Higher olive oil intake was associated with a lower risk of dementia-related mortality, a prospective study of 90,000 healthcare professionals showed.
Eating at least 7 g of olive oil daily -- about a half tablespoon -- was tied to an adjusted 28% lower risk
Anne-Julie Tessier, RD, PhD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and co-authors.
The relationship remained significant after adjusting for diet quality, including adherence to a Mediterranean diet,
Replacing 5 g (about 1 teaspoon) of margarine and mayonnaise with the equivalent amount of olive oil
Substitutions for other vegetable oils or butter were not significant.
Onset of most dementia types is gradual and progression is slow, making dementia-related mortality difficult to study
but interestingly, we found the association to be regardless of this factor," Tessier pointed out.