Simple diet swap slashes your risk of dying from dementia by up to 28% – and you won’t compromise on taste

IF you slather margarine on your toast or toss mayonnaise through your salad, making a simple diet swap could slash your risk of dying from dementia, scientists say.

Replacing the teaspoon of the margarine or mayo you’d use with the same amount of olive oil could improve your odds against the brain-robbing disease.

Just as delicious, making a change to peppery olive oil was linked to an 8 to 14 per cent lower risk of dementia-related death, according to research.

Aside from making this swap, the study – presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s meeting NUTRITION 2023 – found that adding more olive oil to your diet overall could benefit your health when it comes to dementia.

Conducted by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, it examined the diets and death records of more than 90,000 Americans over 30 years.

Over the course of the study period, 4,749 people died from dementia.

Researchers found that people who consumed more than half a tablespoon of olive oil per day had a 28 per cent lower risk of dying from dementia, compared to those who never or rarely consumed it.

Lead investigator Anne-Julie Tessier, a registered dietitian and research associate at Harvard T.H. Chan’s Department of Nutrition, told Healthline that people who use olive oil for cooking also tend to have healthier diets.

But surprisingly, olive oil seemed slash the risk of dementia-related death regardless of how healthy people’s diets were, the team’s analysis showed.

“Our study contributes to supporting current dietary guidelines recommending choosing vegetable oils such as olive oil.

“And beyond heart health, our findings extend current recommendations to cognitive-related health,” Dr Tessier added.

She suggested a simple diet swap to up incorporate more olive oil in your diet.

“Opting for olive oil, a natural product, instead of more processed fats such as margarine and mayonnaise, is a safe choice and may reduce risk of fatal dementia,” she said.

Dr Tessier noted that more studies are needed to confirm the connection between olive oil consumption and dementia.

But it’s not the first piece of research to link olive oil with a lower risk of the brain robbing disease.

Studies show that the Mediterranean diet – which is rich in the oil – could cut your risk of developing dementia by almost a quarter.

The kitchen staple has also been linked to better heart health, with a 2022 study finding that people who consumed more olive oil consumption had a 19 per cent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Meanwhile, NHS trials suggest that a drug derived from oleic acid – which occurs naturally in olive oil – could help treat incurable brain tumours, after patients with glioblastomas responded well to the medication.

WHY IS OLIVE OIL GOOD FOR BRAIN HEALTH?

So, what’s so great about olive oil when it comes to our brain health?

According to Dr Tessier: “Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats and contains compounds with antioxidant activity that may play a protective role for the brain.

“Some of these can cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially having a direct effect on the brain.

“It is also possible that olive oil has an indirect effect on brain health by benefiting cardiovascular health.”

Dr Nate Wood, an instructor of medicine and medical education fellow at the Yale School of Medicine, also told Healthline: “The exact reasons for this connection between olive oil consumption and brain health are not yet known.

“It’s possible that the olive oil protects the vessels in the brain just like it protects the vessels in the heart.”