Written by Patrick B. Massey, M.D., Ph.D. If Alzheimer’s disease seems to run in the family, adding curcumin to the diet may be prudent.
I have often said that nature provides the best answers to many chronic medical problems, and Alzheimer’s disease is a good example.
Curcumin, an age-old spice from India, might provide the best hope for preventing and even treating this devastating disease.
The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in India is much lower than in the United States. Perhaps that’s because of curcumin, a spice that gives curry its golden color and is a regular part of the Indian diet.
In the United States, about 10 percent of people over 65 have Alzheimer’s disease. For those over 85, it jumps to almost 50 percent. And the numbers are growing — from an estimated 1.1 million to 4.6 million living with the disease in 1997 to a projected 15 million less than a decade from now.
Many researchers believe that an accumulation of specific proteins called amyloid might contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid protein is found in large amounts in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients and might trigger increased inflammation, accelerating brain cell death.
As more and more cells die, it makes it difficult for a person to remember, think, use language and handle personal affairs. People with Alzheimer’s disease are also at greater risk of prolonged illness and hospitalization. Direct and indirect medical costs are measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. The loss of quality of life for both patient and family is immeasurable.
There are no truly effective medications to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease. It is unlikely that any will come to market in the near future. The development of a vaccine was believed to have potential but studies were complicated by life-threatening autoimmune meningitis. There is hope, however, and it is in the food we eat.
Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease is a reality. We know that increased consumption of specific fats, like docosahexaenoic acid found in fish oil, and anti-oxidants like vitamin E and C might reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Curcumin can be added to that growing list.
Curcumin is an interesting molecule that crosses into the brain. Early research has shown that curcumin binds to and even breaks up amyloid protein deposits. Curcumin is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent and also reduces the damage from amyloid protein accumulation.
Studies in mice showed that daily, modest doses of curcumin had the best result. The equivalent dose of curcumin in humans is about 1,200 to 1,600 mg per day. Surprisingly, higher doses had a reduced benefit.
Beneficial results in mice do not always translate into benefits for humans because the physiology of humans and mice differ in a number of ways. However, curcumin has few side effects and is probably safer than NSAIDs, a broad group of pain-relievers that includes aspirin and ibuprofen as well as Aleve and Celebrex, both recently linked to a potential increased risk of heart problems.
Does this mean that everyone should eat curcumin? No. However, if Alzheimer’s disease seems to run in the family and if there are no medical contraindications, adding curcumin to the diet probably would be prudent.
