Oliver oil may be better for your brain health than canola oil, though the latter has been popular since hitting the market in 1970, on the strength of its health benefits and affordability.
Philadelphia’s Temple University recently studied the impact of vegetable oils on the brains of mice.
Dr. Domenico Praticò and colleagues of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple fed food containing canola oil and olive oil to mice that were bred to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Such mice fed canola showed worsened memories, diminished learning ability and weight gain. They also experienced an increase in the level of amyloid plaques in the brain.
The opposite was found when similar mice consumed food with extra-virgin olive oil. In research published earlier this year, Praticò and co-author Elisabetta Lauretti found that mice with the disease showed memory improvement and reduced levels of amyloid plaques.
The cause of Alzheimer’s disease — the most common form of dementia — is still unknown. But researchers believe a build-up of amyloid-beta protein, or “plaques,” is a major contributing factor.
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