Eating tomato and pepper and prevent Parkinson’s disease

Foods such as peppers and tomatoes may ward off the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Solanaceae - a flowering plant family with some species producing foods that are edible sources of nicotine may be effective against Parkinson's disease, according to the researchers. A movement disorder, Parkinson’s disease is caused by a loss of brain cells. Its symptoms include facial, hand, arm, and leg tremors and loss of balance. It is not yet confirmed if nicotine in tobacco provides a protective effect, or if people who develop Parkinson's disease are simply less apt to use tobacco because of diagnosis. Dr Susan Searles Nielsen and colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle studied 490 patients newly diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. 644 unrelated individuals without neurological conditions were used too. To assess participants' lifetime diets and tobacco use, questionnaires were used. Parkinson’s disease decreased with increased consumption of edible Solanaceae. The disease risk decreased, with peppers too. Vegetable consumption did not affect Parkinson's disease risk. Protection from Parkinson’s happened mainly in men and women with little or no prior use of tobacco. “Our study is the first to investigate dietary nicotine and risk of developing Parkinson's disease,” said Nielsen. “Similar to the many studies that indicate tobacco use might reduce risk of Parkinson's, our findings also suggest a protective effect from nicotine, or perhaps a similar but less toxic chemical in peppers and tobacco,” Nielsen said.