Functional Neurology: Benefits of Turmeric for Brain Health

How often do you get fatigued after meals? How often do you have difficulty falling into deep, restful sleep? How often do you feel more susceptible to pain? Chronic brain inflammation can cause numerous symptoms which are commonly associated with a wide variety of neurological diseases. Fortunately, researchers and healthcare professionals have found a natural remedy that can help improve chronic brain inflammation and it can provide many more health benefits: turmeric. 

For centuries, researchers and healthcare professionals alike have been studying the many health benefits of turmeric. In recent decades, however, research studies are attempting to verify the claims of our ancestors by testing turmeric in numerous clinical trials. Curcumin has been shown to have a wide variety of healing properties and practical uses. However, can turmeric improve chronic brain inflammation? In this article, we will discuss the benefits of turmeric for brain health. 

Turmeric and Brain Health

Turmeric, or curcumin, supplements have shown tremendous potential towards the safe and effective treatment of a variety of health issues. Research studies show that turmeric can help relieve arthritis and joint pain, lower blood pressure, and even enhance skincare. Turmeric may also ultimately help improve allergy symptoms and it may also help promote weight loss. 

New evidence from several research studies also suggests that turmeric may provide considerable health benefits for overall brain health, including the prevention of neurological diseases. Curcumin contains neuroprotective properties that can help preserve mental acuity. Therefore, turmeric may have the ability to boost memory function, reduce brain fog, and enhance overall cognition. Before we evaluate the research studies, we will discuss memory and brain fog in a bit more detail. 

Understanding Memory and Brain Fog

The lack of mental clarity is commonly associated with the inability to focus, poor levels of concentration, and memory problems. Best known as brain fog, or mental fatigue, this is a collection of symptoms related to reduced brain function rather than a single health issue. The brain is an extremely complex organ. The extent with which turmeric can help depends on the cause of your brain fog, which we will discuss shortly. First, let’s review several core functions of the human brain.

• Cognition is the mental process of knowledge acquisition and understanding it through experience, senses, and thought. Cognition encompasses several aspects of intellectual function, including memory, reasoning, judgment, problem-solving, decision making, computation, and evaluation.
• Memory is our brain’s ability to encode, store, retain, and recall experiences or information. It’s the total sum of this data built up over time with a set of encoded neural connections in the brain. Think of it as the information processing system composed of short-term (working) memory, long-term memory, and sensory processing.
• Learning, although similar, is not the same as a memory. This process involves information acquisition, which causes neurons to activate together in specific patterns, increasing the likelihood of them triggering together for future retrieval. Learning also includes modifying existing knowledge, skills, or behavior.
• Neuroplasticity, commonly referred to as brain plasticity, is the aptitude for the brain to change continuously during an individual’s life. This process involves the strengthening or weakening of synapses, optimization of neural networks, and one’s capacity to learn and memorize new information.

Turmeric and Brain Health: Benefits of Curcumin

One research study evaluated the effects of turmeric, or curcumin, on cognition and mood in a group of healthy, elderly individuals. The clinical trial included 60 subjects ranging between the ages of 60 and 85 years old, which consumed a 400 mg dose of curcumin. The research study was a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, and randomized clinical trial. 

One hour post-administration, researchers found considerable performance improvements in working memory tasks and sustained attention span compared to the placebo group. After four additional weeks of treatment, the turmeric, or curcumin, group experienced reduced psychological stress-induced fatigue, enhanced mood, and a better sense of calmness. 

Finally, the research study showed improvements in overall alertness and contentedness. Turmeric ultimately appears that it can also help enhance memory, focus, and concentration as well as cognition in elderly populations, among others. 

There are several mechanisms of action that turmeric takes on the human body to help prevent cognitive impairment. Turmeric reduces chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, enhances antioxidant activity, and reduces oxidative stress. 

By fighting free radicals in the human body, turmeric has also shown the potential to preserve neuronal integrity, which can inhibit the progression of cognitive decline. Furthermore, these processes demonstrate an innate ability to slow down brain aging and reduce brain fog symptomology caused by aging and disease, decreasing the risk or neurological diseases. 

Turmeric may also improve DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, synthesis. DHA is the fatty acid most closely associated with brain health, brain development, and neuroprotection. If you have a DHA deficiency, you leave yourself at risk of developing several cognitive disorders, including anxiety, memory problems, inability to focus, etc. Researchers have found that turmeric increases multiple enzymes responsible for the synthesis of DHA from its precursor, alpha-lipoic acid, or ALA. 

According to research studies, another way in which curcumin can help improve brain health is by reducing the neurotoxicity caused by fluoride. It’s well-known that fluoride may have adverse effects on mental health and other core biological functions. Researchers performed a clinical trial testing curcumin’s neuroprotective health benefits on a group of mice. 

The results of the research study showed that fluoride increased lipid peroxidation, or LPO, a major cause of damage to cell membranes. In addition, fluoride also increased the number of neurodegenerative cells present in the hippocampus. With 30 days of curcumin administration from the research study, there was a considerable decrease in neurodegeneration and LPO. 

A second animal research study utilized curcumin to evaluate its effects on cognition and neurogenesis in a group of aged rats. Neurogenesis refers to the process of developing new neurons in the brain. Following the 12-week treatment period, researchers in the research study were ultimately able to demonstrate increased cognition and neurogenesis in the rats. 

The treated group also experienced enhanced spatial and non-spatial memory. These results suggest that turmeric may affect neuronal development, neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, and signal transduction, among other brain functions. 

Additionally, another fundamental protein for cognition is the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which promotes the growth and maturation of brain cells or, neurons. According to research studies, turmeric has shown that it can considerably help improve BDNF levels in people with premenstrual syndrome or PMS, diabetes, and obesity. 

The last research study we will look at further supports the hypothesis of utilizing turmeric to improve memory and reduce brain fog. A group of chronically stressed rats were given turmeric throughout a 20-day treatment period. 

Following turmeric administration, there was a notable reversal of impaired hippocampal neurogenesis, followed by increases in serotonin receptors and BDNF. The results of the research study ultimately suggest that turmeric, or curcumin, may overcome stress-induced abnormalities in the brain that can inhibit cognitive function, among other brain functions. 

Turmeric, or curcumin, is a powerful, natural remedy which has been demonstrated to have many health benefits, especially for brain health. Regarded as an antioxidant with anti-cancer, antidepressant, and anti-aging properties, turmeric can do much more than improve memory and brain fog. According to many research studies, turmeric or curcumin can help reduce brain inflammation or neuroinflammation by blocking the production of proinflammatory cytokines. - Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight

In honor of Governor Abbott's proclamation, October is Chiropractic Health Month. Learn more about the proposal. 

How often do you get fatigued after meals? How often do you have difficulty falling into deep, restful sleep? How often do you feel more susceptible to pain? Chronic brain inflammation can cause numerous symptoms which are commonly associated with a wide variety of neurological diseases. Fortunately, researchers and healthcare professionals have found a natural remedy that can help improve chronic brain inflammation and it can provide many more health benefits: turmeric. 

For centuries, researchers and healthcare professionals alike have been studying the many health benefits of turmeric. In recent decades, however, research studies are attempting to verify the claims of our ancestors by testing turmeric in numerous clinical trials. Curcumin has been shown to have a wide variety of healing properties and practical uses. However, can turmeric improve chronic brain inflammation? In this article, we will discuss the benefits of turmeric for brain health. 

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal and nervous health issues or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health protocols to treat injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us.

Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez