Coffee can improve Parkinson’s symptoms within three weeks compared to placebo, but do the benefits last?
Coffee Put to the Test for Treating Parkinson’s Disease
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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
“When James Parkinson first described the classical symptoms of the disease he could hardly foresee the evolution of our understanding over the next two hundred years,” like the role of nutrition. Increasing Parkinson’s disease risk with high dietary intakes of animal fat, iron, mercury, and dairy products, whereas the intake of antioxidants and a plant-based dietary pattern may be protective.
“Plant-based diets are known to preserve body tissues from oxidative stress and inflammation, both hallmarks of chronic degenerative diseases” like Parkinson’s. On the contrary, animal-based foods, particularly rich in animal proteins and saturated fats, are correlated with the promotion of neurodegenerative diseases––in addition to some of the leading killers like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.
Not all plants are necessarily good, though. For example, consider the potential neurotoxicity of graviola, a fruit known as soursop. Consumption of soursop can lower blood pressure and uric acid levels, but may also cause an atypical form of Parkinson’s disease, because the fruit contains neurotoxic compounds. And indeed, population studies do show a link between the overconsumption of soursop with neurodegenerative disease.
Yes, those who follow a predominantly plant-based diet may show the lowest prevalence and incidence of Parkinson’s disease, but plant-based nutrition is not just about reducing the risk, but can be used to manage the disease.
In my video Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Diet, I discussed this case report, in which a diet low in animal fat and including both whole grains every day, as well as one to two cups a day of strawberries, seemed to be effective in reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. But there are like 20,000 edible plants out there, and only a limited number of them have been studied for anti-Parkinson’s activity.
One plant that’s gotten a lot of attention is coffee, which may exert a protective effect against the development of Parkinson’s, and may even help slow down the progression of the disease––based on studies like this that show that Parkinson’s patients who drink coffee or caffeinated tea appear to cut their risk of dying prematurely in half. But correlation doesn’t mean causation. You don’t know if caffeine really works until you put it to the test.
Caffeine for the treatment of Parkinson disease: a six-week randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study. The caffeine group was started out at approximately a cup of coffee’s worth of caffeine twice a day, once in the morning and once after lunch, and then increasing it to two cups worth twice a day, which would be like four cups of black tea twice a day or six cups of green. And . . . a significant improvement in Parkinson’s symptoms within three weeks compared to placebo. A cheap, safe, simple treatment for Parkinson’s, though an important limitation was the duration of the study. Caffeine has what’s called a “tachyphylactic” property, meaning its effect tends to diminish over time with repeated use (at least when trying to combat sleepiness), so it would be really nice to see the study repeated over a longer time frame. But there was no such longer study until . . . five years later. Parkinson’s patients were randomized to about two cups of coffee worth of caffeine twice a day for not six weeks, but more than six months, and . . . no benefit over placebo. Drats.
Caffeine did not provide sustained symptomatic benefit after all. So, caffeine may have a short-term benefit, which quickly dissipates. Regardless, caffeine cannot be recommended as symptomatic therapy for parkinsonism.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Del Rey NLG, Quiroga-Varela A, Garbayo E, et al. Advances in parkinson’s disease: 200 years later. Front Neuroanat. 2018;12:113.
- Baroni L, Zuliani C. A plant-food diet in the risk and management of parkinson’s disease. In: Bioactive Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements in Neurological and Brain Disease. Elsevier; 2015:411-20.
- Pistollato F, Battino M. Role of plant-based diets in the prevention and regression of metabolic syndrome and neurodegenerative diseases. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2014;40(1):62-81.
- Smith RE, Shejwalkar P. Potential neurotoxicity of graviola (Annona muricata) juice. In: Safety Issues in Beverage Production. Elsevier; 2020:429-49.
- Alatas H, Sja’bani M, Mustofa M, et al. The effects of soursop supplementation on blood pressure, serum uric acid, and kidney function in a prehypertensive population in accordance with the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline. J Hum Hypertens. 2020;34(3):223-32.
- Renoudet VV, Costa-Mallen P, Hopkins E. A diet low in animal fat and rich in N-hexacosanol and fisetin is effective in reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. J Med Food. 2012;15(8):758-61.
- Rabiei Z, Solati K, Amini-Khoei H. Phytotherapy in treatment of Parkinson’s disease: a review. Pharm Biol. 2019;57(1):355-62.
- Belvisi D, Pellicciari R, Fabbrini G, Tinazzi M, Berardelli A, Defazio G. Modifiable risk and protective factors in disease development, progression and clinical subtypes of Parkinson’s disease: What do prospective studies suggest? Neurobiol Dis. 2020;134:104671.
- Paul KC, Chuang YH, Shih IF, et al. The association between lifestyle factors and Parkinson’s disease progression and mortality. Mov Disord. 2019;34(1):58-66.
- Postuma RB, Lang AE, Munhoz RP, et al. Caffeine for treatment of Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2012;79(7):651-8.
- Postuma RB, Anang J, Pelletier A, et al. Caffeine as symptomatic treatment for Parkinson disease (Café-pd): A randomized trial. Neurology. 2017;89(17):1795-803.
Motion graphics by Avo Media
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
“When James Parkinson first described the classical symptoms of the disease he could hardly foresee the evolution of our understanding over the next two hundred years,” like the role of nutrition. Increasing Parkinson’s disease risk with high dietary intakes of animal fat, iron, mercury, and dairy products, whereas the intake of antioxidants and a plant-based dietary pattern may be protective.
