Flavonoid-Rich Diet May Increase Life Expectancy in Parkinson Disease

A study published in Neurology, showed a diet that includes 3 or more servings per week of high-flavonoid foods may lower chance of dying in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) compared with those who do not eat as many flavonoids. 

A higher consumption of flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins, both before and after a PD diagnosis, was associated with lower risk of death during the study period. Previous studies suggest the risk of cognitive decline may be lowered by as much as 20% with a diet rich in flavonoids. 

Death occurred in 74% (120/163) of men in the highest flavonoid-consuming group died compared with 79% (129/163) of men in the lowest flavonoid-consuming group. No such difference was seen among women. When evaluating survival after diagnosis with PD for both men and women, however, the top 25% consumers of anthocyanins survived for a mean 66% longer time, and the top flavonoid-consuming group survived 69% longer (both comparisons to lowest flavonoid-consuming group).

The participant group that represented those consuming the highest 25% of flavonoids ate a mean 673 mg of flavonoids. Those consuming the lowest 25% of flavonoids ate a mean 134 mg. At the conclusion of the study, 75% of the participants had died, 513 from PD, 112 from cardiovascular diseases, and 69 from various cancers.

“Our results are exciting because they suggest that people with Parkinson's in our study who did something as simple as including three or more servings per week of common foods like red berries, apples and orange juice may have improved chances of living longer,” said study author Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, of The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA.
 
“More research is needed to understand why people with Parkinson’s who have diets higher in flavonoids may have better survival rates,” Gao said. “However, if someone with PD is able to add a few servings of berries, apples, oranges and tea to their weekly diets, our results suggest it may be an easy and low-risk way to possibly improve their outcome. And while we do not encourage people who do not currently drink alcohol to start, people who do drink could consider shifting to red wine.”