Turmeric and Brain Research

Why do some endurance runners take a pinch of turmeric and a dash of black pepper for energy before running? And why do they add a teaspoon of extra virgin coconut oil? It's folkloric medicine to ward off the tau tangles of Alzheimer's disease, in theory. But does it have merit? At least there is research at local universities and nationally that's ongoing.

For runners and fitness enthusiasts, does the nutritional theory behind turmeric or rather one phytochemical, curcumin in turmeric offer protective effects for the brain by preventing too much damage from build-up of excess copper and iron in your body? After all, too much copper and iron might lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. Turmeric and some curcumin also is found in curry powder.

See the latest news on tumeric being able to stop damage from excess copper and iron buildup in the body which some scientists are linking to possible neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Check out the May 20, 2011 news report, "High iron, copper levels block brain-cell DNA repair ."

You can buy turmeric in any Sacramento supermarket, including in larger packages, you can buy turmeric at any of the ethnic Indian grocery stores in Sacramento. Also, you can order cucurmin, the ingredient in turmeric being studied, from most health food stores or online, for example from the Life Extension Foundation. Check out the October, 2007 article by Life Extension Foundation's magazine titled, Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood.

In Sacramento, who's studying cucurmin, an ingredient from turmeric, a spice to see what health benefits it may have, especially in relation to see whether cucurmin and/or turmeric has any type of prevention ability on Alzheimer's or other dementia types? So far, the closest studies to Sacramento are at UCLA. Check out the UC Davis article on cucurmin, found in turmeric, RSC Article Template (Version 3.0) [PDF].

In California, a study called the UCLA-Veteran's Affairs study research reiterated that curcumin, an ingredient found in turmeric has low toxicity and shows promise in "for the prevention of Alzheimer's." Be careful though, another study found that rats fed large amounts of tumeric for 14 days developed enlarged, damaged livers.

Turmeric is known for providing flavor to curry. One of its components is curcumin, a type of phytochemical known as a polyphenol. Research findings suggest that phytochemicals, which are the chemicals found in plants, appear to help prevent disease. As the bioactive component of turmeric, curcumin is readily absorbed for use by the body.

Are you getting too much copper and iron in your diet? Check out the May 20, 2011 article, "High iron, copper levels block brain-cell DNA repair." This latest d iscovery could shed light on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders.

In the Sacramento and Davis regional area, the University of California, Davis studies the effects turmeric or the ingredient found in turmeric, curcumin, has on protecting the brain from too much damage by accumulating amounts of copper and iron, which may or may not be linked to developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Check out the site, UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center.

Pregnant women should not use turmeric supplements. Talk to a doctor before using turmeric supplements regularly if you have any medical conditions, like gallbladder or kidney disease, bleeding disorders, diabetes, or immunity problems. The Web MD site on turmeric advises, "since turmeric can potentially increase bleeding, stop taking it at least two weeks before any surgery."

Look at the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) information on their clinical trials of curcumin. What people want is a safe prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's and similar-type dementias using a spice or food rather than a drug with more serious side effects that only presently postpones rather than reverses. And in your own reading or research as a consumer, follow the money. The Siegel Life Foundation, Veterans Affairs, Alzheimer's Association, UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and private donors funded the that specific cucurmin research. Also see the article at News-Medical Net .

Is it true that research is beginning to show that an ingredient, a phytochemical, in turmeric called curcumin, actually reverses, slows, or even helps to prevent early stage Alzheimer's disease? Is the reported low rate of Alzheimers and some other dementia types in India due to the daily of addition of a small amount of turmeric and curry spices in the average diet?

On the other hand, At the International Alzheimer's Research Conference in Chicago, one topic that would have made a good debate might have been: could it be that the major drug companies that are actually doing Alzheimer's research in India or anywhere else are in competition with the businesses that sell spices to consumers?

For example, could it possibly be that the major drug manufacturers in India will investigate and then come to the conclusion that turmeric couldn't possibly be that good, that perhaps the element in turmeric, curcurmin isn't stopping Alzheimers. Because if the drug companies in any country admit openly that curcurmin, an ingredient in turmeric is doing any good to prevent Alzheimer's then maybe people won't be grabbing up the drugs.

