Consumption of vitamins C and E linked to lower risk of Parkinson’s disease

Those who consume high levels of vitamin C and E in their diet may have a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease than people who get only small amounts of these nutrients, a new study reports.

The study, from the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, and Karolinska Institutet, was published in Neurology, according to a news release.

“Improving diet is a known way to improve overall health, but the research on exactly how diet affects a person’s risk of Parkinson’s disease has been somewhat mixed,” study author Essi Hantikainen, of the University of Milano-Bicocca in Milan, Italy, said in the news release. “Our large study found that vitamin C and vitamin E were each linked to a 32% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, and we found the association may be even stronger when intake of both vitamin C and E is high.”

Vitamins C and E are antioxidants, which the release defined as nutrients that reduce or prevent cell damage and inflammation. 

Foods like oranges, strawberries, broccoli and Brussels sprouts contain vitamin C, according to the release, and Vitamin E can be found in spinach, collard greens, pumpkin and in nuts like almonds and peanuts. 

For the study, the release said researchers followed 41,058 adults in Sweden for an average of 18 years.