Carbon Monoxide Linked To *Lower* Parkinson’s Risk!

…and other items from this week’s health science news:

Where there’s smoke…

Obviously smoking is bad for all aspects of health, so what’s with the fact that in studies, regular smokers had significantly higher levels of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO), and they had about a 30% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than non-smokers?

Researchers (Dr. Sirwan Darweesh et al.) investigated this, and found that the same relationship between higher exhaled CO levels and lower Parkinson’s risk was also found among people who had never smoked, even after accounting for environmental CO exposure from indoor coal or wood burning and passive smoking.

This is important, because although CO is harmful at high concentrations, the body naturally produces small amounts of it, which can help prevent cell damage, reduce inflammation, and support immune responses.

Notably, more than two-thirds of the men in the study smoked regularly, compared with only 2% to 3% of women, and the association between higher CO levels and lower Parkinson’s risk was stronger among never-smoking women than among men.

Read in full: Carbon monoxide linked to lower Parkinson’s risk, opening potential new treatment pathway

Related: Seven Things To Do For Good Lung Health!

Life in the slow lane

Slow jogging is, as the name suggests, a low-intensity form of jogging that uses short steps and a pace slow enough to comfortably hold a conversation, rather than trying to run as fast or as far as possible.

The reason it can still be very beneficial is because exercise intensity is relative, so a pace that feels extremely easy to an experienced runner can still provide a meaningful cardiovascular workout for someone who is inactive or new to jogging. Low- and moderate-intensity aerobic activity can indeed still definitely improve health, fitness, and well-being without requiring intense exercise.

It’s also very relevant that movement matters beyond exercise sessions: long periods of sitting are associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death, so health is influenced not only by formal exercise but also by how much someone moves throughout the day. Current guidance emphasizes that some activity is better than none, more is generally better than less, and sedentary time should be reduced.

But there are potential benefits for experienced runners, too: slow jogging can overlap with what regular runners will know as “zone 2 exercise”, where the heart rate rises while conversation remains possible. Lower-intensity running can help build an aerobic base and improve the body’s ability to use fat for energy, making it useful as easier training on days when demanding workouts aren’t ideal and you need something lighter that’s still a benefit and still maintaining the habit.

Read in full: Why ‘slow jogging’ is the perfect fitness trend for people who want to get into exercise

Related: Can “Light Activity” Really Help Against Osteoporosis?

The other gut-brain information exchange

Regular 10almonds readers will remember that the brain and the gut talk to each other a lot, and in this case that goes for things much more far-reaching than the moment at hand.

Specifically, researchers (Dr. Kanhao Zhao et al.) used resting-state brain scans from nearly 1,500 adults to create a computer-generated age estimate based on how different brain regions communicate, then compared it with each person’s chronological age to calculate a Brain Aging Index (BAI).

What they found is that across three groups, people with a higher BAI tended to perform worse on working-memory and executive-function tests and reported more symptoms of depression, with the differences involving brain regions associated with memory and self-referential thought.

As for where the gut comes into this: a higher BAI was associated with specific gut bacteria and metabolic byproducts, including certain fat molecules, a cholesterol-related compound, and lower levels of the hormone estetrol. Additionally, the gut-brain associations involved pathways related to immune function, blood-vessel function, communication between brain cells, and cellular energy production.

In other words, identifying connections between the gut microbiome, its metabolites, and early brain-aging patterns could help identify people at greater risk of later cognitive or mood-related decline and could lead to earlier, more effective interventions.

Read in full: Brain aging may be detected decades before symptoms appear, with links to gut health

Related: The Alzheimer’s Gut-Brain Connection—Caught On X-Ray!

Take care!