Do You Have THIS Parkinson’s Risk Factor?
Parkinson’s disease is a devastating disorder.
And like most other neurological conditions, there’s no cure.
But the more we learn about it, the more we know about the steps you can take to make sure you never get it in the first place.
A recent study shows that a condition affecting over 100 million people in the US alone dramatically increases your risk.
Here’s everything you need to know.
This was an enormous study, analyzing data on over eight million people over 40 years old who did not have a history of Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers wanted to find out if there was a connection between a person’s glycemic status (how well they handle blood sugar), and how long someone had been diabetic, and their risk for Parkinson’s.
The participants were divided according to their glycemic status:
- No diabetes
- Impaired fasting glucose
- Diabetes for less than 5 years
- Diabetes for 5 years or more
They tracked the individuals for an average of about six years, and here’s what they found:
- People with diabetes had a higher risk of Parkinson’s than those without.
- And people who had diabetes for five years or more had the highest incidence of Parkinson’s compared to other groups.
But you don’t have to have full-blown diabetes to be upping your odds of Parkinson’s.
Even those without diabetes—but who had impaired fasting glucose (or prediabetes)—had an increased risk of the disease.
And as glucose intolerance increased—and the longer some had diabetes—the greater the incidence of Parkinson’s.
They also determined that having multiple conditions in addition to diabetes—such as cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease—increased the risk of Parkinson’s.
However, diabetes increased the risk even if someone wasn’t suffering with these other conditions as well.
Studies like this establish a clear link… but they don’t establish direct cause and effect.
But clearly, when you’re looking at data on millions of people, you can’t deny the connection.
The bottom line?
Now is the time to get your blood sugar in check—whether you have diabetes or not.
The collateral damage to your body—and your future—is not worth that Boston cream donut.
P.S. Here’s another easy way to SLASH your Parkinson’s risk.