MIAMI — Consuming cold-pressed extra-virgin or virgin olive oil, which is mechanically pressed from olives without heat or chemical refining, helps to improve cognitive function, researchers found.

The pillar of the Mediterranean diet has vital compounds, such as polyphenols, antioxidants, and vitamins, that help support anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects, according to researchers.

Researchers in Spain from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili’s human nutrition unit, the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute, and CIBERobn made the gut-brain axis connection.

Earlier this year, a study published in Neurology Open Access, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology, showed that the Mediterranean diet, which uses olive oil and nuts as the main sources of fat, may also decrease the risk of stroke.

Virgin olive oil improves cognitive function, researchers say

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Andrea Torres