Curry Consumption May Help Protect Against Cognitive Decline
Curcumin, the yellow pigment found in tumeric, a common ingredient in curry, may help to protect against cognitive decline and slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
There’s been quite a bit of research done the past few years regarding the potential connection. Two recent studies reinforce that link.
The first study looked cognitive performance and curry consumption in older, non-demented Asian individuals (aged 60-93 years). Researchers found that those who ate curry occasionally or frequently scored significantly better on a standardized mental health test. Those people who consumed curry often or very frequently had a 49% reduced risk of cognitive impairment, while those consuming it occasionally had a 38% decreased risk.
The study was observational, so cause and effect could not be determined (there may have been other factors playing a role — e.g., vegetable and fat intake), but the results are consistent with earlier experimental evidence on curry.
The second recent study found that immune system cells (macrophages) in blood drawn from AD patients were able to break down beta-amyloid plaques (found in the brains of AD patients) significantly better when treated with curcumin.
This study was a lab study (i.e., the test were done on the blood samples in petri dishes), but nevertheless the results were consistent with earlier research examining the effects of curcumin on immune system function.
Finally, this review study provides a good overview of curcumin’s suspected biochemical benefits in diseases such as AD, as well as for other conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, inflammatory digestive disorders, arthritis, and osteoporosis. In short, curcumin seems to have an excellent ability to regulate proteins, enzymes, and other factors that manage immune system response.
Curcumin certainly seems like a safe and important substance to potentially help prevent and treat many chronic conditions.
(Note: If you’re considering increasing tumeric intake by eating restaurant prepared curries, it’s important to consider the type and and amounts of fats used in their preparation. Restaurant-prepared curries can often be high in fats, especially saturated fats (like ghee, or clarified butter, and vegetable oil). In high amounts, these fats may counteract some of the curry’s beneficial effects by promoting elevated cholesterol and/or inflammation. Try to identify restaurants that use moderate amounts of these fats and/or other more healthy alternatives, such as olive oil.)
November 30th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
[…] Earlier this month, I wrote a post about the potential of curcumin, the yellow pigment found in tumeric, a common ingredient in curry, to protect against cognitive decline and slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). […]