TURMERIC AND BRAIN DISEASES(HOW IT HELPS)
Old age doesn’t come alone, it sometimes comes with functional and structural changes within our whole body, especially brain, due to slow deterioration of neurons, low volume of brain fluids, etc. Neurons are the functional units of the brain and any loss or deterioration of neurons and their synapses may lead to brain aging and other important neurodegenerative diseases, brain shrinkage and memory loss. All these conditions may deeply affect cognitive skills such as; sustained attention (ability to look, listen and think), information processing, working memory, learning, pattern recognition, even walking and movement, and as we ages all these skills slow down and may cause severe brain disorders and dependency, if not addressed timely.
Hence it is necessary to take effective measures to prevent, control and delay the brain related disorders for healthy aging.
So our best hope is to prevent and protect the brain through some safe and effective means, which is highly needed since neurodegenerative disorders are especially linked with the elderly people. In this regard it would be better to take help of outstanding household spice turmeric, which possess powerful brain repair activity without any toxicity even in long term use. Turmeric owns excellent safety profile with versatile actions, including well known anti-inflammatory, anti-protein aggregation and antioxidant activities.
Averting age related disorders with turmeric:
Golden yellow colour, spice Curcuma longa or turmeric rhizome, believed to prevent a countless list of diseases due to the presence of 300 (approx.) bioactive ingredients and it is being used in India and South Asia for more than thousands of years, moreover modern world and science are quickly uncovering its efficacy and safety day by day. It possesses significant neuroprotective activities and the extensive research is continue on its significant action on major disabling age related illnesses, in spite of limited or poor bioavailability of curcumin.
Various studies show that turmeric contains a bioactive component “curcumin” that can prevent brain related disorders and ailments, like brain aging, brain fogging, depression, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative illnesses. Curcumin is a potent neuroprotective, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory that helps to restore brain health and well being, and it works better than modern or western medication system.
Indian and South Asian curry dishes are richly loaded with key spice turmeric, offering mental health unknowingly and there is enough evidence of countless health benefits of turmeric. A traditional curry ingredient gives protection against the destructive effect of many brain disorders.
How turmeric helps?
• Depression: Curcumin is a natural anti-depressant and works better than SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), which carry unacceptable adverse effects. Curcumin helps neurotransmitters known as serotonin and dopamine linked with depression and also act by decreasing brain inflammation, even it enhance the effectiveness of antidepressants and safe with other natural remedies.• Alzheimer's disease (AD): According to various data, collected by the World Health Organization, 6 percent of men and 5 percent of women (age above than 60 years) getting affected by the Alzheimer's disease across the globe. It is a slow and progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterized by behavioural changes and few disruptions in the daily life accompanied by senile memory loss. Alzheimer's disease may cause amyloid plaques, cerebral de-regulation, oxidative stress, abnormal inflammation and free radicals. Curcumin improves cognitive functions due to its powerful anti-inflammatory, lipophilic and anti-oxidant activities.
• People that include turmeric in their regular diet mostly have lesser chances of Alzheimer's disease, thus it is one of the main reasons that India people have lower rates (prevalence is 4 times less) of neurodegenerative diseases compared to U.S, since their daily diet is devoid of turmeric. Curcumin an active natural ingredient of turmeric minimize the mental toxicity, inflammation and the oxidative stress, which plays a significant role in AD, however still there is more research need to be done.
• Curcumin also helps Parkinson’s disease (loss of dopamine producing brain cells) by inhibiting the protein clumping
• Curcumin in turmeric inhibits the oxidation of free radicals and the LDL (low-density lipoprotein), which may cause deterioration of neurons in all the neurodegenerative illnesses including Parkinson's and Huntington's disease (slow breakdown of brain cells).
• Curcumin helps with mental clarity hence prevents brain fogging, which may cause due to oxidative stress, free radicals, certain medications and depletion of antioxidants reservoirs, especially as we ages.
• It helps lower down the chronic inflammation which may lead to less energy production in the brain and may cause mental fatigue.
• Turmeric extract containing curcuminoids is an excellent brain food since it combats with free radicals; provide plenty of natural antioxidants and easy connectivity of brain cells.
• Turmeric extract may elevate neuroplasticity, which may further help in learning new things during the whole life.
• Curcumin or turmeric extract, may upgrade the availability of omega 3 fatty acids like substances in the brain which is essential for the brain health and at the same time provides energy and cell connectivity.
• Curcumin sustain the brain health, it crosses the blood brain barrier easily, thus protect the brain cells from free radicals and thereby significantly refines attention and memory.
• Curcumin is a powerful hemoxygenase inducer, which offers effective cytoprotection against free radicals.
Aging may involve many neurodegenerative diseases or memory loss, since turmeric extract or curcumin is a neuroprotective, anti-oxidant and potent anti-inflammatory , which may surely help to neutralise the neurodegenerative effects and beside this it also provides wide oral safety, significant clinical studies and low cost, thus has tremendous potential to treat neurological conditions compared to current treatments available.