Regularly eating a large spoonful of olive oil could lower your likelihood of dying from dementia, a new research paper suggests.
A study involving more than 92,000 American adults who were observed over 28 years showed a 28% reduced risk of dementia-related death for those who consumed more than 7 grams of olive oil daily, according to a paper published Monday on the JAMA Network Open website.
Seven grams of olive oil is equivalent to about half a tablespoon.
Researchers compared dementia-related death rates for the people who regularly consumed olive oil against others who never or rarely did and said their findings weren't affected by the overall quality of the subjects' diets.
"These results suggest that olive oil intake represents a potential strategy to reduce dementia mortality risk," the authors wrote.
Registered dietician Caroline Thomason of Washington, D.C., told Medical News Today that the study made sense in light of other research on monounsaturated fats.
"There seems to be a positive correlation between eating heart-healthy fats like olive oil and improved brain health," Thomason said.
Monounsaturated fats are found in many foods, some of which — like red meat and dairy products — are also high in unhealthy saturated fats, which may be linked to an increased risk of dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In addition to olive oil, foods that are high in monounsaturated fats but low in saturated fats include oils from peanuts and canola, safflower and sunflower seeds, as well as avocados, pumpkin and sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, peanuts, and pecans.