“Plant-based diets are known to preserve body tissues from oxidative stress and inflammation, both hallmarks of chronic degenerative diseases” like Parkinson’s. On the contrary, animal-based foods, particularly rich in animal proteins and saturated fats, are correlated with the promotion of neurodegenerative diseases––in addition to some of the leading killers like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.
Not all plants are necessarily good, though. For example, consider the potential neurotoxicity of graviola, a fruit known as soursop. Consumption of soursop can lower blood pressure and uric acid levels, but may also cause an atypical form of Parkinson’s disease, because the fruit contains neurotoxic compounds. And indeed, population studies do show a link between the overconsumption of soursop with neurodegenerative disease.
Yes, those who follow a predominantly plant-based diet may show the lowest prevalence and incidence of Parkinson’s disease, but plant-based nutrition is not just about reducing the risk, but can be used to manage the disease.
In my video Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Diet, I discussed this case report, in which a diet low in animal fat and including both whole grains every day, as well as one to two cups a day of strawberries, seemed to be effective in reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. But there are like 20,000 edible plants out there, and only a limited number of them have been studied for anti-Parkinson’s activity.
One plant that’s gotten a lot of attention is coffee, which may exert a protective effect against the development of Parkinson’s, and may even help slow down the progression of the disease––based on studies like this that show that Parkinson’s patients who drink coffee or caffeinated tea appear to cut their risk of dying prematurely in half. But correlation doesn’t mean causation. You don’t know if caffeine really works until you put it to the test.
Caffeine for the treatment of Parkinson disease: a six-week randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study. The caffeine group was started out at approximately a cup of coffee’s worth of caffeine twice a day, once in the morning and once after lunch, and then increasing it to two cups worth twice a day, which would be like four cups of black tea twice a day or six cups of green. And . . . a significant improvement in Parkinson’s symptoms within three weeks compared to placebo. A cheap, safe, simple treatment for Parkinson’s, though an important limitation was the duration of the study. Caffeine has what’s called a “tachyphylactic” property, meaning its effect tends to diminish over time with repeated use (at least when trying to combat sleepiness), so it would be really nice to see the study repeated over a longer time frame. But there was no such longer study until . . . five years later. Parkinson’s patients were randomized to about two cups of coffee worth of caffeine twice a day for not six weeks, but more than six months, and . . . no benefit over placebo. Drats.
Caffeine did not provide sustained symptomatic benefit after all. So, caffeine may have a short-term benefit, which quickly dissipates. Regardless, caffeine cannot be recommended as symptomatic therapy for parkinsonism.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Del Rey NLG, Quiroga-Varela A, Garbayo E, et al. Advances in parkinson’s disease: 200 years later. Front Neuroanat. 2018;12:113.
- Baroni L, Zuliani C. A plant-food diet in the risk and management of parkinson’s disease. In: Bioactive Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements in Neurological and Brain Disease. Elsevier; 2015:411-20.
- Pistollato F, Battino M. Role of plant-based diets in the prevention and regression of metabolic syndrome and neurodegenerative diseases. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2014;40(1):62-81.
- Smith RE, Shejwalkar P. Potential neurotoxicity of graviola (Annona muricata) juice. In: Safety Issues in Beverage Production. Elsevier; 2020:429-49.
- Alatas H, Sja’bani M, Mustofa M, et al. The effects of soursop supplementation on blood pressure, serum uric acid, and kidney function in a prehypertensive population in accordance with the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline. J Hum Hypertens. 2020;34(3):223-32.
- Renoudet VV, Costa-Mallen P, Hopkins E. A diet low in animal fat and rich in N-hexacosanol and fisetin is effective in reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. J Med Food. 2012;15(8):758-61.
- Rabiei Z, Solati K, Amini-Khoei H. Phytotherapy in treatment of Parkinson’s disease: a review. Pharm Biol. 2019;57(1):355-62.
- Belvisi D, Pellicciari R, Fabbrini G, Tinazzi M, Berardelli A, Defazio G. Modifiable risk and protective factors in disease development, progression and clinical subtypes of Parkinson’s disease: What do prospective studies suggest? Neurobiol Dis. 2020;134:104671.
- Paul KC, Chuang YH, Shih IF, et al. The association between lifestyle factors and Parkinson’s disease progression and mortality. Mov Disord. 2019;34(1):58-66.
- Postuma RB, Lang AE, Munhoz RP, et al. Caffeine for treatment of Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2012;79(7):651-8.
- Postuma RB, Anang J, Pelletier A, et al. Caffeine as symptomatic treatment for Parkinson disease (Café-pd): A randomized trial. Neurology. 2017;89(17):1795-803.
Motion graphics by Avo Media
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Title
Coffee Put to the Test for Treating Parkinson’s Disease
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
My other videos on Parkinson’s disease include:
- Preventing Parkinson’s Disease with Diet
- Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Diet
- Is Something in Tobacco Protective Against Parkinson’s Disease?
- Peppers and Parkinson’s: The Benefits of Smoking Without the Risks?
- Could Lactose Explain the Milk and Parkinson’s Disease Link?
- Parkinson’s Disease and the Uric Acid Sweet Spot
- The Role Meat May Play in Triggering Parkinson’s Disease
- Low-Protein Diets for Parkinson’s Disease
- Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Velvet Beans (Mucuna pruriens)
- Treating Parkinson’s Disease with Fava Beans (Faba or Broad Beans)
For more on coffee, see:
- Coffee and Cancer
- Preventing Liver Cancer with Coffee?
- Coffee and Artery Function
- Coffee and Mortality
- Coffee and Cholesterol: The Latest Research
- Does Adding Milk Block the Benefits of Coffee?
- Which Coffee Is Healthier: Light vs. Dark Roast
- Does Low Acid Coffee Cause Less Acid Reflux?
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