HOW TO PREVENT PARKINSON'S? 8 PRACTICAL TIPS - ECONOMÍA - 2025

To prevent Parkinson's, certain guidelines can be established, although the effectiveness is not total. Leading a healthy lifestyle - diet, physical exercise - and early detection are two of the most important elements.

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that primarily affects movement. This pathology has a chronic course and has unknown causes, as well as an important genetic component. Due to these characteristics, nowadays it is difficult to establish which are the guidelines that must be followed to avoid the appearance of Parkinson's.

Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nervous system, damaging the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra. The most important function that these types of neurons perform is the control of movements. The main symptom of this disease lies in the alteration of the voluntary movements of the extremities of the body, that is, of the arms and legs.

But beware, this does not mean that this disease is limited to movement disorders, since the brain areas that deteriorate in Parkinson's perform many other functions, so a greater number of symptoms can occur.

Memory failures, cognitive and intellectual dysfunctions, dementia, mood disturbances, depression, sleep disturbances and, in the worst cases, hallucinations, delusions or loss of impulse control can appear frequently in people with Parkinson's.

Neurodegenerative pathologies are today a mystery to the world of science and, despite the many advances that have occurred in recent years, their causes are still not known.

However, there is much research on the origin of the disease that aims to gain a better understanding of Parkinson's, establish treatments for its cure and define strategies to prevent its appearance.

Tips to prevent Parkinson's

1- Protective foods

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Research on strategies and activities to prevent Parkinson's disease is vast.

In this sense, despite the fact that nowadays there are no treatments that can completely prevent the appearance of the disorder, there is evidence that allows establishing certain guidelines.

One of the important factors that have been detected in the development of Parkinson's is the oxidative stress process of cells. Oxidative stress is a normal activity carried out by all the cells of the body and that allow the body to develop.

However, certain alterations or excesses in these processes can cause an increase in the death of cells (in this case neurons, since Parkinson's affects brain cells) and increase the chances of developing Parkinson's disease.

Eating a diet rich in natural antioxidants prevents oxidative stress changes and, therefore, can be effective strategies to reduce the probability of Parkinson's onset.

The main foods that can prevent the disorder are:

• Green tea: research conducted by Dr. Baolu Zhao indicates that the polyphenols in green tea protect dopamine neurons (the neurons affected in Parkinson's), so their consumption can prevent the onset of the disease.
• Foods rich in vitamin E: vitamin E is the substance with the highest antioxidant power, so these foods can be beneficial to prevent disease. Plant-based fats, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts and almonds are the foods richest in vitamin E.
• Foods rich in vitamin C: like vitamin E, it also has a high antioxidant power. Oranges, lemons, or other citrus fruits can protect brain development and prevent Parkinson's.
• Gingko Biloba: it is an herb that is especially beneficial for the brain as it helps increase blood circulation. The increased circulation increases cell production and, therefore, prevents neuronal degeneration.

2- Balanced diet

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Beyond the foods that have been discussed above, preventing Parkinson's disease requires comprehensive care of the body. In this sense, periodically consuming those foods that can be protective for the development of the pathology is not usually enough.

If we eat a very rich diet with the four foods mentioned (green tea, foods with vitamin E and C and gingko biloba) but accompanied by unhealthy products, the diet will not be healthy and the diet will probably not allow taking care of the brain regions.

Many cases of Parkinson's can be caused by other diseases or conditions. In this sense, the alterations that affect brain and neurological functioning are usually the most relevant.

Vascular pathologies can cause what is known as atherosclerotic parkinsonism or arteriosclerotic parkinsonism.

In this way, eating a balanced diet low in fat and without excess sugars and salts will prevent the body from suffering from strokes and predisposing brain regions to Parkinson's disease.

3- Do physical activity frequently

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Regular physical activity can help prevent Parkinson's disease in two different ways. On the one hand, exercise improves health, so the chances of contracting diseases or disorders that may be associated with Parkinson's decrease.

The appearance of this disease can respond to multiple causes and different origins, however, whenever we promote health we prevent the appearance of diseases, including Parkinson's.

On the other hand, frequent physical activity can be a particularly relevant component when it comes to protecting the main symptom of this disorder, that is, the alteration of movements.

Exercise by itself requires continuous movement, so the more physical activity you do, the greater benefits we will have both in the different body regions and in the brain areas that control movement.

These are the areas of the brain that are mainly affected in Parkinson's, so the more activity we give to that group of neurons, the less likely they will begin to degenerate.

4- Healthy lifestyle

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Finally, to end health promotion, it is important to carry out a healthy lifestyle. This concept involves the two previous concepts (diet and exercise), as well as the avoidance of behaviors that are harmful to health.

Frequent alcohol consumption can be an important risk factor in the development of Parkinson's, so to prevent this disease it is relevant to avoid excessive consumption of this substance.

Likewise, having an active life, both physically and mentally, can help protect the body from the development of Parkinson's disease.

