SAN ANTONIO — Many people are looking for ways to improve their health the natural way. As KENS5's Jeremy Baker reports, one substance most of us have in the kitchen could help improve brain health.
He has tonight's Verify.
As people live longer, dementia is becoming more commonplace because our brains still deteriorate.
THE QUESTION
Is it true that half of a tablespoon of olive oil every day could reduce your risk of dementia-related death?
THE SOURCES
- Amy Goldsmith, the owner of Kindred Nutrition and Kinetics
- Registered nutritionist, Dr. Federica Amati
THE ANSWER
TRUE
WHAT WE FOUND
Goldsmith says olive oil provides many health benefits.
"There's a lot of research that olive oil is great for us because it provides unsaturated fats, anti-inflammatories, antioxidants. And the USDA actually suggests taking one and a half tablespoons prevent cardiovascular disease," said Goldsmith.
Dr. Amati says the olive oil helps cut down on inflammation, which could be a huge key to slowing down the progression of dementia.
"Inflammation is actually on the causal pathway for a lot of chronic diseases. So when we think about diseases like type two diabetes and cancer, Alzheimer's, other dementias, they all have information as part of the pathway to an active disease, unfortunately," said Amati.
The study reported in JAMA Network Open looked at over 92,000 adults over 28 years and found, "...the consumption of more than seven grams per day of olive oil was associated with a 28% lower risk of dementia-related death compared with never or rarely consuming olive oil, irrespective of diet quality."
So yes, it is true. A half of a tablespoon of olive oil every day could reduce your risk of dementia-related death.
Dr. Amati had several ideas to help you incorporate olive oil into your diet.
"Have it in your dressing. Use it in your cooking. I use it to cook everything in, but I also make sure that I dress my food and it raw. So, for example, if I'm making like a fish dish, I'll use the extra virgin olive oil to kick the fish with. But then when it's out of the oven, it's cooled down, I will also drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top," said Amati. "Now, it can be very flavorful and for some people that's good. For some people they find it a bit strong. So making dressings, the simplest way to do this is take some extra virgin olive oil, some apple cider vinegar has a bit of sweetness to it, so if you're someone who likes a bit of a sweaty dressing, it can be a healthy way to do that. And then add a tiny, like order of a teaspoon of mustard. And if you shake that up, it makes a really delicious, creamy dressing."