Peppers Seem To Protect Against Parkinson's

DavidHumus writes "A recent study indicates that consuming vegetables from the Solanaceae family, which includes tomatoes and peppers (as well as tobacco), decreases the risk of contracting Parkinson's disease. Earlier studies had shown that smoking tobacco seems to provide protection against the disease and the newer one seems to confirm that the key ingredient is nicotine, which is present in some vegetables like peppers."

Comments

ah tobacco

[ThorGod]

You wont get Parkinson's because you'll be dead before it could form.

(sardonic)

Tomacco.

[Anonymous Coward]

Tomacco.

Re:MJF

[M0j0_j0j0]

Yeah, but ya know that time traveling shit did have some side effects.

nightshade family

[WGFCrafty]

&The title says peppers but it says nicotine is actually the chemical at work. There are actually a few positive effects nicotine possesses, the negative effects of smoking are mediated by the oxidation products of cigarettes.

There are actually quite a few common plants in the family with varying levels of nicotine in each part (tomatoes vs the leaves). Some, like datura (moon flower/jimsons or devils weed) contain scopalamine and atropine and are deleriants. From wiki:

The family includes Solanum (potato, tomato, eggplant), Physalis philadelphica (tomatillo), Capsicum (chili pepper, bell pepper), Petunia, Datura, (Cape gooseberry flower), Mandragora (mandrake), Nicotiana (tobacco), Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), Lycium barbarum (wolfberry), and Physalis peruviana.

Re:nightshade family

[macraig]

Insects are anything but addicted to it. It' kills 'em dead. That's the entire reason the nicotine is flowing through plants' veins in the first place: it's their natural insecticide.

Now why anybody would wanna smoke insecticide.... ;-)

Been listening to Sgt. Pepper's for years

[smittyoneeach]

So I got that goin' for me. Which is nice.

Remember "Sleeper"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Woody Allen character in the distant future, noticing many people smoking, is told "we discovered that tobacco is good for you".

Re:Paging Mr. Fox

[TomR teh Pirate]

Lighten up, Francis. I'm going in for neurosurgery in a week to fix 18 months of severe neck pain and I'm cracking jokes about it. I even asked the neurosurgeon about neck-bolts.

Summary is misleading

[sessamoid]

The article does not "confirm that the key ingredient is nicotine, which is present in some vegetables like peppers."

From TFA

"Our study is the first to investigate dietary nicotine and risk of developing Parkinson's disease," said Dr. Searles Nielsen. "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."

Tobacco and solanaceae plants have in common a lot of chemicals, including multiple alkaloids like atropine. Potato plants fall into the same family, as do all chili pepper plants. While this is an interesting study, it does NOT confirm that nicotine is the chemical in solanaceae that is protective against Parkinson's disease, even before you take into account that this was only a retrospective study.

Re:Paging Mr. Fox

[AK Marc]

I have a neurological disease and didn't think it offensive. I also didn't think it funny. You choose whether to be offended. Choose to not be offended, and you'll be a happier person.