SHARE
COPY LINK

S

Olive oil may avert memory loss – study

Extra-virgin olive oil has long been known for its potential health benefits, but now researchers in Italy say it could also fend off Alzheimers and other neurological disorders.

Olive oil may avert memory loss - study
Olive oil may help prevent Alzheimers, Italian researchers say. Photo: Stu_Spivack/Wikicommons

After a two-month study on mice affected by Alzheimers, scientists at the University of Florence found that there was an “absence of the cognitive and behavioural deficits shown by the untreated mice,” Massimo Stefani, who led the research, told Plos One, the science journal.

Stefani added that the study provides the scientific basis for the known “anti-aging effects of the Mediterranean diet” and could help prevent the long-term neurological damage related to Alzheimers, a disease for which "there is still no effective therapy and which poses serious social problems, as well as threatens the sustainability of the healthcare system.”

Olive oil is also known to protect against high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Italy produces 21.5 percent of the world’s olive oil, with Puglia being the biggest harvester.
 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

S

Danish U-turn: children with sick relatives should stay home

Children who live with someone ill with coronavirus-like symptoms should not attend kindergarten or school, Denmark's health minister has announced, responding to widespread concern surrounding the reopening of the country's schools.

Danish U-turn: children with sick relatives should stay home
Parents have been worried about the reopening. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix
Magnus Heunicke announced the new policy in a press release sent out on Sunday, following widespread criticism of the guidance from the Danish Health Authority (Sundhetsstyrelsen) that having sick relatives at home should not prevent children returning when schools reopen this week. 
 

“Many have been unsure whether the right measures have been taken when schools and daycare services open up again on Wednesday,” Heunicke said in the press release. 
 
“In particular there have been questions over whether children should attend kindergarten or school if someone is infected with Covid-19 at home. This uncertainty is now being taken away by the government.” 
 
READ ALSO: 
 
Municipal governments in Aalborg, Aarhus and Odense, among others, had already responded to public unease about children bringing the infection from home by saying they would defy the health authority and allow the families of children who have sick people at home to keep them home. 
 
 

The Danish government's decision to overrule its own health authority sees the country's policy diverge from that of neighbouring Sweden, where the advice to parents is that children should be sent to school even if someone at home is ill. 
 
Heunicke said that the decision had followed a reappraisal of how likely it is that children will be able to follow hygiene requirements. 
 
“There are a number of strict requirements for cleaning, hygiene and self-insulation when there is a coronavirus infection at home. This can be really difficult for families with smaller children, and we understand that there are many who are unsure about this situation,” he said.  
 
“Therefore, in the government, we have decided, on a precautionary principle, that children living in a household with a person who has coronavirus should not attend school or daycare.” 
 
This decision applies only to children, and not to adult staff who work in schools or kindergartens, as the ministry believes adult staff will be better able to follow sanitary guidelines.  
 
According to a survey by Local Government Denmark, which represents the country's municipalities, over half of Denmark's municipalities plan to reopen schools and kindergartens on Wednesday, with the rest following no later than Monday. 
SHOW COMMENTS