New Swinburne research reveals the memory and energy benefits of turmeric
Turmeric has been a staple ingredient in Indian and Asian cooking for centuries, but modern science has now uncovered some of the spice’s miraculous benefits.
Victoria
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It’s been a vital inclusion in Indian and Asian cooking for centuries but modern science has now uncovered some miraculous benefits to the flavoursome spice, turmeric.
Studies at Melbourne’s Swinburne University have found curcumin, a compound in turmeric, not only improves memory but also reduces fatigue.
Clinical trials conducted last year found the longer people took a daily dose of curcumin, the less tired they were and the better their “working memory”.
“Errors in working memory might be when you go into a room and forget why you went there, or go to the shops for something in particular and forget what that thing was,” Swinburne’s Professor Andrew Scholey said.
Earlier studies had shown the improvement in working memory occurred soon after taking concentrated curcumin - usually in capsule form - but was short-lived, he said.
However, the most recent trials showed taking a daily dose of curcumin for a sustained period had more lasting effects.
“We found that within an hour of them taking the capsules, their working memory was improved,” Prof Scholey said.
“In terms of cognitive function, we found improvements . . . they were there at four weeks, but actually they were much more significant after 12 weeks.”
In other international studies, absorption of the amazing compound had been found to improve by taking it in combination with pepper, he said.
But the bad news was, it would take an impossibly large amount of turmeric and pepper-laden food to derive the benefits of curcumin, so there was no need to eat curry in a hurry, Prof Scholey said.
“In that form, a lot of it actually goes pretty much straight through you,” he laughed.
“And unfortunately, having a turmeric latte with a teaspoon of pepper every morning is not going to do it either . . . so we designed experiments with capsules that contain concentrated curcumin, with the curcumin itself treated in a special way and attached to a molecule, which allows it to get into the body . . . to be absorbed basically.”
He stressed while Swinburne sometimes tested commercial products, its “high level clinical trials” of foods and vitamins was independent of the companies which spruiked their benefits.
BENEFITS OF CURCUMIN
> Improved ‘working memory’
> Less tired
> Some studies have shown people are less anxious
> Anti-inflammatory properties
> Antioxidant
ALL ABOUT TURMERIC
> Comes from the root of curcuma longa, a plant in the ginger family
> Also known as Indian saffron, or the golden spice
> Used in Indian and Asian cooking for centuries
> Fresh turmeric is quite orange inside with an aromatic and spicy fragrance, and when dried, turns a bright yellow with a more earthy aroma
> Turmeric has been used as a dye for thousands of years, which means it can discolour kitchen benches, clothes and skin is care is not taking when cooking with it!
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