A MEDITERRANEAN diet rich in legumes and olive oil could quietly protect the ageing brain, after a major European study found lower Parkinson’s disease incidence in women who maintained stronger adherence to Mediterranean diet patterns during midlife, even when long-term reverse causation risks were carefully excluded.
Why Mediterranean Diet Patterns Matter in Parkinson’s Research
Parkinson’s disease develops slowly, often over decades, making it difficult to distinguish whether lifestyle factors reduce risk or are simply altered as early symptoms begin to emerge. The Mediterranean diet has long been associated with cardiovascular and cognitive benefits, yet evidence for its role in neurodegenerative prevention has remained inconsistent. Many prior studies lacked sufficient follow-up or failed to account for prodromal features such as constipation and depression that may change dietary behaviour before diagnosis.
To address these limitations, researchers analysed data from the French E3N cohort, a large prospective study of women initially free from Parkinson’s disease. By incorporating long lag periods and adjusting for prodromal symptoms, investigators were able to evaluate whether Mediterranean diet adherence predicted future disease risk rather than reflecting early, undiagnosed illness.
Twenty-Five Year Findings on Mediterranean Diet Adherence
The analysis included 71,542 women followed from 1993 to 2018, among whom 845 developed Parkinson’s disease. Overall, adherence to Mediterranean diet and MIND diet patterns was not associated with Parkinson’s incidence. However, in women younger than 71 years, higher adherence was linked to significantly lower disease risk. For the Mediterranean diet, the hazard ratio comparing high with low and medium adherence was 0.76 with a 95% CI of 0.58 to 1.00 and p interaction of 0.038. For the MIND diet, the hazard ratio was 0.75 with a 95% CI of 0.58 to 0.97 and p interaction of 0.035.
Legumes and a high unsaturated-to-saturated fat ratio contributed most strongly to the Mediterranean diet association, while beans and olive oil were the dominant contributors within the MIND diet. Results remained consistent when analyses incorporated lag periods of up to 20 years and adjustments for prodromal symptoms, suggesting the observed protective association was unlikely to be driven by reverse causation.
Implications For Preventive Nutrition Strategies
These findings strengthen the rationale for recommending Mediterranean diet patterns during midlife as part of Parkinson’s disease prevention strategies in women. For clinicians, the results support early dietary counselling focused on legumes, olive oil, and healthy fat profiles.
Reference
Hajji-Louati M et al. Adherence to the Mediterranean and Mediterranean-dietary approaches to stop hypertension intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diets and Parkinson’s disease incidence in women: results from the prospective E3N cohort. Annals of neurology. 2026;DOI:10.1002/ana.78115.
