Does diet protect against Parkinson's disease? Part 2 – Fat

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects up to one in ten of those over 80 and is currently incurable. Much current research focus on the preclinical period of damage and it is believed that diet may affect the development of the disease. This paper is the second in a series on diet and PD and outlines the effect dietary fat may have on disease prevalence. Initial dietary analysis studies indicated that fat intake appeared to be associated with raised incidences of PD, this probably being due to animal rather than vegetable fat. Results indicated that animal fat was associated with an up to fivefold increased risk of PD whereas vegetable fat did not appear to affect incidence. More recent evidence questions this finding, as, whilst a similar trend exists, the statistical significance is not strong. Likewise the study methodology is all retrospective and could introduce significant recall bias. Nonetheless, it would be recommended that individuals at risk of PD should alter their fat intake in favour of vegetable fat, whilst reducing overall levels in line with healthy eating guidelines.