Swapping to a Mediterranean diet - with added extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts – may boost ageing brain power better than a low-fat diet.
Just four years of eating like the Spanish and Italians who use olive oil rather than less healthy fats can improve brain function in older people, says a new study.
The Mediterranean diet is regarded as the classic eating habits of populations from countries in southern Europe, even though fewer inhabitants follow it today. It has been thought to improve heart health and stave off cancer because it is high in fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts, whole grains and 'healthy' fats such as those in olive oil, while low in red meat and dairy products.
But a new study shows further benefits, with people eating more olive oil or nuts gaining higher scores in tests of memory, attention span and abstract thinking.
The research involved 447 men and women aged 67 years on average. They were regarded as high risk heart patients who were already taking part in the Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea (PREDIMED) study. They were all regarded as ‘brain healthy’ at the start of the study, which compared a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil or nuts with a low-fat control diet.
