SAN DIEGO, USA: A study published by the American Academy of Neurology, examined the olive oil-rich Mediterranean Diet, long known to be highly effective in promoting greater cardiac health, also shows very promising results in combating memory loss and dementia.
The study also examined the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the preservation of volume in the brain centres most closely related to memory; specifically, the regions most affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
To gain deeper insights into the impact of the Mediterranean diet on brain health, researchers observed a group of approximately 500 individuals, averaging 69 years of age. Within this cohort, around 300 participants were grappling with mild cognitive impairment, rendering them more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.
All participants underwent MRI scans, cognitive function assessments, and provided comprehensive dietary intake information through detailed questionnaires. Additionally, a subset of participants was screened for Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. Utilizing the diet questionnaire, researchers assigned each participant a “Mediterranean diet score” based on their level of adherence to this diet, which emphasizes increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and olive oil. Subsequently, researchers examined how this diet score correlated with MRI, cognitive, and biomarker data.
The study revealed that, after adjusting for age, sex, and education, those who adhered most closely to the Mediterranean diet exhibited greater brain volume in the hippocampus, a critical region for memory. This suggests that the Mediterranean diet contributed to the protection of this area from degeneration. Remarkably, each point gained on the Mediterranean diet scale essentially equated to a one-year reduction in brain age. Participants with higher Mediterranean diet scores also demonstrated improved memory function and fewer Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers.
Scientists attribute these outcomes to the effectiveness of the Mediterranean Diet, particularly its use of olive oil, in slowing the accumulation of beta-amyloid “plaques” and tau “tangles,” the two defining characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease responsible for brain atrophy.
Consequently, the researchers concluded that their findings support the notion that the Mediterranean diet guards against memory decline and brain atrophy, advocating for further longitudinal studies and dietary intervention trials to explore this concept and its therapeutic implications.
These findings build upon recent research involving the administration of extra virgin olive oil to individuals with mild cognitive impairment, which revealed a significant slowdown in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Furthermore, scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) previously conducted a pre-clinical study demonstrating that the consumption of extra virgin olive oil, rich in phenolic compounds, offered protection against memory deficits and the pathological processes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
