Olive Oil and Nuts Can Protect Your Brain

Ever heard of the Mediterranean diet? This diet is common for those who live in Spain, so researchers in Spain did a study on the long term effects of this diet. Studies have shown that adding a little olive oil or a handful of nuts to your diet each day might be the key to keeping your mind clear. This diet is the same one that has been proven to reduce death from heart attacks and strokes. Researchers found that people who ate these healthy fats were less likely to develop dementia than those who stuck to a more traditional diet.

Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez from the University of Navarra in Spain, along with his colleagues, reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry that their findings “support increasing evidence on the protective effects of the Mediterranean Diet on cognitive function”. These findings stem from a large well-publicized trial that showed the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruit, vegetables, olive oil and a little wine, can lessen the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 30%. Martinez and his colleagues were involved in the study, collecting data on 500 volunteers from their own study center. These participants were followed for longer than 6.5 years after starting the diet.

The participants from this study ranged from ages 55 to 80 and were all at high risk for heart disease due to diabetes, family history of disease, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels, or from smoking. Volunteers were randomly assigned to either add more Extra-virgin olive oil or a daily handful of mixed nuts to their daily diet. This diet could reduce damaging inflammation and some studies even suggest that virgin olive oil that is cold-pressed and unrefined, might fight the beta amyloid that is clogging the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Also, this diet improves cardiovascular health, which in turn leads to better brain blood flow.

If you aren’t familiar with the Mediterranean diet and you are at risk for diseases that are heart or brain related you should speak with your health care provider about it. There is plenty of information on the diet floating around online and in book stores, so if you think this might be a good route for you to take, get started!

Source: http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/20/18380822-nutty-finding-olive-oil-nuts-can-protect-your-brain?lite http://oldwayspt.org/programs/mediterranean-foods-alliance/what-mediterranean-diet