Dementia: consuming olive oil reduces the risk of death

Olive oil, vegetables, dairy products and legumes. The Mediterranean diet is based on a simple and healthy diet. It is renowned for its health benefits: recently it has been linked to a reduced risk of dementia. But is a particular food in this diet responsible for these benefits? A team from the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States tried to answer this question. In their work, published in JAMA Network Openthey announce that olive oil is associated with a reduced risk of death from dementia.

Dementia: half a teaspoon of olive oil a day to reduce the risk of dying

Their analysis is based on the use of two databases, including a total of more than 60,000 women and more than 31,000 men. They were 56 years old on average and were followed for approximately 28 years. In addition to health exams, participants answered a questionnaire every four years to assess their olive oil consumption. Four categories were created: never or less than once a month; less than or equal to 4.5 grams per day; between 4.5 and 7 grams per day and more than 7 grams per day. This last quantity corresponds to approximately half a teaspoon.

During the study of the data, the researchers discovered that 4,751 of the 92,383 patients died due to dementia. According to their findings, people who consumed at least 7 grams of olive oil per day had a 28% lower risk of dying from dementia-related illness.

Butter, mayonnaise: the participants “ate these other products”

The authors, however, point out a subtlety in their results: a good part of the participants, daily consumers of olive oil, had replaced fats such as butter, mayonnaise or other vegetable oils with olive oil in their kitchen. “These same people therefore also ate less of these other products, which could also have had an impact on dementia rates., estimate the authors. In their models, replacing, daily, 5 g of margarine or mayonnaise with the equivalent quantity of olive oil was associated with an 8% to 14% reduction in dementia mortality. “These findings provide evidence that supports dietary recommendations for the use of olive oil and other vegetable oils to maintain overall health and prevent dementia.”conclude the authors.

Dementia: how to explain the effects of olive oil on the risk of death?

According to them, the effects of olive oil on reducing the risk of death from dementia may be linked to its benefits on cardiovascular health. But this could also be the consequence of its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects thanks to the anti-antioxidants it contains. In any case, these results show once again that it is preferable to choose olive oil in cooking.