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C URCUMIN AND M EMORY : A LZHEIMER ’ S AND D EMENTIA
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are key components in brain health and memory preservation as is
a healthy diet rich in antioxidants like berries, green leafy vegeta-
bles, nuts, seeds and citrus fruits.
While there are several anti-dementia pharmaceuticals on the
market, they do not reverse dementia and they have limited effec-
tiveness in slowing its progress.
THE GOLDEN KNIGHT RIDES AGAIN
Curcumin’s unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier means
that it can affect brain chemistry and the survival mechanisms of
brain cells (neurons), producing preventive and healing effects that
few other nutrients can offer.
Curcumin, and particularly BCM-95 ® Curcumin, holds great
promise for those with dementia and particularly for people with a
history of Alzheimer’s in their families. There has been extensive
research in this area (a search of curcumin+dementia in the Nation-
al Institutes of Health database turns up 134 studies). The enthusi-
asm for the results is becoming intense.
Compared to the Western world, there is a much lower rate of
Alzheimer’s disease in India, where curcumin is eaten in large quan-
tities in the curries that are a staple of the Indian diet. In fact, the
rate of Alzheimer’s in India among people ages 70 to 79 is about
one-quarter of the rate in the U.S. where curcumin is rarely includ-
ed in the diet.
Even eating a small amount of curcumin seems to have an
effect. One study showed better memory among 60- to 93-year-
olds who ate curry just once a month than among those who never
ate it.
Here’s a fascinating story about Indian people who tend to eat
curry two or three times a day, so their dietary intake of curcumin
is exceptionally high:
Researchers conducting autopsies on the brains of Indians who
died of all causes found that there was an unusual yellowish color
in their brain stem (hippocampus) tissue. This color, not seen in