A Harvard study found that people who consume about one-and-a-half teaspoons of olive oil daily may lower their risk of dying from dementia by an incredible 28% compared to those who rarely or never include olive oil in their diet. Those who consumed more olive oil had a lower risk of dying from dementia, regardless of their diet.

The study called “Consumption of Olive Oil and Diet Quality and Risk of Dementia-Related Death,” states that “In U.S. adults, higher olive oil intake was associated with a lower risk of dementia-related mortality, irrespective of diet quality.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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The 28-year study included more than 92,000 participants who were healthcare professionals and was the first to investigate whether the Mediterranean diet staple is linked to risk of death from the disease, says CNN. The respondents recorded how frequently they used olive oil in salad dressings and foods. A physician reviewed the death certificates of the participants who died during the study period and determined that 4,751 of the study subjects died of dementia, says The Washington Post.

“Our study reinforces dietary guidelines recommending vegetable oils such as olive oil and suggest that these recommendations not only support heart health but potentially brain health as well,” said study author Anne-Julie Tessier, a research associate at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Opting for olive oil, a natural product, instead of fats such as margarine and commercial mayonnaise, is a safe choice and may reduce the risk of fatal dementia.”

Interestingly, even the participants who carried the APOE e4 gene, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, also benefited from daily doses of olive oil. Carriers of the gene are five to nine times more likely than noncarriers to die from dementia,

Tessier said that the benefits of olive oil could be due to its high levels of antioxidants that cross the blood-brain barrier but it also could be the indirect result of the oil’s heart-healthy profile.  According to The American Heart Association, what benefits the heart, also benefits the brain.

Besides using olive oil for cooking, use it for salad dressing, making homemade mayonnaise, pesto, or bread dips, and of course with pasta.