Omega fats in olive oil and nuts may help brains fight neurodegeneration.
Eating a Mediterranean diet that is rich in nuts and olive oil may help delay cognitive decline in older adults, according to a new study.
In the study, researchers randomly chose about 300 people to follow a Mediterranean diet for four years, and asked 145 people to eat a low-fat diet for the same period. Following a Mediterranean diet means consuming many vegetables and fruits, and eating some seafood, while eating only a little meat and dairy.
In the study, 155 of the people who were on a Mediterranean diet were asked to include one liter of extra virgin olive oil in their diet per week, and 147 people were asked to supplement their diet with 30 grams per day of a mix of walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds.
After four years, researchers compared the cognitive function of the people in each group. The average age of the people in the study was 67.
It turned out that the groups of people who followed the Mediterranean diet experienced an improvement in cognitive function over four years, whereas it declined in the people eating the low-fat diet.
"Our results suggest that in an older population, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil or nuts may counteract age-related cognitive decline," the researchers wrote in the study.
Given the lack of effective treatments for people suffering from a decline in cognitive function and dementia, strategies that could delay the onset of these conditions or minimize their effects are needed, they wrote. Although the new results are encouraging, more research is needed to confirm them, the researchers noted.
Read more about this interesting article, Via Mother Nature Network, HERE
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