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Curry cure for Alzheimer's disease, dementia
It may be too hot and spicy for some people's taste buds, but eating spicy Indian curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, a research revealed, according to a report in DNA newspaper.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:16 June 10, 2009
London: It may be too hot and spicy for some people's taste buds, but eating spicy Indian curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, a research revealed, according to a report in DNA newspaper.
Curcumin, a component of turmeric, that's used in curries, appears to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques, which are suspected to cause dementia, the research said.
Amyloid plaques, along with tangles of nerve fibres, are suspected to contribute to the degradation of the wiring in brain cells, eventually leading to symptoms of dementia.
Murali Doraiswamy of Duke University, North Carolina, the man behind this research, said that there is evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has also shown benefits.
"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," said Doraiswamy.
He stressed that eating a curry could not counter-balance the increased risk of dementia associated with a poor diet, but he said a good diet, plenty of exercise and eating curry regularly could help prevent dementia.
Doraiswamy predicted it might be possible to develop a curry pill which had the same therapeutic effect.
Susanne Sorensen of the UK-based Alzheimer's Society said the organisation is keen to explore the potential benefits of curcumin in protecting the brain, adding that research is being conducted into this area which could actually transform the lives of thousands of people afflicted with the disease.
The Indian staple dish can help prevent Alzheimer's disease and dementia, says a new study.
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