If only one could deal with the smell.. What is the best
method for removing curry stains?
April 19, 2004
Curry keeps Alzheimer's at bay By Sam Lister
THEY may be a challenge to the consumer’s constitution, but
hot curries do not just test the taste buds and the stomach,
they also guard against the deterioration of the brain.
A study into the health benefits of curcumin, found in
everything from the mildest korma to the hottest vindaloo,
has revealed its power to protect against the onset of
Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists have identified curcumin oil as a chemical
trigger that enhances enzyme activity, protecting the brain
against the progression of neurodegenerative disease.
A chemical compound extracted from tumeric, curcumin has
been found to work wonders on many illnesses — be it as an
antiseptic, a guard against liver damage or a medication to
assist the treatment of cancer and Aids.
Now research by scientists from Italy and America has
confirmed its role in helping to encourage a lucid old-age.
Studies on rats found that curcumin induces an enzyme,
hemeoxygenase (HO-1), which operates as a defence mechanism
against “free radicals”, rogue molecules that cause cells to
function abnormally and die.
The damage done by free radicals to intracellular targets
such as DNA or proteins has been shown to be a major cause
of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and are thought to be a
major factor in the way people age. The work by researchers
from the University of Catania, Italy, and New York Medical
College, presented to the American Physiological Society,
showed that rat neurons exposed to higher concentrations of
curcumin were less affected by cell damage due to increased
levels of HO-1.
The team described the findings as “an important first
step” in determining curry’s role as a preventive agent
against neurodegenerative conditions such as Azheimer’s,
and its possible benefits for slowing the progression of
the disease.
Tumeric is used in powder form in curries, and is prepared
by boiling the root for several hours, then drying it for a
long-period before crushing.
India, which produces and consumes most of the world’s
tumeric, has much lower rates of Alzheimer’s among the
elderly than Western countries, dropping to as little as one
per cent of over-65s in some areas.