[ad_1]
According to a new study from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, long-term daily consumption of extra virgin olive oil could benefit older people with cognitive disabilities even more than previously thought.
The research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, tested the effects of high phenolic extra virgin olive oil (HP-EH-EVOO) against moderate phenolic extra virgin olive oil (MP-EVOO) and the Mediterranean diet.
To date, there is no other study that has examined in such detail the effects of Greek extra virgin olive oil on elderly people with amnesic mild cognitive impairment as an effective solution.
The researchers found that HP-EH-EVOO served as a natural therapeutic pharmaceutical compound for the elderly with amnesic mild cognitive impairment, which is considered a prodromal condition for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Although there is no treatment for amnesic mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease, based on previous research on the subject, the Greek scientists decided to investigate how extra virgin olive oil might play a role in mitigating or arrest the development of amnesic mild cognitive impairment.
See also: Health News
Previous studies have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of following a Mediterranean diet on improving cognitive functions by reducing the risk of amnesic mild cognitive impairment that progresses to Alzheimer’s disease.
Another study cited by the researchers showed that the consumption of extra virgin olive oil delayed the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in transgenic mice.
“The results of this study suggest that long-term consumption of a diet containing extra virgin olive oil from an early age provides a protective effect against Alzheimer’s disease and its related cerebral amyloid angiopathy disorder, “the researchers wrote.
“Long-term intervention with a MedDiet rich in extra virgin olive oil in 285 participants with high vascular risk led to better cognitive functioning than a control diet, “they added.
To test the difference between the three diets – HP-EH-EVOO, MP-EVOO, and the traditional MedDiet – the researchers assigned their patients to three different groups.
The study results showed that participants who followed an HP-EH-EVOO variation of the MedDiet fared better in the 12-month follow-up performance in nearly all cognitive domains of the Alzheimer’s disease rating scale – cognitive subscale , which is a scale used to understand the level of cognitive impairment caused by the disease, compared to adherents to the other two diets.
Those patients also performed better with the digit range, which focuses on working memory activity and letter fluency.
Additionally, adherents to the MP-EVOO variation of the MedDiet fared better on the same cognitive tests than participants in the control group, who ate a standard Mediterranean diet.
According to the scientists, their research proved this “long-term intervention with HP-EH-EVOO or MP-EVOO was associated with a significant improvement in cognitive function compared to a Mediterranean diet “.
“To date, there is no other study that has examined in such detail the effects of Greek extra virgin olive oil in elderly people with amnesic mild cognitive impairment as an effective solution for cognitive impairment, “added the researchers.
Source link
