Roughly one million Americans are living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a number that is expected to increase to 1.2 million by 2030.
New research suggests a very specific salty snack may help prevent that staggering rise.
Parkinson’s disease, which actor Michael J. Fox has publicly struggled with, is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects motor abilities, causing shaking and stiffness as well as hindering balance and coordination in people usually over the age of 60, according to the National Institute on Aging.
With age, incidences of Parkinson’s escalate, tripling every decade after 60.
Parkinson’s is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease.
While experts believe the condition is caused by genetic and environmental factors, research published last year has suggested it could originate in the gastrointestinal system.
The good news? Researchers have found that eating antioxidant-rich seaweed may stave off the devastating disease.
Experts have established that the emergence of Parkinson’s disease is linked to the misfolding of the protein α-synuclein. And now, researchers at the University of New Brunswick have found that an extract from the brown seaweed Alaria esculenta can prevent this conversion. Thus, eating the sea stuff could potentially deter the disease or delay its progress.
Seaweed, AKA sea vegetables, are forms of algae that grow in the ocean. Ranging in color from red to green to brown to black, seaweed grows along the world’s rocky coasts but is most commonly consumed in Asian countries.
Dr. Thierry Chopin, a professor of marine biology and the study’s lead author, notes that this discovery could increase the global demand for seaweed.
“[Seaweed] is mostly an Asian story, with more than 97% produced by China, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Hopefully, as people in the Western world realize more and more the benefits of seaweeds for them and the environment, we will see the emergence of this [resource] right here.”
Some posit that the high seaweed intake of the Japanese might be one reason why they have the highest life expectancy Trusted Source in the world.
In addition to potentially preventing or delaying the onset of Parkinson’s, seaweed has been shown to help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Rich in iodine and antioxidants it also supports thyroid health and can protect the body from free radicals.
The news that seaweed can stave off Parkison’s comes on the heels of a remarkable breakthrough treatment for the disease. Known as Produodopa or Foslevodopa-Foscarbidopa, the treatment is a continuous infusion therapy recommended for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease who experience severe changes in their movement abilities.
A jaw-dropping video of a UK man with Parkinson’s making tea before and after he began the therapy has since gone viral. Produodopa is not yet available in the US.
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