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Olive oil may avert memory loss - study

The Local Italy
The Local Italy - [email protected]
Olive oil may avert memory loss - study
Olive oil may help prevent Alzheimers, Italian researchers say. Photo: Stu_Spivack/Wikicommons

Extra-virgin olive oil has long been known for its potential health benefits, but now researchers in Italy say it could also fend off Alzheimers and other neurological disorders.

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After a two-month study on mice affected by Alzheimers, scientists at the University of Florence found that there was an “absence of the cognitive and behavioural deficits shown by the untreated mice,” Massimo Stefani, who led the research, told Plos One, the science journal.

Stefani added that the study provides the scientific basis for the known “anti-aging effects of the Mediterranean diet” and could help prevent the long-term neurological damage related to Alzheimers, a disease for which "there is still no effective therapy and which poses serious social problems, as well as threatens the sustainability of the healthcare system.”

Olive oil is also known to protect against high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Italy produces 21.5 percent of the world’s olive oil, with Puglia being the biggest harvester.
 

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