These are just a few questions to ponder as research continues in various countries. See the articles based on research in magazines such as Life Extension , or the marketing material from either side? Is the research validated? Double-blind? Who funded the research and why? Read the article, " Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood ," by Dale Kiefer, Life Extension magazine, October 2007.

Curcumin is extracted from turmeric. Ask what's the reason why turmeric and curry powder containing turmeric are both anti-microbial and also a reverser of brain plaque? What does the research actually show now? Or is it all about marketing curcumin? What's the latest news?

To start your research in order to validate claims of turmeric, begin with the article, Alzheimer's Disease: Of Emerging Importance . Look at the article's Alzheimer's chart . Researchers started with looking at the reported low incidence of Alzheimer's in India.

Scientists really need to find out what safe doses of curcumin or turmeric are required. Turmeric is a spice people put in food and not a drug. So can a spice in food turn back or prevent Alzheimer's and any other dementias? Which ones? Your next stepping stone of validation is to look at the research published in the Dec 7, 2004 online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry .

Specifically, curcumin, found in turmeric inhibits the formation of protein fragments better than most drugs being tested at that time as Alzheimer's treatments. There's something about the curcumin, its low molecular weight and polar structure. The cucurmin crashes through your blood-brain barrier and binds to the beta amyloids that form the plaque of Alzheimer's. When the cucurmin binds to the beta amyloids, those amyloids aren't able to move on and out to worsen Alzheimer's.

Your next step might be to look at a 2001 study in the Journal of Neuroscience , 2001; 21:8370-8377. Then look at a similar study in Neurobiology of Aging , 2001; 22:993-1005. We know turmeric is an antioxidant and anti-inflammataory. And the inflamed brain of an Alzheimer's patient results in oxidation. For further information on the health trends, research, and benefits of curcumin from turmeric, see the October, 2007 article by Life Extension Foundation's magazine titled, Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood.

Do you believe the articles based on research in magazines such as Life Extension , or the marketing material from either side? Is the research validated? Double-blind? Who funded the research and why? Read the article, " Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood ," by Dale Kiefer, Life Extension magazine, October 2007.

Curcumin is extracted from turmeric. Ask what's the reason why turmeric and curry powder containing turmeric are both anti-microbial and also a reverser of brain plaque? What does the research actually show now? Or is it all about marketing curcumin? What's the latest news?

To start your research in order to validate claims of turmeric, begin with the article, Alzheimer's Disease: Of Emerging Importance . Look at the article's Alzheimer's chart . Researchers started with looking at the reported low incidence of Alzheimer's in India.

No one knows the cause of most cases of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. But researchers have found that certain factors are consistently associated with these debilitating conditions.

One is DNA damage by reactive oxygen species, highly destructive molecules usually formed as a byproduct of cellular respiration. Another is the presence of excessive levels of copper and iron in regions of the brain associated with the particular disorder.

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered how these two pieces of the neurodegenerative disease puzzle fit together, a connection they describe in a review article in the current Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. See, UTMB | The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

A high level of copper or iron, they say, can function as a "double whammy" in the brain by both helping generate large numbers of the DNA-attacking reactive oxygen species and interfering with the machinery of DNA repair that prevents the deleterious consequences of genome damage.

"It's been suggested that an imbalance of DNA damage and repair produces a buildup of unrepaired genetic damage that can initiate neurodegenerative pathology," said postdoctoral fellow Muralidhar Hegde, lead author of the paper, " according to the May 20, 2011 news release.

"We don't yet know enough about all the biochemical mechanisms involved, but we have found multiple toxic mechanisms linking elevated iron and copper levels in the brain and extensive DNA damage - pathological features associated with most neurodegenerative disorders."

Humans ordinarily have small amounts of iron and copper in their bodies - in fact, the elements are essential to health. But some people's tissues contain much larger quantities of iron or copper, which overwhelm the proteins that normally bind the metals and sequester them for safe storage. The result: so-called "free" iron or copper ions, circulating in the blood and able to initiate chemical reactions that produce reactive oxygen species.

