Scientists have revealed olive oil could reduce dementia-related mortality.
Scientists have revealed olive oil could reduce dementia-related deaths
Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health studied population health data from 92,383 adults over 28 years, and found that those who consumed over 7 grams of olive oil a day had a 28 per cent lower risk of dying from complications with dementia compared to those who didn’t or rarely added it to their food.
In the paper - which appears in the ‘JAMA Network Open’ - Anne-Julie Tessier, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the lead author of the study, wrote: “Our study reinforces dietary guidelines recommending vegetable oils such as olive oil and suggests that these recommendations not only support heart health but potentially brain health, as well.”
The team found substituting olive oil for margarine or mayonnaise resulted in upward of a 14 per cent decrease in dementia mortality risk.
She added: “Opting for olive oil, a natural product, instead of fats such as margarine and commercial mayonnaise is a safe choice and may reduce the risk of fatal dementia.”
The reduced mortality risk continued to persist after other factors like lifestyle choices, diet quality and genetic influences were added into the study.
Tessier theorised olive oil can have an “indirect effect on brain health” because compounds found in the fluid can “cross the blood-brain barrier”.
She explained: “Some antioxidant compounds in olive oil can cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially having a direct effect on the brain.
“It is also possible that olive oil has an indirect effect on brain health by benefiting cardiovascular health.”
Tagged in Dementia