5- Consume coffee

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Both coffee and tobacco are two substances that have generated some debate regarding the development of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

In the case of Parkinson's, the deficit in the production of dopaminergic neurons has been established as the main endogenous factor that explains the appearance of the symptoms of the disease.

Coffee and tobacco stimulate the production of this substance, dopamine, which is why they have been postulated as neuroprotective substances.

However, both coffee and caffeine can cause other physical alterations that can predispose the appearance of Parkinson's, so their role as preventive factors raises some doubts.

6- Early detection

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One of the most relevant aspects that determine the evolution of the disease is its early detection.

Despite the fact that Parkinson's is a chronic and irreversible pathology, whether it is detected on the first day or the last, a positive relationship between early detection and better evolution of the disease has been demonstrated.

7- Early treatment

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The previous point is explained because, if pharmacological treatment is started in the first moments of the disease, the evolution of the disease will be slower, the symptoms will take longer to appear and, in general, the person suffering from Parkinson's will have a better quality of life for longer.

As soon as the disease is diagnosed, despite not presenting clear symptoms, it is very important to start treatment for Parkinson's.

8- Cognitive stimulation

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Finally, it must be taken into account that Parkinson's is not limited to its most typical symptoms, it usually causes cognitive failures and very often it can cause dementia.

Carrying out cognitive stimulation activities to exercise memory, reading, or calculations are very important to prevent these symptoms and avoid the appearance of dementia syndromes.

Causes of Parkinson's

To know the treatments and strategies that allow to cure or prevent a disease, it is essential to know both the causes and the development of the pathology. If the etiological factors of an alteration are not known, it is practically impossible to determine what can be done to make it subside.

In the case of Parkinson's, these aspects fall into a main question: What happens so that certain regions of the brain begin to degenerate? Or put another way: What factors cause the appearance of Parkinson's?

Today this question does not have a clear answer, a fact that explains that there are still no treatments that allow this disease to remit. However, the fact that the factors that define the appearance of the disease are not clarified does not mean that nothing is known about the etiology of Parkinson's.

In fact, factors have been discovered that seem to play an important role in the development of the pathology and, despite not fully explaining its appearance, they have made it possible to establish some effective treatments and suggest preventive strategies.

The main causes of Parkinson's are:

Genetic factors

The scientific community has identified several genetic mutations that are associated with Parkinson's disease.

The development of the alpha-synuclein gene appears to be one of the main factors in the disorder, although it is not the only one that has been detected.

In this way, the study of Parkinson's genes has made it possible to explain many cases of this pathology and establish lines of research aimed at finding the proteins and genetic components that can develop the disease.

Environmental factors

It has been connoted how exposure to certain toxins can cause parkinsonian symptoms in an exceptional way.

MPTP (a drug) or the metal magnesium can cause the appearance of symptoms very similar to that seen in Parkinson's, so they could be important elements in the development of the disease.

Mitochondria

Mitochondria are components of cells that are responsible for producing energy. In this sense, several lines of research suggest that mitochondria may play an important role in the development of Parkinson's.

The molecules that damage cell membranes, proteins, and DNA are precisely these cellular elements, doing so through a process known as oxidative stress.

Thus, some mutations that affect mitochondrial function have been identified as causes of Parkinson's.

Head injury

Numerous Parkinson's cases have been reported among boxers. From which it is extracted that the blows suffered in the brain regions could also be a risk factor for the development of the disease.

Aging

Finally, cell degeneration is a typical process of human aging, so as we grow our body has less capacity to regenerate cells and we lose certain functions.

This fact explains why age is shown as the main risk factor for the disorder, since the prevalence of this disease increases markedly after 60 years.

However, normal and healthy aging does not imply the presence of Parkinson's, despite the fact that the body experiences cellular degeneration, so that the passage of time does not explain the appearance of the disorder.

References

1. Clarke G. A one-hit model of cell death in inherited neuronal degenerations. Nature, 2000; 406: 195-199.
2. Greenamyer JT, Betarbet R., Sherer T., Mackenzie G. Chronic systemic complex I inhition by a pesticide causes selective nigrostriatal degeneration with cytoplasmic inclusions. Abs., 2000; 26: 1026.
3. Mahler MF, Gokhan S. Mechanisms underlying neural cell death in neurodegenerative diseases: alterations of a cellular developmentally-mediated cellular rehostal. Trends Neuroscienci., 2000; 23: 599-605.
4. Obeso JA, Rodríguez-Oroz MC, Chana P., Lera G., Rodríguez M., Olanow CW The Evolution and Origin of Motor Complications in Parkinson's Disease. Neurology, Suppl 4 (Vol. 55): S13-S23. December 2000.
5. Obeso JA, Rodríguez-Oroz MC, Lera G. Evolution of Parkinson's disease. Actual problems. In: "Neuronal death and Parkinson's disease". JA Obeso, CW Olanow, HV Schapira, E. Tolosa (editors). Goodbye Madrid, 1999; chap. 2, pp. 21-38.