Teaspoon of olive oil intake reduces Dementia death risk, Harvard study suggests

New research suggests that consuming about a teaspoon of olive oil daily is linked to a roughly 30% lower risk of dementia-related death, especially in women. Replacing five grams per day of mayonnaise and margarine ('vanaspati') with an equal amount of olive oil was associated with a 14% and 8% reduced risk of dementia-related death, respectively.
An international team of researchers, including those from Harvard University in the US, monitored over 92,000 American adults for 28 years to investigate the impact of olive oil consumption on the risk of dementia-related mortality. Dementia, characterised by impaired memory, cognition, and decision-making abilities, significantly affects daily functioning and overall quality of life.
"Consuming at least 7 grams per day of olive oil was associated with a 28 per cent lower risk of dementia-related death compared with never or rarely consuming olive oil," the authors wrote. They also found that the results held good regardless of diet quality.
"In addition to promoting heart health, our study expands current dietary guidelines by recommending olive oil and other vegetable oils for cognitive health," stated the authors in their study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open.
The researchers suggested that regular consumption of olive oil could reduce the risk of dementia-related mortality by enhancing heart health.