It’s never too early to start assessing your risk of Alzheimer’s, and there’s no better place to start than your plate.
You may already be stocking up on the best brain foods, but there’s one surprising healthy food you may want to avoid – it’s likely in your kitchen as we speak.
Canola oil could increase your risk of Alzheimer’s, according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The study examined the cognitive effects of this vegetable-based fat through clinical trials involving mice. One group of mice ate a normal diet for six months, while another group had about two tablespoons of canola oil added to their diets each day. Then, they put the mice through a maze to test their cognitive skills.
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The researchers found a significant reduction in the memories of the canola-eating mice compared to the normal diet group. The canola-oil mice experienced extra weight gain, too.
So, you may want to empty those bottles of canola in your pantry.
“Even though canola oil is a vegetable oil, we need to be careful before we say that it is healthy,” said Domenico Praticò, MD, a senior investigator on the study.
“Based on the evidence from this study, canola oil should not be thought of as being equivalent to oils with proven health benefits.”
The jury is still out on whether canola oil will have the same long-term effect as it did on the mice. But it never hurts to err on the side of caution, so swap your canola with olive oil in the meantime. And while you’re at it, try these everyday habits that reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s, too – your noggin’ will thank you.
Photo Credit: Aleksandrs Samuilovs; Shutterstock.com; Crystal Eye Studio/Shutterstock.com
