High Antioxidant Levels May Slow Parkinson's Disease

Article by Arnie Gitomer

New Study Shows Oxidative Stress Plays a Role.

Earlier studies suggest that low levels of antioxidants encourage Parkinson's disease (PD) to develop and advance. In this study, doctors measured levels of antioxidants in 104 people with early-stage and advanced-stage Parkinson's disease, and compared them to 52 healthy people of similar age and gender.

Comparing the two groups, all of those with Parkinson's disease had lower circulating levels of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lycopene than healthy participants. Levels of these three carotenoid antioxidants were also lower in those in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease compared to those in its early stages.

After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease is the second most common age-related nerve disease. Doctors think Parkinson's disease may progress as the ability of the body to fight off radical oxygen species-the cause of oxidative stress-decreases with age. With life expectancy increasing, doctors hope to show that maintaining good levels of antioxidants, especially carotenoids, can slow and possibly help prevent Parkinson's disease.

(Reference: Nutrition Research and Practice; 2017, Vol. 11, No. 2, 114-20)

Product Recommendations:
We recommend adding an antioxidant supplement, preferably a blend, to your daily vitamin regimen. You may be getting the basic vitamin antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, etc in your multivitamin. Plant derived antioxidants ("phyto" antioxidants), however, are often lacking. Read the information in the Willner Chemists Phyto-Tech Product Reference section for the products Phyto-Tech™Antiox Phyto Blend (Product Code: 57551) and Phyto-Tech™ Antiox Phyto Complex II (Product Code: 63745). For carotenoids only, check the Jarrow Formulas product, Carotenall (Product Code: 43873). The pharmacists and nutritionists at Willner Chemists are available to help you with your decisions.