VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A recent study suggests that regular consumption of extra virgin olive oil, a brain-healthy ingredient, can have a significant impact on dementia.
I asked Laurie Thenedy, a registered dietitian with a private practice specializing in heart health in Virginia Beach, what the big takeaway is.
"So this is the first study out of the American Society of Nutrition that looked at the effects of olive oil on cognitive decline. And so, they found that from over 90,000 participants, those who consumed half a tablespoon or more a day had a 28 percent risk decrease for developing dementia," said Thenedy.
She says one theory might be a potential link between olive oil and good heart health.
"...olive oil is protecting your heart, it's an unsaturated fat, and think [about] how your heart really impacts so many other organs. And so, if you have a healthy cardiovascular system, that blood flow goes to your brain as well," said Thenedy.
However, Thenedy encourages people to have a big-picture view.
"I would say the biggest takeaway from this study is that not one food will make or break preventing chronic diseases from happening. We really want to measure the quality of your health by your overall eating pattern," said Thenedy.
She believes part of what's at play here is a person who tends to cook a lot with olive oil is probably mindful of what else they're eating.
"When assessing many food logs and looking at what these participants [in the study] were eating, most people wouldn't be just taking olive oil by a spoonful. Most likely, they were using it on their salads, cooking vegetables, and those vegetables are going to be loaded in antioxidants," said Thenedy.
Thenedy says there are some targeted eating plans regarding brain health.
"The MIND diet is specifically focused on preventing cognitive decline," she said.
The MIND diet stands for the Mediterranean-DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Intervention for Neuro-cognitive Delay.
Thenedy pointed out that some of the focus of the MIND diet may sound similar, but it's somewhat different from another prominent healthy diet out there - the Mediterranean diet.
"So, the Mediterranean diet puts a lot of emphasis on fruits and vegetables. The MIND diet says pick berries at least one time a day, leafy greens one time a day... it just goes one step further and pulls out those specific foods that have been looked at and studied to protect cognition," she explained.
She said it's not just any veggies and fruits - it's very specific. For example, the big push in the MIND diet is for certain colored fruits.
"So purples, blues, and reds have a compound, which is an antioxidant that's only in these foods. So these specifically have been looked at, whether it's a blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, [to see if they] can be used to protect cognition," said Thenedy.
Thenedy says there's also a big push to include certain nuts.
"So the MIND diet does recommend to have a variety of nuts. We do know walnuts are the only nut that has the ALA fatty acid, which is a plant-based Omega-3 fatty acid."
ALA or alpha-linolenic acid, is an essential fatty acid, making them a great source of important nutrients and healthy fats.
Something else emphasized in the brain-healthy MIND diet is the daily consumption of whole grains, like quinoa, oatmeal or brown rice.
For more information on Thenedy's nutrition practice, Nutrition Renewed, click here.
