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An extract from olives may provide protection against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s according to a new study recently published.

Researchers examined the effect of an antioxidant called hydroxytyrosol, which has been shown to be connected to the health benefits of olive oil, such as LDL (”bad”) cholesterol reduction and cancer prevention.

Researchers added oxidative stressors to the brain cells of mice in a laboratory setting. These stressors are damaging to cells because of their oxidizing effects. For some of the cells, researchers also added an olive extract. Among the cells to which only the stressors were added, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was reduced by 40 percent. In the cells treated with olive extract, ATP was only reduced by 15 percent.

ATP is a primary energy source for cells and transports chemical energy for internal cell metabolism.

In another study, researchers from the University of Barcelona found that consuming as little as 25 milliliters of virgin olive oil each day led to significant reductions in LDL cholesterol after only a week.