"Reactive oxygen species cause the majority of the brain cell DNA damage that we see in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, as well as most other neurodegenerative disorders," Hegde said, in the news release.

"It's bad enough if this damage occurs on one strand of the DNA double helix, but if both strands are damaged at locations close to each other you could have a double-strand break, which would be fatal to the cell."

Normally, special DNA repair enzymes would quickly mend the injury, restoring the genome's integrity. But experiments conducted by Hegde and his colleagues showed that iron and copper significantly interfere with the activity of two DNA repair enzymes, known as NEIL1 and NEIL2.

"Our results show that by inhibiting NEIL1 and NEIL2, iron and copper play an important role in the accumulation of DNA damage in neurodegenerative diseases," Hegde said, according to the news release.

The researchers got a surprise when they tested substances that bond to iron and copper and could protect NEIL1 from the metals. One of the strongest protective agents was the common South Asian spice curcumin, which also has been shown to have other beneficial health effects.

"The results from curcumin were quite beautiful, actually," Hegde said in the news release. "It was very effective in maintaining NEIL activity in cells exposed to both copper and iron."

Other authors of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease paper include research associate Pavana Hegde; K.S. Rao, director of the Institute for Scientific Research and High Technology Services in Panama; and UTMB Professor Sankar Mitra. The United States Public Health Service and the American Parkinson's Disease Association supported this research.

Established in 1891, Texas' first academic health center, UTMB, comprises four health sciences schools, three institutes for advanced study, a research enterprise that includes one of only two national laboratories dedicated to the safe study of infectious threats to human health, and a health system offering a full range of primary and specialized medical services throughout Galveston County and the Texas Gulf Coast region.

UTMB Health is a component of the University of Texas System and a member of the Texas Medical Center. Check out the research being done at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

In Sacramento, who's studying cucurmin, an ingredient from turmeric, a spice to see what health benefits it may have, especially in relation to see whether cucurmin and/or turmeric has any type of prevention ability on Alzheimer's or other dementia types? So far, the closest studies to Sacramento are at UCLA. Check out the UC Davis article on cucurmin, found in turmeric, RSC Article Template (Version 3.0) [PDF].

You can buy turmeric in any Sacramento supermarket, including in larger packages, you can buy turmeric at any of the ethnic Indian grocery stores in Sacramento. Also, you can order cucurmin, the ingredient in turmeric being studied, from most health food stores or online, for example from the Life Extension Foundation. Check out the October, 2007 article by Life Extension Foundation's magazine titled, Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood.

In California, a study called the UCLA-Veteran's Affairs study research reiterated that curcumin, an ingredient found in turmeric has low toxicity and shows promise in "for the prevention of Alzheimer's." Be careful though, another study found that rats fed large amounts of tumeric for 14 days developed enlarged, damaged livers.

Pregnant women should not use turmeric supplements. Talk to a doctor before using turmeric supplements regularly if you have any medical conditions, like gallbladder or kidney disease, bleeding disorders, diabetes, or immunity problems. The Web MD site on turmeric advises, "since turmeric can potentially increase bleeding, stop taking it at least two weeks before any surgery."

Look at the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) information on their clinical trials of curcumin. What people want is a safe prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's and similar-type dementias using a spice or food rather than a drug with more serious side effects that only presently postpones rather than reverses. And in your own reading or research as a consumer, follow the money. The Siegel Life Foundation, Veterans Affairs, Alzheimer's Association, UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and private donors funded the that specific cucurmin research. Also see the article at News-Medical Net .

Is it true that research is beginning to show that an ingredient, a phytochemical, in turmeric called curcumin, actually reverses, slows, or even helps to prevent early stage Alzheimer's disease? Is the reported low rate of Alzheimers and some other dementia types in India due to the daily of addition of a small amount of turmeric and curry spices in the average diet?

On the other hand, At the International Alzheimer's Research Conference in Chicago, one topic that would have made a good debate might have been: could it be that the major drug companies that are actually doing Alzheimer's research in India or anywhere else are in competition with the businesses that sell spices to consumers?

