Health

Olive oil slashes risk of stroke

Olive oil slashes risk of stroke

Sometimes, getting and staying healthy can seem like all too much hard work — and then along comes a piece of health news that makes you think, ‘Can it really be this simple?’

Here is one such item: a study published in Neurology has shown that regularly using olive oil in cooking and salad dressings can significantly lower your risk of a stroke.

Researchers from the University of Bordeaux and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research assessed 7,625 people, whose olive oil consumption was classified as either ‘no use’, ‘moderate use’ or ‘intensive use’.

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After taking into account variables such as diet, exercise, weight and other risk factors for stroke, they found that those people who used olive oil regularly were a whopping 41 percent less likely to have a stroke.

Of course, olive oil’s cardio-protective properties are already well-known, but few studies have shown such a dramatic result from making just this one simple little change to diet.

Your say: Do you consume a lot of olive oil?

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