Curry may help fight dementia

Saturday June 13, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- Eating curcumin-rich curry regularly may help prevent dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, according to United States researchers who presented their findings at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' annual meeting in the United Kingdom.

  The research, by Professor Murali Doraiswamy from Duke University, showed diets high in curcumin (found in turmeric) helped dissolve amyloid protein plaques in the brain of mice that are believed to the cause of dementia. Positive results were shown over a period of 12 months, said researchers. Tumeric is a main ingredient of curry.   

  Curcumin also helped prevent development of plaques in young mice.

  "If you have a good diet and take plenty of exercise, eating curry regularly could help prevent dementia," Professor Doraiswamy was quoted by BBC as saying.

  But he said that eating a curry could not offset the increased risk of dementia associated with an unhealthy diet.

  Indian communities that regularly eat curry are known to have a very low incidence of Alzheimer's disease, but it is unknown whether the use of curcumin-rich turmeric or curry plays a role. A clinical trial is under way at the University of California, Los Angeles to see if curcumin has the same effect on humans, according to BBC News.

(David Liu and edited by Sheilah Downey)