For example, could it possibly be that the major drug manufacturers in India will investigate and then come to the conclusion that turmeric couldn't possibly be that good, that perhaps the element in turmeric, curcurmin isn't stopping Alzheimers. Because if the drug companies in any country admit openly that curcurmin, an ingredient in turmeric is doing any good to prevent Alzheimer's then maybe people won't be grabbing up the drugs.

These are just a few questions to ponder as research continues in various countries. See the articles based on research in magazines such as Life Extension , or the marketing material from either side? Is the research validated? Double-blind? Who funded the research and why? Read the article, " Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood ," by Dale Kiefer, Life Extension magazine, October 2007.

Curcumin is extracted from turmeric. Ask what's the reason why turmeric and curry powder containing turmeric are both anti-microbial and also a reverser of brain plaque? What does the research actually show now? Or is it all about marketing curcumin? What's the latest news?

To start your research in order to validate claims of turmeric, begin with the article, Alzheimer's Disease: Of Emerging Importance . Look at the article's Alzheimer's chart . Researchers started with looking at the reported low incidence of Alzheimer's in India.

Scientists really need to find out what safe doses of curcumin or turmeric are required. Turmeric is a spice people put in food and not a drug. So can a spice in food turn back or prevent Alzheimer's and any other dementias? Which ones? Your next stepping stone of validation is to look at the research published in the Dec 7, 2004 online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry .

Specifically, curcumin, found in turmeric inhibits the formation of protein fragments better than most drugs being tested at that time as Alzheimer's treatments. There's something about the curcumin, its low molecular weight and polar structure. The cucurmin crashes through your blood-brain barrier and binds to the beta amyloids that form the plaque of Alzheimer's. When the cucurmin binds to the beta amyloids, those amyloids aren't able to move on and out to worsen Alzheimer's.

Your next step might be to look at a 2001 study in the Journal of Neuroscience , 2001; 21:8370-8377. Then look at a similar study in Neurobiology of Aging , 2001; 22:993-1005. We know turmeric is an antioxidant and anti-inflammataory. And the inflamed brain of an Alzheimer's patient results in oxidation. For further information on the health trends, research, and benefits of curcumin from turmeric, see the October, 2007 article by Life Extension Foundation's magazine titled, Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood.

Do you believe the articles based on research in magazines such as Life Extension , or the marketing material from either side? Is the research validated? Double-blind? Who funded the research and why? Read the article, " Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood ," by Dale Kiefer, Life Extension magazine, October 2007.

Curcumin is extracted from turmeric. Ask what's the reason why turmeric and curry powder containing turmeric are both anti-microbial and also a reverser of brain plaque? What does the research actually show now? Or is it all about marketing curcumin? What's the latest news?

To start your research in order to validate claims of turmeric, begin with the article, Alzheimer's Disease: Of Emerging Importance . Look at the article's Alzheimer's chart . Researchers started with looking at the reported low incidence of Alzheimer's in India.

The World Health Organization sampled curried vegetarian dishes. Was it the curry, the turmeric, or the fact that not as many people in in India dine on red meat? In the villages, the World Health Organization study found under one percent incidient of Alzheimers in people over age 65. What actually is in the turmeric that is the main ingredient of curry powder? Is it curcurmin alone or the whole food, turmeric, or turmeric mixed with other spices that all work together?

It's the phytochemical, curcumin. In the USA, curcumin is sold in capsules in health food stores and online and touted in Life Extension Magazine articles. But in India, where doctors report that the Alzheimer's rate of 4.4 times less than the rate in the burger-chomping USA, people in those Indian villages ate a small amount of turmeric in their curried foods. They didn't extract the curcumin. However, it's the curcumin that's being researched.

Don't gulp all that turmeric yet. A teaspoon in a pot of stew is fine. But if you add a tablespoon to your food daily, soon your liver will start pouring out a lot more bile, maybe too much bile and stress for your liver. The whites of your eyes may start to turn yellow.

This might confuse your doctor who may think that maybe you have Wilson's disease (a copper build-up problem) that turns the whites of eyes yellow. Your dentist might tell you the roof of your mouth, your palate is yellow, and advise you to see a doctor and have your liver tested. So stick with a small amount of turmeric in your diet unless you are supervised medically and your liver bile tested.

