Olive oil: Pertinent to neurologic diseases too?

Hundreds of studies on the potentially beneficial effects of the Mediterranean-type diet have focused on vascular disease, several forms of cancer, and overall mortality. Although the Mediterranean-type diet shares many features with many other healthy dietary patterns, it is distinct in its high fat content, mainly from olive oil.1 This feature may partially account for the Mediterranean-type diet’s particular gastronomic interest and popular acceptance because olive oil’s fatty taste may make the diet more palatable. The exploration of the relation of the Mediterranean-type diet with neurologic diseases has started only very recently and has suggested potentially beneficial associations for Alzheimer disease, mild cognitive impairment, cognitive decline, essential tremor, Parkinson disease, and stroke. Because these studies were performed mainly in US populations where monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) levels and consumption of olive oil are minimal, they do not directly address the potential role of olive oil in relation to neurologic diseases. In a previous report from the Three-City Study (Bordeaux, Dijon, and Montpellier, France), higher consumption of olive oil was associated with better cognitive performance and slower rates of decline in some cognitive domains.2 Regarding cerebrovascular disease, European and US dietary recommendations on stroke primary prevention have suggested various levels of evidence for decrease of salt and saturated fat and increase of potassium, fruits, vegetables, and fiber,3,4 but the potential role of olive oil has …