Vitamins are essential nutrients that performs many vital functions in the body. They are required for proper health and growth of your body. They govern cholesterol and blood sugar levels, facilitate metabolism of fats, and help in the generation of energy.
Vitamins have strong antioxidant actions and have the ability to combat the toxic events in your body and potentially protect it from developing diseases.
How about for Parkinson’s disease – What does the research say?
Parkinson’s is a progressive disease that develops when the brain loss a certain group of cells. These cells produce dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that control movement. When the disease strikes the brain, the body begins to show clinical signs like tremor, slowness of movement, rigidity, and abnormal gait.
There is some evidence that taking dietary vitamins may be useful in Parkinson’s disease. However, the research is still in the laboratory stage and there has not been any evidence showing that vitamins can slow down the disease progression in humans.
In the laboratory experiments, when human brain cells were exposed to a toxic chemical that caused changes similar to Parkinson’s and then given vitamin E, the cells were survived. This could be due to the antioxidant actions of vitamins that prevent the cells from oxidative stress, which leads to the loss of cells in Parkinson’s.
Similarly, in a study performed on mice showed that α-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E) treatment for 72 hours gave protection against the loss of cells involved in Parkinson’s dopamine-producing cells in the brain.
Furthermore, there are some studies suggesting that high intake of dietary vitamin E is associated with a lower incidence of Parkinson’s disease.
While results from these studies are exciting, large scale clinical trials in humans are required before concluding that vitamins are beneficial or not. Currently, there is no research evidence to indicate that taking any form of vitamins can completely treat the symptoms or slow down the disease progression. If you are Parkinson’s patient and would like to take vitamin supplements, it is better to check it with your doctor first.
Disclaimer: The information shared here should not be taken as medical advice. The opinions presented here are not intended to treat any health conditions. For your specific medical problem, consult with your health care provider.
