Long
before I started recognizing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, I learned about the virtues
of the “Mediterranean Diet.” When I joined the Massachusetts Municipal
Association as an editor, reporter and project manager in 2005, I was
introduced to the MMA’s insurance wing: The Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance
Association—MIIA, for short. One of MIIA’s role’s is to promote healthy habits
among public-sector workers, such as police officers and firefighters. The
premise is that healthier employees help keep down insurance premiums for cities
and towns.
During my ten-plus years at the MMA, and a good deal before,
I was following good eating habits. My dad was a commercial salmon fisherman in
Puget Sound, and during the summers when I was growing up, especially in the
summer, we ate salmon very frequently. Not surprisingly, as a child, I got
tired of eating salmon, and I would have been happier eating a hamburger. But
what my Slav grandparents, who died before I was born, bequeathed to me were my
ancestors’ good genes. Ever since my teenage years, I’ve eaten anything I
wanted to, with no more serious consequences than indigestion. Once, in my mid-thirties,
my brother described me as “gaunt.” That was an exaggeration. But it is true
that I weigh about five pounds less
now than I did as a high school football player, when I weighed 145 pounds. I
would prefer to be at that weight now consistently, but that’s the drawback of
having what I describe as “hummingbird metabolism.”
If there is something like a Mediterranean gene, I would
likely have it. And with
those of us who have Alzheimer’s disease, consuming olive oil on a daily basis
is good idea. I happen to like the taste of olive oil, especially when I have a
fresh loaf of crusty bread from a bakery. I sop up the excess oil with the
bread. And when I prepare salmon, or other fish, I always chop up at least one
clove of garlic.
What prodded my curiosity about olive oil was research in
the science journal Nature: “Over the
past two decades, substantial research has recognized that “chronic [i.e., “steady”]
exposure to the Mediterranean
diet is beneficial with respect to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular
diseases and metabolism syndrome.” The Nature article’s main point is that, unlike olive
oil, canola oil falls short of the threshold to be useful for people with
Alzheimer’s. But it’s worth noting that the price differential between olive
oil and canola oil is not radical—at least if you shop at the Market Basket in
Somerville, where most items are cheaper compared to other grocery-store chains
in the Boston area.
And since I left the MMA in the summer of 2015,
I’ve had ample time to eat well—and slowly. Of course, it also helps to like
the taste of olive oil, as I do. Not everyone does. In terms of efficacy, the Nature article stated, “Over the past
two decades, substantial research has recognized that chronic [i.e., exposure]
to the Mediterranean Diet is
beneficial with respect to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease and
“metabolism syndrome”—such features as high-blood pressure and high
cholesterol, the study noted. More relevant to my purpose, longitudinal studies
and clinical trials have shown that adherence to this type of diet is associated
with slower rates of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s itself. And If you don’t
like the taste of olive oil, just regard it as a kind of medicine, with a
wealth of research backing its efficacy.