by Antonio Amorosi
affaritaliani.it
The flagship meeting ofAmerican Society for Nutrition of this year, held between 22 and 25 July at Boston, has dished up a top search that returns toItaly its primacy in quality of life: the regular consumption of olive oil (it is not even specified that it is extra virgin) is associated with a 28% lower risk of fatal dementia. One says so US mega search on 90.000 Americans in which postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health Anne-Julie Tessier studied the Death records for three decades: 4.749 study participants died of dementia.
The study analyzes the relationship between diet and dementia-related death and brings out the beneficial effects of olive oil. Those who consumed more than half a tablespoon a day have a 28% lower risk of death from dementia compared to those who never or rarely consumed. The relevant effect is on almost a third of the population. The picture even gets better if you replace just one teaspoon of margarine and mayonnaise with the equivalent amount of olive oil per day: the risk of dying from dementia in that case becomes 8-14% lower. The scientists also found that the association with olive oil and lower risk of death from dementia persists regardless of diet quality.
In essence, consuming olive oil instead of processed or animal fats allows for a very beneficial effect on the brain and to have a healthier diet with therefore general beneficial effects. “Some antioxidant compounds in olive oil can cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially having a direct effect on the brain,” Tessier told the trade journals, “it is also possible that olive oil has an indirect effect on the brain health for the benefit of cardiovascular health”.
It is known that extra virgin olive oil, in which quality production Italy excels in the world, promotes neurogenesis, also contains vitamin E and polyphenols which have a powerful antioxidant activity. Other previous research had shown that extra virgin olive oil from the Mediterranean diet reduced biomarkers of Alzheimer's. Studies prior to this current one had also shown that extra virgin olive oil regenerates human cells and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Italian extra virgin olive oil is a worldwide excellence, thanks to the benevolent climate of the peninsula, the innumerable varieties present in the country and the accurate Italian processing systems.
It is obvious that in these researches they should never be understood as a cause-effect relationship but Tessier also explained that a further randomized study would be needed to determine the optimal amount of olive oil to consume in order to reap the aforementioned benefits.
The 90.000 study is the only industry-wide one looking at the relationship between diet and dementia-related death at this time. A problem, dementia, truly devastating for the people affected, their loved ones and families, also in terms of commitment, resources and assistance. It is estimated that NoIn the United States, approximately 5,6 million people over the age of 65 suffer from dementia and Alzheimer's disease, then Italy over one million people, 44 million in the world.
