Eating nicotine-containing produce like peppers, tomatoes may lower Parkinson's risk

A new study shows that eating foods that contain naturally-occurring nicotine may be able reduce the risk of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's is a neuro degenerative brain disorder that causes a group of motor system problems. About 50,000 to 60,000 patients are diagnosed with Parkinson's each year, according to the National Parkinson Foundation.

The disease is caused by a loss of brain cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is responsible for movement. Main symptoms can include shaking or tremor at rest, slow movement, stiffness or rigidity of limbs and problems with balance. However, it can come with a host of other lesser-known signs including small writing, loss of facial expression, low-volume voice, decrease in reflexes, depression, anxiety, vivid dreams, constipation and pain.

Previous studies have shown that smoking and other tobacco use may lower the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. While it was thought that nicotine may be providing that effect, researchers weren't sure if different factors in the brain were causing the risk reductions.

While most people know that nicotine can be found in tobacco, low levels of the compound can be found in peppers, tomatoes and other members of the Solanaceae flowering plant family. Researchers wanted to determine if even small amounts of edible nicotine would be able to lower the risk.
For the study, 490 patients who were diagnosed with Parkinson's at the University of Washington in Seattle's neurology clinic or at a regional HMO called Group Health Cooperative were examined. In addition, 644 unrelated individuals with no neurological disorders were looked at as a control group.
All were asked about their lifetime diets and tobacco use. Tobacco use was defined as ever smoking more than 100 cigarettes or regularly using cigars, pipes or smokeless tobacco.

Eating more vegetables in general did not lower Parkinson's risk, but eating vegetables in the Solanaceae family did. People who ate these types of vegetables lowered their risk 19 percent on average, compared with those who did not eat these vegetables. However, because some people's overall risk of getting the disease was low to begin with, for some smokers the association was not statistically significant. The protective benefit from the produce was most profound men and women who had little or no prior tobacco use.

People who ate the most peppers -- about two to four peppers weekly -- had the strongest risk-lowering association. They lowered their Parkinson's risk by 30 percent.
"Our study is the first to investigate dietary nicotine and risk of developing Parkinson's disease," author Searles Nielsen, a researcher in the department of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington Seattle, said in a press release. "Similar to the many studies that indicate tobacco use might reduce risk of Parkinson's, our findings also suggest a protective effect from nicotine, or perhaps a similar but less toxic chemical in peppers and tobacco."

• NFL Hall of Famer: Parkinson's symptoms go beyond motion problems
• Parkinson's sufferers turn to boxing to ease symptoms

Dr. Kelly Changizi, co-director of the Center for Neuromodulation at the Mount Sinai Parkinson and Movement Disorders Center in New York City, told HealthDay that the results show the influence of diet on neurological disorders.

"It provides further evidence of how diet can influence our susceptibility to neurological disease -- specifically Parkinson's disease," Changizi explained. "Patients often ask what role nutrition plays in their disease, so it's very interesting that nicotine in vegetables such as peppers may be neuroprotective."

The study was published in the Annals of Neurology on May 9

Nicotine is an addictive drug. According to the American Heart Association, nicotine provokes changes in the brain that makes you want it more and more. Exposure to nicotine also provokes some unwanted health consequences such as increased blood pressure and increased heart rate. A study performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that some foods that we consume on a regular basis contain nicotine.

List of a Few Foods That Contain Nicotine

Eggplant

The food that is richest in nicotine concentration is eggplant. Eggplant contains a nicotine concentration of 100 ng/g. This vegetable is also a very good dietary source of fiber, vitamin B1, vitamin B6 and potassium. According to "The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods" by Michael T. Murray, the health benefits of eggplant consumption are directly linked to the presence of a strong antioxidant called nasunin. Nasunin protects the body against free radical damage, helps rid the body of excess iron and helps lower cholesterol levels.

Green Tomatoes

Green tomatoes also contain dietary nicotine. The nicotine content of green tomatoes is 42.8 ng/g. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, green tomatoes are also a good dietary source of potassium, phosphorus, vitamin C, folate and calcium.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is another food source of nicotine. The nicotine concentration contained in cauliflower is 16.8 ng/g. According to MyHealthyFoods.com, cauliflower is also an excellent dietary source of vitamin K, vitamin C, folate and fiber. Regular consumption of cauliflower will promote some health benefits such as protection against some forms of cancer, detoxification in the body and protection against rheumatoid arthritis.

Potatoes

Another food that could expose you to nicotine is potatoes. Potatoes contain a nicotine concentration of 7.1 ng/g. According to Ayushveda.com, potatoes are also a very good dietary source of vitamin B6, vitamin A and potassium. The combination of these nutrients make the consumption of baked or boiled potatoes effective prevention against cardiovascular disease. According to the website, people who consume baked or boiled potatoes have a lower risk of heart attack and frequently have lower blood pressure than people who do not consume potatoes.

Papaya

The papaya plant, Carica papaya, contains nicotine, but the fruit itself does not. Unlike most plant sources of nicotine, papaya does not belong to the Solanaceae family. It is instead part of the Caricaceae family.

It's important to note that plants contain far less nicotine than cigarettes do, plus cigarettes contain many cancer-causing toxic chemicals -- so people shouldn't take the findings to mean they can smoke cigarettes to ward off Parkinson's. In addition, the body takes in nicotine from food differently from cigarette smoke -- Searles Nielsen explained that when nicotine is taken in from cigarette smoke, some of it goes straight to the brain; meanwhile, when nicotine is ingested from food, it "reaches the liver first, and part of the liver’s job is to at least begin to detoxify chemicals, whether those chemicals be human-made or, in this case, plant-made.”