Should you take curcumin capsules? That's up to you and your physician or naturopath based on how the curcumin is affecting your liver bile and any other aspect of your health. Sure, in India, turmeric, a main ingredient of which is curcumin, has been used for six thousand years.

It's an anti-inflammatory. In India today, turmeric is used as a paste to put on the skin to clear up chicken pox sores and other rashes. Turmeric is anti-microbial. Even hospital floors in India and Sri Lanka often are washed with turmeric and water to sanitize them.

In Ayurvedic medicine of India, turmeric is given to cure inflammation in the body. So your next source of research might be to look at more news of the UCLA-Veteran's Affairs study . Also see the article at News-Medical Net .

Scientists really need to find out what safe doses of curcumin or turmeric are required. Turmeric is a spice people put in food and not a drug. So can a spice in food turn back or prevent Alzheimer's and any other dementias? Which ones? Your next stepping stone of validation is to look at the research published in the Dec 7, 2004 online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry .

Specifically, curcumin, found in turmeric inhibits the formation of protein fragments better than most drugs being tested at that time as Alzheimer's treatments. There's something about the curcumin, its low molecular weight and polar structure. The cucurmin crashes through your blood-brain barrier and binds to the beta amyloids that form the plaque of Alzheimer's. When the cucurmin binds to the beta amyloids, those amyloids aren't able to move on and out to worsen Alzheimer's.

Your next step might be to look at a 2001 study in the Journal of Neuroscience , 2001; 21:8370-8377. Then look at a similar study in Neurobiology of Aging , 2001; 22:993-1005. We know turmeric is an antioxidant and anti-inflammataory. And the inflamed brain of an Alzheimer's patient results in oxidation. For further information on the health trends, research, and benefits of curcumin from turmeric, see the October, 2007 article by Life Extension Foundation's magazine titled, Novel Turmeric Compound Delivers Much More Curcumin to the Blood.

Pregnant women should not use turmeric supplements. Talk to a doctor before using turmeric supplements regularly if you have any medical conditions, like gallbladder or kidney disease, bleeding disorders, diabetes, or immunity problems. The Web MD site on turmeric advises, "since turmeric can potentially increase bleeding, stop taking it at least two weeks before any surgery."

Look at the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) information on their clinical trials of curcumin. What people want is a safe prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's and similar-type dementias using a spice or food rather than a drug with more serious side effects that only presently postpones rather than reverses. And in your own reading or research as a consumer, follow the money. The Siegel Life Foundation, Veterans Affairs, Alzheimer's Association, UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and private donors funded the that specific cucurmin research.

The Brain Research Institute at UCLA studies turmeric. See the Feb 6, 2006 article, "Out of the Spice Box Into the Lab," which notes that, "scientists at UCLA are now conducting the first-ever clinical trials of curcumin on humans with Alzheimer's. In this pilot study of 36 patients, researchers will examine how well people tolerate high doses of curcumin and how well it is absorbed into the body. During the 48-week study, researchers will also test whether the spice affects chemicals in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid that indicate Alzheimer's disease activity, said Dr. John Ringman, assistant professor of neurology at the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Center."

To start your research in order to validate claims of turmeric, begin with the article, Alzheimer's Disease: Of Emerging Importance . Look at the article's Alzheimer's chart . Researchers started with looking at the reported low incidence of Alzheimer's in India.

The World Health Organization sampled curried vegetarian dishes. Was it the curry, the turmeric, or the fact that not as many people in in India dine on red meat? In the villages, the World Health Organization study found under one percent incidient of Alzheimers in people over age 65. What actually is in the turmeric that is the main ingredient of curry powder? Is it curcurmin alone or the whole food, turmeric, or turmeric mixed with other spices that all work together?

It's the phytochemical, curcumin. In the USA, curcumin is sold in capsules in health food stores and online and touted in Life Extension Magazine articles. But in India, where doctors report that the Alzheimer's rate of 4.4 times less than the rate in the burger-chomping USA, people in those Indian villages ate a small amount of turmeric in their curried foods. They didn't extract the curcumin. However, it's the curcumin that's being researched.