If you’ve ever had a curry dish or a cup of golden milk, we’ll assume that, just like us, you like turmeric, the magical golden spice.
But do you know what makes it so powerful? It’s curcumin.
Curcumin is the main biochemical component of turmeric and it’s what gives this plant its vibrant yellow-orange color.
It’s an abundant source of antioxidants, giving it an ability to fight against free radicals and inflammation.
Because of these properties, curcumin is known to have many benefits for your health, like preventing cardiovascular diseases, lowering blood sugar, and acting as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Curcumin is also good for your brain.
Previous studies have shown that curcumin supplementation has improved the overall cognitive performance of both older adults that were healthy and those with mild cognitive impairment, especially their memory. [1] [2]
For this reason, a group of researchers from the Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University in Australia, have conducted a clinical study on the effects of curcumin of the brain.
What Was the Method?
The study was placebo-controlled and it lasted for 12 weeks. The participants were healthy older adults, between the ages of 50 and 85, with no previous chronic or mental diseases.
They were split into two groups, the placebo group and the curcumin group, who were supposed to take 80mg of curcumin supplement once a day.
What Were the Results?
It’s important to note here that the bioavailability of curcumin is crucial.
On its own, curcumin has low bioavailability, which is why in supplements it’s usually combined either with piperine (black pepper extract) or with a lipid, because curcumin is fat-soluble.
Therefore, the effects of curcumin depend largely on its bioavailability. In this case, the supplement was lipidated.
In Conclusion
We’ve written a lot about curcumin before, and its positive influence on cognition. You can check out our guide on turmeric and curcumin if you want to know more details, or read all about curcumin and its various benefits.
To conclude, curcumin may be the major reason why turmeric has been one of the most important natural remedies in Ayurveda for thousands of years.
And, nowadays, we are able to examine the exact positive effects that curcumin has on brain health, and future studies would probably only solidify this evidence.
If you’re interested in taking curcumin supplements, we recommend our Curcumin w/ Organic Coconut Oil capsules for maximum bioavailability to get all the good stuff.
Resource: Cox, K.H.M.; White, D.J.; Pipingas, A.; Poorun, K.; Scholey, A. Further Evidence of Benefits to Mood and Working Memory from Lipidated Curcumin in Healthy Older People: A 12-Week, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Partial Replication Study. Nutrients 2020, 12, 1678. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061678
References:
1.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748117305110?via%3Dihub
2.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30575152/
