"Cooking with heart https olive oil and using it for salad dressing may cut stroke https risk according to new research published online in Neurology. In the new study seniors who regularly used this healthy monounsaturated fat had a  lower risk of stroke https compared to their counterparts who never used olive oil. This is the first study to suggest thatgreaterconsumption of olive oil may lower risk of stroke https in older subjects independently of other beneficial foods found in the Mediterranean diet https study author Cecilia Samieri PhD with the University of Bordeaux and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Bordeaux France says in an email. So what exactly is it about olive oil that may lower stroke risk There are several theories she says. It may be that people choose olive oil over saturated artery https fats. Moreover previous research found that the polyphenols from virgin olive oil account specifically for its ability to lower oxidized lowdensity lipoprotein LDL https or bad cholesterol https High cholesterol levels https are a known risk factor for stroke. The Study Researchers analyzed the medical records of  people aged  and older from three French cities who had no history of stroke. Participants were categorized based on their olive oil intake. Study participants mainly chose extra virgin olive oil which is widely available in France. During slightly more than five years of followup there were  strokes. It is too early to issue any broad public health recommendations about the use of olive oil for stroke protection. These findings from an observational study should be confirmed by a randomized controlled trial Samieri says. Researchers also looked at the blood https levels of oleic acid in a subgroup of people and found that higher levels of oleic acid correlated with higher use of olive oil. Oleic acid the main monounsaturated fat found in olive oil is not a specific blood https marker for olive oil use and could be elevated as a result of eating other foods such as butter and duck fat. Too Early to Make Recommendations This is one of very few studies that looks at olive oil intake and risk for neurologic diseases including stroke Nikolaos Scarmeas MD of Columbia University in New York City says in an email. Maybe olive oil improves vascular risk factors such as hypertension https dyslipidemia diabetes https heart disease https obesity https which may in turn reduce stroke risk or it may be that olive oil is antiinflammatory or an antioxidant https Scarmeas writes an accompanying editorial. We do not know for sure and we do not know which particular aspect of olive oil is the most relevant to stroke he says. Following a healthy diet emerges as an important strategy for prevention of neurological disease but remains to be proved. Cathy A. Sila MD the George M. Humphrey II Professor of Neurology and the director of the Stroke  Cerebrovascular Center at the Neurological Institute Case Medical Center of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland Ohio says the benefits of diet and lifestyle choices in disease prevention are more important than ever given the rising costs of health care https She agrees with the study authors and editorialist that it is too early to make any recommendations about olive oil intake and stroke risk. She calls the findings intriguing but says they do not equate a randomized clinical trial https and should be used with appropriate caution in making broad recommendations. Suzanne Steinbaum MD director of women and heart disease https at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York says moderate use of olive oil in cooking and on bread may help protect against stroke in people older than . Olive oil is a healthy fat and it can reduce cholesterol https and inflammation and has been shown to help reduce the incidence of heart disease https she says. Now we see it may reduce stroke risk in people older than . Keeping blood pressure https controlled not smoking https exercising https regularly and eating a healthy diet that is low in salt and rich in fruits and vegetables https can also help reduce stroke risk she says."