Curcumin is taking the world by storm. If you still aren’t taking curcumin, read this article on the plethora of benefits that your brain could be receiving from this super herb.
What we have known for some time now is that curcumin, which is derived from the turmeric root, has a remarkable ability to fight inflammation and oxidative stress. What we’re recently discovering is that it is wonderful for promoting brain health, too. Curcumin has been shown in clinical and laboratory data to prevent or reverse features of the leading age-related brain conditions.
DEPRESSION:
Since more than 15 million American adults are suffering from major depression, it seems natural that continued research would reveal new findings. Researchers have found out that inflammation, oxidative stress, and brain-cell damage are all associated with major depression. With this new information, we’re able to take a new approach to our treatment of depression. For five years now animal studies have been done and now human studies are confirming that supplementation with curcumin reduces symptoms and behaviors of depression, especially lethargy, weight gain, and increased appetite. Some of the studies even reported reduced anxiety, as well. All this comes with none of the adverse effects of most available antidepressants.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE:
About 5.5 million people in America suffer from Alzheimer’s, which is the leading cause of dementia. But there’s still no treatment, unfortunately. Research studies on natural Alzheimer’s treatments are finding promising information on curcumin’s ability to protect the cognitive function of the brain and prevent neurodegeneration. Beta-amyloid plaque is the toxic protein responsible for nerve cell damage and is commonly found in brains of Alzheimer’s patients. In the study, subjects taking curcumin had lower blood levels of the protein, and also showed that curcumin can reverse its effect on brain cells. In fact, curcumin has shown to be more effective than many other drugs being tested for Alzheimer’s at inhibiting formation of beta-amyloid plaque. Curcumin was also found to normalize insulin signaling pathways, which are often abnormal in Alzheimer’s patients. The other important finding was that cucumin almost eliminated abnormal synapses, which are critical connections where signals are transmitted between nerve cells. In fact, curcumin even improved synaptic numbers and structure. These are the exact issues that cause Alzheimer’s patients to have difficulty with memory and spatial learning.
PARKINSON’S DISEASE:
Up to 1 million Americans have Parkinson’s. In laboratory studies, cells pretreated with curcumin were completely protected against the toxicity of chemicals used to induce Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Anhedonia is one of the symptoms of Parkinson’s; it’s the reduction in ability to experience pleasure, and can often cause undesirable weight loss, since people suffering from anhedonia lose interest in food. In one study, not only was curcumin was able to reverse the anhedonia and restore healthy weight, it also increased dopamine, which then reduced the motor control symptoms of Parkinson’s.
STROKE:
795,000 Americans suffer from a stroke every year. Ischemic strokes (87% of all strokes) result after blood flow is cut off to part of the brain, leaving the cells inflamed and dying. Ischemia-reperfusion injury is resulted when the artery is reopened and blood suddenly returns to the area and causes oxidative damage. Curcumin has shown not only high potential in combating this problem and improving healing after a stroke, but also in reducing the overall effects of the stroke itself. The ideal results were seen in subject that were given curcumin before the stroke was induced, further enforcing the preventive benefits of curcumin.
BRAIN TUMORS:
About 700,000 Americans are living with brain tumors. Some types have very low survival rates, making brain tumors one of the most intimidating brain conditions. Curcumin has revealed itself as a successful tool in fighting brain tumors. Curcumin has also showed promise in fighting cancer cells that are resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Taking curcumin along with chemotherapy has shown to make the treatment more effective.
NEURONAL PLASTICITY:
Neuronal plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to quickly make, break, and remake connections between neurons. Constant changes in our environment requires this quick ability in order to learn, remember, and process information. In studies curcumin has shown to enhance this ability and has even create new brain cells, which leads to improved memory and cognition skills. Curcumin is quickly becoming a cornerstone in natural brain function health, not only for treatment, but even more for protecting the brain from age-related disorders.
HOW IT WORKS:
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF is a molecule in the brain which promotes brain cell survival and increases neurite outgrowth (neurites are projections which protrude from brain cells and form dentrites, which then connect the neurons and thus enable nerve signal to be transmitted). Curcumin has a remarkable ability to enhance neurite outgrowth by regulating BDNF. All of this builds our cognition – our ability to learn, remember, multitask, and analyze. It is only in the past year or so that scientists have begun to appreciate how powerfully curcumin can promote production of BDNF. On the other hand, curcumin has been found to suppress and inhibit the activity of inflammatory enzymes and molecules and kill tumor cells. It performs these functions at the same time that it promotes antioxidants, thus making it a great treatment for any disorder including cancer, heart disease, bronchitis, asthma, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, cirrhosis, psoriasis, wounds, fatigue, pain, and so much more. Curcumin has not been reported to have any toxicity issues, even when used in high doses of 10 grams or more daily. All of these factors put together make curcumin not only superfood for brain health, but for the entire body.
REFERENCES:
Terry Talks Nutrition, Curcumin: The All in One Solution
Terry Talks Nutrition, Curcumin: The All in One Solution, Part 2
LifeExtension, Discovering Curcumin’s Brain Benefits by Susan Lawrence