervous system, which controls key
involuntary functions.
Article link: http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2416-flavonoids-berries-parkinsons-disease.html
Works Cited:
Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. "Causes, Incidence, and Risk Factors." Parkinson's
Disease. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Nov. 2000. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001762>.
My Health News Daily Staff.
"Compounds in Berries May Ward Off Parkinson's.
"Berries May Ward
Off Parkinson's Disease. Tech Media Network, 4 Apr. 2012.
Web. 29
Apr. 2012. <http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2416-
flavonoidsberries-parkinsons-disease.html>.
