By now, most of you have heard of the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). This magic elixir really has the ability to improve your health and life. Of course, with any claim of magic, there are more factors involved, but if you only add high quality extra virgin olive oil to your diet, you will see benefits. And imagine if you also make other small changes such as adding more vegetables and regular exercise, how you can improve your health and vitality.
There was a study released from Temple University in Philadelphia, in November 2019, that found when they introduced extra virgin olive oil to young mice that were genetically programmed to get dementia at an early age, dementia was significantly delayed.
There are tau proteins that build up in the brain which cause dementia and the study shows a marked improvement in cognitive ability in the mice that were fed extra virgin olive oil as they aged.
“Extra virgin olive oil has been a part of the human diet for a very long time and has many benefits for health, for reasons that we do not yet fully understand,” said Dr. Domenico Pratico, director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine and one of the researchers.
“The realization that extra virgin olive oil can protect the brain against different forms of dementia gives us an opportunity to learn more about the mechanisms through which it acts to support brain health,” Pratico said. “We are particularly interested in knowing whether extra virgin olive oil can reverse tau damage and ultimately treat tauopathy in older mice.”
A very important caveat to remember is that not all extra virgin olive oils are the same. So, make sure that you get an extra virgin olive oil that is cold-pressed and from a local farmer or reputable source. A high quality EVOO will have all the phytonutrients, oleocanthal, needed to provide the benefits olive oil has to offer.
So, in addition to EVOO making food taste better and supporting a healthy heart, it also boosts your brain health. And while this study demonstrates that eating extra virgin olive oil helps young adults stave off dementia as they grow older, I’ll keep enjoying extra virgin olive oil and know that the benefits are limitless!
If you want to read the original research article, click here.
Ciao for now,
RoseAnne
