Why eating a curry every week can help combat Alzheimer’s
Reported June 03, 2009
Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimers disease and dementia, a leading expert claims.
Professor Murali Doraiswamy – who grew up in a part of India famed for its fiery curries – says the magic ingredient is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric.
Curcumin prevents the spread of harmful amyloid plaques found in the brain of Alzheimer’s sufferers, he said.
These plaques, along with neurofibrillary tangles, are part of the disease process resulting in symptoms of memory loss and mental impairment.
Professor Doraiswamy, who is director of the Mental Fitness Laboratory at the Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Carolina, said: ‘There is very solid evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has shown benefits.
‘Turmeric has been studied not just in Alzheimers research but for a variety of conditions, such as cancer and arthritis.
‘Turmeric is often referred to as the spice of life in ancient Indian medical lore.’
A clinical trial is now underway at the University of California, Los Angeles, to test curcumins effects in Alzheimers patients and specifically on amyloid plaque proteins.
A small pilot trail was completed to determine the right dose and researchers have now embarked on a larger study.
Similar research is about to start in the UK, although some British experts caution that large amounts of curry would need to be consumed for a clinical effect.
Professor Doraiswamy told delegates at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Annual Meeting in Liverpool that human studies will build on laboratory research.
He said ‘You can modify a mouse so that at about 12 months its brain is riddled with plaques. If you feed this rat a curcumin-rich diet it dissolves these plaques.
‘The same diet prevented younger mice from forming new plaques. The next step is to test curcumin on human amyloid plaque formation using newer brain scans and there are plans for that.’
Studies looking at populations show that people who eat a curry meal two or three times a week seem to have a lower risk for dementia, he said.
‘Those studies seem to show that you need only consume what is part of the normal diet but the research studies are testing higher doses to see if they can maximise the effect. It would be equivalent of going on a curry spree for a week.’ he added.
However, curry may be just one of the ingredients that prevent degeneration of the brain.
‘If you are eating fatty burgers and smoking then dont expect an occasional curry to counterbalance a poor lifestyle,’ he said.
‘However, if you have a good diet and take plenty of exercise, eating curry regularly could help prevent dementia.’
Turmeric is also found in mustard and Professor Doraiswamy predicted a day when for those unable, or unwilling, to consume curries regularly the public might be advised to take a curry pill every day if the findings are confirmed in human studies.
Alzheimers Society is conducting research with the help of scientists at Southampton University who will examine whether curcumin could counteract some of the brain changes that are characteristic of Alzheimers disease.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the charity, said ‘Indian communities that regularly eat curcumin have a surprisingly low incidence of Alzheimers disease but we dont yet know why.
‘Alzheimers Society is keen to explore the potential benefits of curcumin in protecting the brain and we are conducting our own research into this area.’
However, Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimers Research Trust, said: ‘People would need a lot more than a weekly curry or two if they were seeking a clinical dose of curcumin over 100g of turmeric curry powder would have to be eaten to ingest a 3.6g clinical dose, which is rather a lot of curry.
‘Professor Doraiswamys unpublished research applies only to animal models; his hypothesis has not been confirmed in human clinical trials.
‘Previous research suggests we can reduce dementia risk by maintaining a balanced diet, exercising regularly and participating in social activities.’
Professor Doraiswamy, a leading expert on brain health and fitness, grew up in Southern Indian town of Madrasfamous for its fiery curries.
He is currently on a lecture tour promoting his consumer book The Alzheimers Action Plan.