May 19 2:21 AM - A diet rich in vitamin E could protect againstParkinson's disease, believe researchers.Good sources of vitamin E include green leafy vegetables, nuts andvegetable oils.

A study in Lancet Neurology pooled available data and found people who ateplenty of these foods in their diet were far less likely to developParkinson's.

The authors said it was impossible to tell if supplements would do thesame.

Vitamin E

Dr Mayhar Etminan, from Queen's University in Canada, and colleaguesscrutinised eight studies published between 1966 and 2005 looking at theeffects of vitamins E and C, and the nutrient beta carotene.

Both moderate and high doses of vitamin E appeared to reduce the risk ofParkinson's.

Neither vitamin C or beta carotene had a similar effect, however.

It is an interesting finding, but we would like to see more robust trailsundertaken

A spokesman from the Parkinson's Disease Society

Dr Etminan said: "Our data suggest that diets rich in vitamin E protectagainst the development of Parkinson's disease.

But he added: "No definite conclusions regarding the benefits ofsupplemental vitamin E can be made.

"Given that these data are observational, confirmation from well-designedrandomised controlled trial is necessary before suggesting changes inroutine clinical practice."

A spokesman from the Parkinson's Disease Society agreed. He cautionedagainst people rushing out and buying lots of vitamin E supplements toward of Parkinson's.

In high doses, vitamin E can be toxic.

"It is an interesting finding, but we would like to see more robust trailsundertaken.

"We recommend a healthy, balanced diet rich in green leafy vegetables,olive oil, seeds and nuts to give people a good vitamin E intake," hesaid.

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and appears to guard the body from thedamaging effects of reactive oxygen molecules called free radicals.