Here are the top medical news for the day:
Expecting? Eating Avocados Might Protect Your Baby from Food Allergies
A new study has found that infants had 44% lower odds of developing food allergies at 12 months if their mother consumed fresh avocado during pregnancy, after adjusting for other lifestyle, delivery, and maternal health factors. Findings are published in pediatric research.
Researchers analyzed data collected from 2013 to 2022 as part of the Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo). Avocado intake was assessed using an online food frequency questionnaire during the first and third trimesters. Participants who reported eating any avocado (>0 grams) in either trimester were defined as avocado consumers, and non-consumers were those who did not report consuming any avocado in either trimester.
Infant allergic outcomes, including rhinitis, paroxysmal wheezing, eczema, and food allergy, were evaluated at 12-months of age. After adjusting for factors such as maternal and gestational age at delivery, education, diet quality, smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI in the first trimester, and breastfeeding, food allergy was found to be significantly higher in infants of non-avocado consumers (4.2%) versus avocado consumers (2.4%). No associations were found for other allergic conditions when all other factors were considered.
Mothers who consumed avocado during pregnancy tended to be older at delivery, be less likely to undergo a caesarean delivery, be a non-smoker, breastfeed for a longer duration, have higher diet quality scores, and have lower BMI levels in the first trimester.
Findings from this study cannot be generalized more research is needed to understand the exact mechanism.
Reference: Cheng, F.W., Bauer, E., Ford, N.A. et al. Avocado consumption during pregnancy linked to lower child food allergy risk: prospective KuBiCo study. Pediatr Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-03968-4
Chips, Frozen Pizza, and Sugary Cereals Linked to Serious Health Risks: Study Finds
A new study has found that ultra-processed foods like chips, frozen pizzas, breakfast cereals and other foods typically loaded with fat, sugar and additives are directly and significantly linked to poor health outcomes. The findings are present in the journal of nutrition and metabolism.
The team analyzed data from more than 6,000 adults across Canada, representing a diverse range of ages, health conditions and socio-economic backgrounds. The subjects completed a questionnaire for the Canadian Health Measures Survey.
Individuals who consumed the most UPF were more likely to be men, and to have lower income levels, less education and to have reported lower fruit and vegetable intake. They had significantly higher BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, insulin, and triglyceride levels than those who consumed the least UPF.
Researchers noted that many links between UPF consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors remained significant even after adjusting for BMI, suggesting that ultra-processed foods may influence health through mechanisms beyond weight gain, such as inflammation, insulin resistance, and poor metabolic regulation – all well-established predictors of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The study uncovered a strong association between UPF consumption and the presence of C-reactive protein (CRP), which the liver produces in response to inflammation, as well as an increase of white blood cells.
“We have this very complex food supply that is more than just the nutritional composition of a food,” explains Anthea Christoforou, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University and senior author of the paper.
“It may be about the additives. The way the food is prepared. It's related to the packaging and the marketing of that food. All these things come together to create this food environment that really affects the healthfulness of our diets.”
Reference: Baric, A., Malik, V.S. & Christoforou, A. Ultra-processed food consumption and cardiometabolic risk in Canada: a cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian health measures survey. Nutr Metab (Lond) 22, 37 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-025-00935-y
Could What You Eat Today Trigger Parkinson’s Tomorrow?
People who eat more ultra-processed foods like cold breakfast cereal, cookies and hot dogs are more likely to have early signs of Parkinson’s disease when compared to those who eat very few ultra-processed foods, according to a study published in Neurology®. The study does not prove that eating more ultra-processed foods causes early signs of Parkinson’s disease; it only shows an association.
Researchers looked for signs of prodromal Parkinson’s disease, which is the earliest stage, when neurodegeneration begins, but more characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, like tremors, balance problems and slow movement, have not yet begun. These early symptoms can begin years or even decades before the typical symptoms start.
The study included 42,853 people with an average age of 48 who did not have Parkinson’s disease at the start of the study. They were followed up to 26 years.
Participants had regular medical exams and completed health questionnaires. Researchers reviewed results to determine if they had early signs of Parkinson’s disease, including rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, constipation, depressive symptoms, body pain, impaired color vision, excessive daytime sleepiness and reduced ability to smell.
Participants completed a food diary every two to four years, listing what they ate and how often. Researchers calculated how many ultra-processed foods participants ate on average per day. They divided participants into five groups. The highest group ate 11 or more servings of ultra-processed food per day on average. The lowest group ate an average of fewer than three servings per day.
Researchers found that participants who ate 11 or more servings of ultra-processed foods per day had a 2.5-fold higher likelihood of having three or more early signs of Parkinson’s disease compared to those consuming fewer than three servings per day. When looking at individual early signs of Parkinson’s disease, researchers also found that eating more ultra-processed foods was tied to an increased risk for nearly all symptoms except constipation.
A limitation of the study was that the amount of ultra-processed food consumed was self-reported.
“Eating a healthy diet is crucial as it has been associated with a lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases and the dietary choices we make today can significantly influence our brain health in the future,” said study author Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, of Institute of Nutrition, Fudan University in Shanghai, China. “There's growing evidence that diet might influence the development of Parkinson's disease. Our research shows that eating too much processed food, like sugary sodas and packaged snacks, might be speeding up early signs of Parkinson's disease.”
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