Curry on the Brain

I always find it interesting when previously skeptical Western medicine latches onto a medical remedy that has been successful in Eastern or other medical traditions for thousands of years.

This time it's tumeric.

Compiled from several websites...

The spice and a chemical it contains — curcumin — are being probed for their potential to prevent and treat a broad range of diseases: cancer, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's and arthritis.

The uses of turmeric, some described in ancient Indian medical texts, are numerous. Indians put the spice on their Band-Aids as a disinfectant (Johnson & Johnson even makes turmeric Band-Aids for the Indian market) and sprinkle the powder on wounds to help them heal faster. People gargle with turmeric when they have laryngitis and rub it on the skin to cure cuts and psoriasis. They swallow it to treat bronchitis and chronic diseases such as diabetes. Scientists have long noted that Indians have much lower rates of certain cancers than their American counterparts. That led researchers to wonder whether diet plays a role — and, more specifically, the turmeric.

Mouse studies at the University of Texas have shown that the spice blocks growth of a skin cancer, melanoma, and inhibits the spread of breast cancer into the lungs. One 2004 study with mice showed that adding curcumin to Taxol, or paclitaxel, a commonly prescribed chemotherapy for breast cancer, enhances the drug's effect, making the therapy less toxic and just as powerful.

Turmeric is also being studied for its ability to help treat Alzheimer's disease. The prevalence of Alzheimer's among adults in India aged 70 to 79 is among the world's lowest. It is 4.4 times less than the rate in the United States.

A study conducted by UCLA showed that a rodent food laced with curcumin slowed the accumulation in mouse brains of protein fragments known as beta amyloids that are considered key to the development of Alzheimer's. Curcumin did this more powerfully than many other drugs being tested as Alzheimer's treatments, said the study's principal investigator.

Human trials are underway.

Curry anyone?