Consumption of olive oil could lower risk of dying from dementia: Study

A recent study found that consuming a spoonful of olive oil a day could lower the risk of dying from dementia. The studywas published in JAMA Network Open on Monday (May 6).

Dementia is not a specific disease, it is, however, a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interfere with everyday basic activities. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia.

To conduct the study, researchers observed more than 90,000 adults in the United States over 28 years. A total of 65 per cent of whom were female. At the beginning of the study, the mean age was 56. The study mentioned that there were a combined 92,383 participants in the study.

There were two groups for the study. The group of women was from the Nurses' Health Study from 1990 to 2018, meanwhile, the male cohort was from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. The men's group was also from the same years as the women. The study mentioned that all subjects were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer from baseline.

According to the research, those who consumed more than seven grammes of olive oil daily, which is roughly about half a tablespoon, had significantly lower dementia-related mortality rates as compared to those who consumed less than that amount.

There were 37,649 total deaths and 4,751 dementia-related deaths during the course of the study. The researchers used to assess the olive oil intake every four years using a food frequency questionnaire.

"These findings provide evidence to support dietary recommendations advocating for the use of olive oil and other vegetable oils as a potential strategy to maintain overall health and prevent dementia," the study stated.

While the study acknowledged that increased olive oil use could indicate a healthier diet, it also suggested that olive oil could reduce dementia mortality by improving vascular health.

Caroline Thomason, RD, CDCES, a dietitian based in Washington, D.C. who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today: "This study is interesting and makes sense to me because we have a lot of research on monounsaturated fats and brain and cognitive health."

"There seems to be a positive correlation between eating heart-healthy fats like olive oil and improved brain health," Thomason added.