SPICE UP YOUR MEMORY WITH TURMERIC
Adding just one gram
of turmeric to breakfast could help improve the memory of people who are in the
very early stages of diabetes and at risk of cognitive impairment. The finding
has particular significance given that the world's ageing population means a rising
incidence of conditions that predispose people to diabetes, which in turn is
connected to dementia.
Early
intervention could help to reduce the burden, whether by halting the disease or
reducing its impact, said Emeritus Professor Mark Wahlqvist, from the Monash
Asia Institute at Monash University.
Professor
Wahlqvist recently led a study in Taiwan that tested the working memory of men
and women aged 60 or older who had recently been diagnosed with untreated
pre-diabetes.
"Working
memory is widely thought to be one of the most important mental faculties,
critical for cognitive abilities such as planning, problem solving and
reasoning," he said.
"Assessment
of working memory is simple and convenient, but it is also very useful in the
appraisal of cognition and in predicting future impairment and dementia."
In
the placebo-controlled study, subjects were given one gram of turmeric with an
otherwise nutritionally bland breakfast of white bread. Their working memory
was tested before and some hours after the meal.
"We
found that this modest addition to breakfast improved working memory over six
hours in older people with pre-diabetes," Professor Wahlqvist said.
Turmeric
is widely used in cooking, particularly in Asia. Its characteristic yellow
colour is due to curcumin, which accounts for 3 to 6 per cent of turmeric and
has been shown by experimental studies to reduce the risk of dementia.
"Our
findings with turmeric are consistent with these observations, insofar as they
appear to influence cognitive function where there is disordered energy
metabolism and insulin resistance," Professor Wahlqvist said.
The
study, which was published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, also involved a number of research institutes in Taiwan.
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