Sunday Dec 15, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking curcumin dietary supplements or using the spice turmeric may help prevent obesity, fatty liver and dyslipidemia associated with a high fat diet, a study in Atherosclerosis suggests.

The study led by S.T. Hasana from Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, MA and colleagues shows curcumin reduced uptake of oxidized low density lipoprotein cholesterol, body weight gain and body fat in mice on a high fat diet.

Also during late intervention, curcumin increased fat excretion, which means that curcumin may lower the risk of developing obesity.   Also the supplement at medium doses of 500 to 1000 mg/kg was found to effectively reduce fatty streak formation and several inflammatory cytokines.  

At a relatively high dose, curcumin was found to suppress the "development of steatohepatosis, reduced fibrotic tissue, and preserved glycogen levels in liver."

It should be pointed out that high doses of curucmin may negatively affect some inflammatory biomarkers suggesting that a moderate dose of curcumin should be used to have an optimal efficacy.

Curcumin is the principal antioxidant of the popular South Asian spice turmeric.  Like many antioxidants curcumin at high doses may act as a pro-oxidant.  Clinical studies in humans suggest that a dose of 2 to 10 grams of curcumin should be safe to use.

Curcumin has bee known to prevent Alzheimer's disease, diabetes mellitus, skin cancer, diabetic foot ulcers, triple negative breast cancer, radiation dermatitis, fluoride-induced renal injury, Parkinson's disease, colorectal cancer, and heart failure. (David Liu, PHD)