Curry may keep elderly minds sharp
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-10-30 08:53
NEW YORK - A diet containing curry may help protect the aging brain,
according a study of elderly Asians in which increased curry consumption was
associated with better cognitive performance on standard tests.
Curcumin, found in the curry spice turmeric, possesses potent antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory properties.
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A man cooks curry for sale at a market in Lamno, on the west
coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, January 31, 2005. A diet containing
curry may help protect the aging brain, according a study of elderly
Asians in which increased curry consumption was associated with better
cognitive performance on standard tests.
[Reuters]
| It's known that long-term
users of anti-inflammatory drugs have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's
disease, although these agents can have harmful effects in the stomach, liver
and kidney, limiting their use in the elderly.
Antioxidants, such as vitamin E, have been shown to protect neurons in lab
experiments but have had limited success in alleviating cognitive decline in
patients with mild-to-moderate dementia.
In their study, Dr. Tze-Pin Ng from National University of Singapore and
colleagues compared scores on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) for three
categories of regular curry consumption in 1,010 nondemented Asians who were
between 60 and 93 years old in 2003.
Most of the study subjects consumed curry at least occasionally (once every 6
months), 43 percent ate curry at least often or very often (between monthly and
daily) while 16 percent said they never or rarely ate curry.
After taking into account factors that could impact test results, they found
that people who consumed curry "occasionally" and "often or very often" had
significantly better MMSE scores than did those who "never or rarely" consumed
curry.
"Even with the low and moderate levels of curry consumption reported by the
respondents, better cognitive performance was observed," Ng and colleagues
report.]
These results, they note, provide "the first epidemiologic evidence
supporting a link between curry consumption and cognitive performance that has
been suggested by a large volume of earlier experimental evidence."
Curry is used widely by people in India and "interestingly," the prevalence
of Alzheimer's disease among India's elderly ranks is fourfold less than that
seen in the United States.
"In view of its efficacy and remarkably low toxicity," curry shows promise
for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease, the researchers
conclude.
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