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Study Concludes: Extra Virgin Olive Oil May Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease

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 The following article is reprinted from the website Science2.0. The original research was published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, Feburary 15, 2013

Consumption of extra virgin olive oil has been linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its benefit may lie in one component of olive oil that helps shuttle the abnormal AD proteins out of the brain.

Alzheimer’s disease affects about 30 million people worldwide but the prevalence is lower in Mediterranean countries—thus the correlation with olive oil. Scientists once attributed it to the high concentration of healthful monounsaturated fats in olive oil, which is consumed in large amounts in the Mediterranean diet.

Recent research also suggested that the actual protective agent might be a substance called oleocanthal, which has effects that protect nerve cells from the kind of damage that occurs in AD. [The University of Louisiana research] team sought evidence on whether oleocanthal helps decrease the accumulation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain, believed to be the culprit in AD.

In their paper, Amal Kaddoumi and colleagues describe tracking the effects of oleocanthal in the brains and cultured brain cells of laboratory mice used as stand-ins for humans in such research. In both instances, oleocanthal showed a consistent pattern in which it boosted production of two proteins and key enzymes believed to be critical in removing Aβ from the brain.

“Extra-virgin olive oil-derived oleocanthal associated with the consumption of Mediterranean diet has the potential to reduce the risk of AD or related neurodegenerative dementias,” the report concludes.

Mayo Clinic Recommends Mediterranean Diet as “Heart-Healthy Eating Plan”

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The following is excerpted from an article published by the Mayo Clinic News Network on November 17, 2014.

If you’re looking for a heart-healthy eating plan, the Mediterranean diet might be right for you. The Mediterranean diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating—plus a splash of flavorful olive oil and perhaps even a glass of red wine—among other components characterizing the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

Most healthy diets include fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains, and limit unhealthy fats. While these parts of a healthy diet remain tried and true, subtle variations or differences in proportions of certain foods may make a difference in your risk of heart disease.

Benefits of the Mediterranean diet

Research has shown that the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease. In fact, an analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer, as well as a reduced incidence of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends the Mediterranean diet as an eating plan that can help promote health and prevent disease. And the Mediterranean diet is one your whole family can follow for good health.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes:

  • Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts.
  • Replacing butter with healthy fats, such as olive oil.
  • Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods.
  • Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
  • Eating fi sh and poultry at least twice a week.
  • Drinking red wine in moderation (optional).

The diet also recognizes the importance of being physically active and enjoying meals with family and friends.

Compound in Olive Oil Shows Promise in Fight Against Cancer

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

The following is excerpted from an article by Chris Weller, published February 20, 2015, on MedicalDaily.com, based on the results of a recent study conducted by Rutgers University and Hunter College scientists.

Oleocanthal, the primary phenolic compound found in extra virgin olive oil, has been shown to eradicate cancer cells in less than an hour, giving scientists hope that targeted drug options in the future may be possible.

A team of researchers from Rutgers University and Hunter College published their recent study in the journal Molecular & Cellular Oncology. The findings add even more firepower to the argument in favor of olive oil, which has been shown in prior studies to shield our bodies against air pollution, improve our immune systems, protect aging bones, and perhaps even prevent the slide into Alzheimer’s disease….

The study isn’t without its limits. Cell cultures provide a reliable model for understanding how an external substance affects a new biological environment, but cells aren’t as complex as rats, which aren’t as complex as humans. It will still be years before oleocanthal makes its way into a clinical setting, by which time other technologies may have already crowded it out.

As a proof of concept, however, the findings suggest a robust set of possibilities for the compound. Oleocanthal is just one of the many phenols — a type of antioxidant — that appears in extra-virgin olive oil. It’s no accident the stuff appears in so many of the world’s healthiest diets. In addition to the heart-healthy antioxidants, olive oil provides a rich source of healthy fats that may preserve brain health and improve memory.

“We think oleocanthal could explain reduced [cancer] incidence in Mediterranean diets where consumption is high,” Foster told Medical Daily in an email. “And it is also possible that purified (higher-dose) could possibly be used therapeutically.”

Ultimately, the co-authors want to learn more about why oleocanthal targets and shrinks cancer cells specifically. “We also need to understand why it is that cancerous cells are more sensitive to oleocanthal than non-cancerous cells,” Foster said in the release. Even if consuming more olive oil won’t necessarily protect you from cancer today, budding research may help bring [some of its compounds] into the hospital in the future.

Source: LeGendre O, Breslin PAS, Foster DA. Oleocanthal rapidly and selectively induces cancer cell death via lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP). Molecular & Cellular Oncology. January 23, 2015. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23723556.2015.1006077

Extra virgin olive oil may reduce Alzheimer’s risk, study reports

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Reprinted from an article by Joseph Scalise in Science Recorder, June 22, 2017

Researchers from Temple University have found that extra virgin olive oil may help protect against memory loss and reduce many of the conditions associated with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study published in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology reports.

The team made this discovery by looking at how olive oil–enriched diets affected the memory and learning abilities of mice. To do this, they split the rodents into two groups: one that ate olive oil and one that did not. While all of the mice looked the same after months on their respective diets, the rodents on the olive oil diet had better working and spatial memory than those that ate normal food.

Olive oil is the cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet and has been linked to numerous health benefits. This study builds on previous research by showing more of its advantages. Not only did the oil reduce brain inflammation, it also activated the autophagy process, which removes debris and toxins—including ones associated with Alzheimer’s—from the brain.

“The thinking is that extra-virgin olive oil is better than fruits and vegetables alone, and, as a monounsaturated vegetable fat, it is healthier than saturated animal fats,” said study co-author Domenico Praticò, a researcher at Temple University, in a statement.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia in the United States. There is currently no cure. Estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that 5 million Americans contracted the illness in 2013, and that number is expected to rise to 14 million by 2050.

Researchers hope findings such as this can spur new studies and lead to a better understanding of how diet affects neurological disorders. They plan to follow up on their study by introducing extra virgin olive oil later on in the aging process to see what other benefits it might have.

“Thanks to the autophagy activation, memory, and synaptic integrity were preserved, and the pathological effects in animals otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease were significantly reduced,” Praticò said, according to USA Today. “We want to know whether olive oil added at a later time point in the diet can stop or reverse the disease.”