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A spoonful of olive oil a day could reduce the risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
For more than 92,000 adults observed over 28 years, daily consumption of at least 7 grams – or just over half a tablespoon – of olive oil was associated with a 28% lower risk of death linked to dementia, compared to those who never or rarely ate it. oil, reveals the study published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
The study is the peer-reviewed, finalized version of an abstract – early research that the authors presented in July 2023 at the American Society for Nutrition annual meeting. To the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first study to examine whether the staple food of the Mediterranean diet is linked to the risk of death from the disease.
“Our study reinforces dietary guidelines recommending vegetable oils such as olive oil and suggests that these recommendations support not only heart health but potentially also brain health,” study co-author Anne-Julie Tessier, research associate in nutrition at the TH Chan School of Harvard University. of Public Health, in a press release for last year’s summary. “Opting for olive oil, a natural product, instead of fats like commercial margarine and mayonnaise, is a safe choice and may reduce the risk of life-threatening dementia.”
At the start of the study, study participants were 56 years old on average. The group included nearly 60,600 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study from 1990 to 2018, and nearly 32,000 men who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study during the same period. The first study investigated risk factors for major chronic diseases among women in North America, while the second focused on the same subjects, but among men.
The authors of the latest study assessed participants’ diets every four years via a questionnaire and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, which assigns scores to foods and nutrients predictive of chronic disease. The higher a person scores on this index, the better.
Replacing 5 grams – about 1.2 teaspoons – of margarine or mayonnaise consumed daily with olive oil was associated with an 8 to 14 percent lower risk of death from dementia. The results of replacing it with other vegetable oils or butter were not significant, the authors found.
Participants carrying the APOE e4 gene – the strongest known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease – were five to nine times more likely than non-carriers to die of dementia, but the results for APOE e4 olive were still valid after the authors took this factor into account.
Duane Mellor, a dietitian who was not involved in the study, noted in July that the research does not prove a causal relationship, but rather an association.
“More research is needed,” Mellor, head of nutrition and evidence-based medicine at Aston Medical School in the United Kingdom, said in a press release.
The potential benefits of olive oil for brain health could be due to antioxidant compounds that can cross the blood-brain barrier, directly affecting the brain, Tessier said.
“It is also possible that olive oil may have an indirect effect on brain health by benefiting cardiovascular health,” she added.
Although the overall quality of participants’ diets had no effect on the results, those who consumed olive oil may have an overall healthier lifestyle.
“There are many, many differences between people who consume olive oil and those who do not, and it is never possible to fully account for all possible confounding factors,” said David Curtis, honorary professor of genetics, evolution and environment at University College. London, said in a July press release.
Additionally, the way the Mediterranean diet was scored – as part of the dietary quality assessment – had “only” nine points and is based on the population’s average intake, Mellor told CNN in an interview in May.
“It might be more accurate to use a diet assessment that looks at a larger number of foods, because more (nine) items make up a healthy diet,” Mellor added.
Another important point to keep in mind is that about half of dementia cases are caused by vascular disease, Curtis added.
“Anything that improves cardiovascular health, such as not smoking, should reduce the risk of dementia,” he said. “Olive oil consumption has been shown to be associated with better cardiovascular health, so one would expect it to also be associated with a lower risk of dementia.”
Olive oil has been shown to be helpful for heart health, brain health, bone health, and more. Besides cooking with olive oil, you can also use it to make salad dressings or salad dressings, mayonnaise, pesto, or bread dips. People should also remember that when it comes to food and brain function, it’s not just about what we eat, but also how we eat, Mellor said.
“Staying sociable around meals and eating with others can benefit our mental health in the short term and our cognitive functions as we age,” Mellor added.
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