Easy Health Options Staff | Mar 22, 2012 | Comments 4
A spice with a yellow tint may untangle one of the causes of Parkinson’s disease. Turmeric, an Asian plant used in many Indian and Thai dishes, contains a compound, curcumin, which may be effective in preventing the first stages of Parkinson’s and other debilitating diseases. Although how Parkinson’s develops is not fully understood, the first step in the disease is the clumping, or aggregation, of proteins caused by a substance called alpha-synuclein. Curcumin seems to slow this destructive process.
Unfortunately, curcumin doesn’t easily cross the blood-brain barrier, so it is unclear how protective the substance can be. “Curcumin’s usefulness as an actual drug may be pretty limited since it doesn’t go into the brain easily where (protein) misfolding is taking place,” says Lisa Lapidus, a researcher at Michigan State University.
http://www.easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/protect-your-brain-with-turmeric/
