The Role of Diet in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

The aim of this review is to examine the intersection of Parkinson’s disease (PD) with nutrition, to identify best nutritional practices based on current evidence, and to identify gaps in the evidence and suggest future directions. Epidemiological work has linked various dietary patterns and food groups to changes in PD risk; however, fewer studies have evaluated the role of various diets, dietary components, and supplements in the management of established PD. There is substantial interest in exploring the role of diet-related interventions in both symptomatic management and potential disease modification. In this paper, we evaluate the utility of several dietary patterns, including the Mediterranean (MeDi), Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND), Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), vegan/vegetarian, and ketogenic diet in persons with PD. Additionally, we provide an overview of the evidence relating several individual food groups and nutritional supplements to PD risk, symptoms and progression.

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“…Various different dietary styles and the use of nutritional supplements have been investigated for their potential to slow the development and progression of PD, and as part of the management of established disease, although data are primarily from observational studies (154)(155)(156). There has been increasing interest in "food as medicine" and how dietary components, in particular plant-derived compounds, might attenuate dopaminergic neuron degeneration, reduce α-synuclein aggregation, and modulate neuroinflammatory responses in people with PD (157,158).…”

Basic Science in Movement Disorders: Fueling the Engine of Translation into Clinical Practice

“…For example, exercise and nutrition are emerging as important lifestyle factors that can influence the progression of PD. 17 The groundbreaking discoveries in the 1990s that first implicated α-synuclein (αSyn) in PD 18,19 opened a whole field of research that is still bearing fruit. For example, tools developed from basic science discoveriessuch as αSyn seed amplification assays (αSyn-SAA), 20 which evolved from our understanding of the process of αSyn aggregation kinetics in vitroare allowing for the identification of earlier stages of PD when these interventions and others could potentially prevent or delay the onset of PD.…”