Turmeric Produces Remarkable Recovery in Alzheimers Patientsthey came to recognize their family within 1 year treatment. Turmeric has been used in India for over 5,000 years, which is likely why still today both rural and urban populations have some of the lowest prevalence rates of Alzheimers disease (AD) in the world. A recent study on patients with AD found that less than a gram of turmeric daily, taken for three months, resulted in remarkable improvements. Alzheimers Disease: A Disturbingly Common Modern Rite of Passage A diagnosis of Alzheimers disease (AD), sadly, has become a rite of passage in so-called developed countries. AD is considered the most common form of dementia, which is defined as a serious loss of cognitive function in previously unimpaired persons, beyond what is expected from normal aging. A 2006 study estimated that 26 million people throughout the world suffer from this condition, and that by 2050, the prevalence will quadruple, by which time 1 in 85 persons worldwide will be afflicted with the disease.[1] Given the global extent of the problem, interest in safe and effective preventive and therapeutic interventions within the conventional medical and alternative professions alike are growing. Unfortunately, conventional drug-based approaches amount to declaring chemical war upon the problem, a mistake which we have documented elsewhere, and which can result in serious neurological harm, as evidenced by the fact that this drug class carries an alarmingly high risk for seizures, according to World Health Organization post-marketing surveillance statistics.[i][2] Late last year, a remarkable study was published in the journal Ayu titiled Effects of turmeric on Alzheimers disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. [ii] Researchers described three patients with Alzheimers disease whose behavioral symptoms were improved remarkably as a result of consuming 764 milligram of turmeric (curcumin 100 mg/day) for 12 weeks. According to the study: All three patients exhibited irritability, agitation, anxiety, and apathy, two patients suffer from urinary incontinence and wonderings. They were prescribed turmeric powder capsules and started recovering from these symptoms without any adverse reaction in the clinical symptom and laboratory data. After only 3 months of treatment, both the patients symptoms and the burden on their caregivers were significantly decreased. The report describes the improvements thusly: In one case, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was up five points, from 12/30 to 17/30. In the other two cases, no significant change was seen in the MMSE; however, they came to recognize their family within 1 year treatment. All cases have been taking turmeric for more than 1 year, re-exacerbation of BPSD was not seen. This study illustrates just how powerful a simple natural intervention using a time-tested culinary herb can be. Given that turmeric has been used medicinally and as a culinary ingredient for over 5,000 years in Indian culture, even attaining the status of a Golden Goddess, we should not be surprised at this result. Indeed, epidemiological studies of Indian populations reveal that they have a remarkably lower prevalence of Alzheimers disease relative to Western nations, [3] and this is true for both rural and more Westernized urban areas of India.[4] Could turmeric be a major reason for this? The GreenMedInfo.com database now contains a broad range of published studies on the value of turmeric, and its primary polyphenol curcumin (which gives it its golden hue), for Alzheimers disease prevention and treatment.* While there are 114 studies on our Turmeric research page indicating turmeric has a neuroprotective set of physiological actions, [5] 30 of these studies are directly connected to turmerics anti-Alzheimers disease properties.** Two of these studies are particularly promising, as they reveal that curcumin is capable of enhancing the clearance of the pathological amyloidbeta plaque in Alzheimers disease patients,[6] and that in combination with vitamin D3 the neurorestorative process is further enhanced.[7] Additional preclinical research indicates curcumin (and its analogs) has inhibitory and protective effects against Alzheimers disease associated -amyloid proteins.[8] [9] [10] Just The Tip of the Medicine Spice Cabinet The modern kitchen pantry contains a broad range of anti-Alzheimers disease items, which plenty of science now confirms. Our Alzheimers research page contains research on 97 natural substances of interest. Top on the list, of course, is curcumin. Others include: Other potent natural therapies include: As always, the important thing to remember is that it is our diet and environmental exposures that largely determine our risk of accelerated brain aging and associated dementia. Prevention is an infinitely better strategy, especially considering many of the therapeutic items mentioned above can be used in foods as spices. Try incorporating small, high-quality culinary doses of spices like turmeric into your dietary pattern, remembering that adding it to taste, in a way that is truly enjoyable, may be the ultimate standard for determining what a healthy dose is for you. Notes: *This statement is not meant to be used to prevent, diagnosis, treat, or cure a disease; rather, it is a statement of fact: the research indexed on our database indicates it **Our professional database users are empowered to employ the Advanced Database Options listed on the top of the Turmeric research page and after clicking the function Sort Quick Summaries by Title Alphabetically under Available Sorting Options they can quickly retrieve an alphabetical list of all 613 diseases relevant to the Turmeric research, and then choosing the Focus articles selection to the right of the Alzheimers disease heading to see only the 30 study abstracts relevant to the topic. [2] Nozomi Hishikawa, Yoriko Takahashi, Yoshinobu Amakusa, Yuhei Tanno, Yoshitake Tuji, Hisayoshi Niwa, Nobuyuki Murakami, U K Krishna. Effects of turmeric on Alzheimers disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Ayu. 2012 Oct ;33(4):499-504. PMID:23723666 [3] V Chandra, R Pandav, H H Dodge, J M Johnston, S H Belle, S T DeKosky, M Ganguli. Incidence of Alzheimers disease in a rural community in India: the Indo-US study. Neurology. 2001 Sep 25 ;57(6):985-9. PMID: 11571321 [4] GreenMedInfo.com, Declaring Chemical Warfare Against Alzheimers. [5] GreenMedInfo.com, Turmerics Neuroprotective Properties (114 study abstracts) [6] Laura Zhang, Milan Fiala, John Cashman, James Sayre, Araceli Espinosa, Michelle Mahanian, Justin Zaghi, Vladimir Badmaev, Michael C Graves, George Bernard, Mark Rosenthal. Curcuminoids enhance amyloid-beta uptake by macrophages of Alzheimers disease patients. J Alzheimers Dis. 2006 Sep;10(1):1-7. PMID: 16988474 [7] Ava Masoumi, Ben Goldenson, Senait Ghirmai, Hripsime Avagyan, Justin Zaghi, Ken Abel, Xueying Zheng, Araceli Espinosa-Jeffrey, Michelle Mahanian, Phillip T Liu, Martin Hewison, Matthew Mizwickie, John Cashman, Milan Fiala. 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 interacts with curcuminoids to stimulate amyloid-beta clearance by macrophages of Alzheimers disease patients. J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 Jul;17(3):703-17. PMID: 19433889 [8] Hongying Liu, Zhong Li, Donghai Qiu, Qiong Gu, Qingfeng Lei, Li Mao. The inhibitory effects of different curcuminoids on-amyloid protein, -amyloid precursor protein and -site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 in swAPP HEK293 cells. Int Dent J. 1996 Feb;46(1):22-34. PMID: 20727383 [9] Shilpa Mishra, Mamata Mishra, Pankaj Seth, Shiv Kumar Sharma. Tetrahydrocurcumin confers protection against amyloid-induced toxicity. Neuroreport. 2010 Nov 24. Epub 2010 Nov 24. PMID: 21116204 [10] Xiao-Yan Qin, Yong Cheng, Long-Chuan Yu. 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