For centuries, turmeric, a curry spice, has been prized in South Asia not only as a spice but as a food preservative, dye and medicinal agent used to relieve a wide range of ailments. Scientific research has confirmed that curcumin, a chemical in turmeric, which also is called "Indian Gold," does possess powerful healing properties, showing particular promise for preventing and treating cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Turmeric gives many South Asian dishes their characteristic yellow color, but if you want to add more curcumin to your diet for health reasons, be aware that curry powder and turmeric are not the same.
Alzheimer's Disease
In 1906, a German doctor, Alois Alzheimer, autopsied the brain of a woman who had died of a mysterious mental illness characterized by memory loss, language impairment and odd behavior. The abnormalities he found included the protein deposits and tangled nerve fibers now known to be signatures of the disease bearing Dr. Alzheimer's name. Healthy brains contain billions of nerve cells that constantly generate signals that are passed along by neurotransmitters. In a brain stricken by Alzheimer's disease, neurons die off, reducing levels of neurotransmitters needed for optimum function. As the brain shrinks in size, it causes problems that affect memory, the ability to learn, judgment, language capability, emotional control and motor skills, which progressively deteriorate and result in mental and physical incapacitation.
Facts and Figures
The Alzheimer's Association estimates that in 2011, 5.4 million Americans were living with Alzheimer's disease. In the United States, Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death, and if no medical breakthroughs are made by 2050, 11 to 16 million people could be afflicted -- potentially about twice the population of New York City. The vast majority of Alzheimer's patients are over age 65, but in about 1 percent of cases, symptoms strike much younger people who have an inheritable genetic flaw. About 75 to 100 experimental therapies to slow or stop Alzheimer's are in clinical trial stages, including some to measure the therapeutic value of curcumin.
Turmeric, Curcumin and Curry
"Curry," a catch-all word in the West for Indo-Pakistani food, has no meaning in South Asia. There, turmeric is one of dozens of spices cooks keep on hand to flavor dishes that all have their own names. Supermarket curry powders consist of a blend of different spices;, one of them probably -- but not necessarily -- is turmeric. When added to food, the powder's flavor represents what the manufacturer believes Western palates prefer. In authentic Indian recipes, spices are listed separately. Buying and adding them separately means that your food will taste more authentic and that you'll eat the amount of turmeric South Asians consider to be healthful.
Evidence of Efficacy
According to the University of California's Alzheimer's Disease Center, curcumin belongs to a family of plant pigments, polyphenolics, known to have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Human and animal tests researching into curcumin's therapeutic value for treating Alzheimer's have yielded encouraging results at UCLA and other research centers, showing that it reduces plaque buildup, inflammation and oxidative damage in the brain. However, the University of Maryland Medical Center advises only cautious optimism, noting that much of the research has been done on laboratory animals and that it might not work as well on humans.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Alzheimer's Disease
- UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Center; Curcumin & Alzheimer's & Cancer Prevention
- "Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology"; Curcumin: The Indian Solid Gold; B.B. Aggarwal, et al; 2007
- Alzheimer's Association: 2011 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures
- National Institute on Aging: Alzheimer's Disease Fact Sheet
- Alzheimer's Disease Research: Brain With Alzheimer's Disease
