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.