Below is the tenth brain food in our 10 part series on recipes for your brain: Turmeric & its active ingredient Curcumin. Do you find yourself trying to find the right diet combination during or post treatment? Ask the Chris Elliott Fund, we can help plan a diet around healthy brain foods. Call, email or leave us a note today: 1-800-574-5703 or[email protected].

Turmeric & Curcumin

Turmeric is a common spice used in India for centuries, not only as a spice but also for medicinal purposes. The active cancer fighting compound found in turmeric is curcumin, a member of the ginger family. How important is this agent in brain health and cancer prevention? Let’s take a look.

The Research:

Curcumin is being studied in clinical trials for colon cancer, Alzheimer’s disease (in mice) and cystic fibrosis. Its role in to cancer prevention is related to its efficacy in encouraging apoptosis, the process of cell death in some cancer cells. Note that studies are still ongoing and not definitive. One study published in March of 2012 discussed the spice as a combatant of some pediatric brain tumors.

There appear to be some challenges in the ingestion of curcumin due to poor absorption in the digestive system which may limit its efficacy. It is thought that it may be more powerful in its cooked forms, however. In fact, you can find more concentrated and stronger forms of it in supplement forms like CuraMed, for example, which is easier to absorb.

Cooking and Consuming Turmeric/Curcumin:

Turmeric is a combination of curcumin and, the more commonly known spice, curry which is often used in Indian and other Asian cuisines. It is becoming more widely used in typical American and Pan Asian cooking and more known to the North American palate.

Some people prefer having unadulterated curcumin in a supplement form. In this case, it is always wise to seek the advice of a doctor, naturopath or nutrition to be sure of healthy dosing.

While there is no super-food that will eliminate a specific type of cancer, all of the ingredients/foods in our Brain Food series show promising research in their positive health effects, and we encourage all to seek a healthy balanced diet before, during or after their treatment process.

Recipe:

We know cooking and preparing these brain foods can get complicated especially if you are balancing treatment, family and work. We wanted to provide easy and simple recipes to help you start preparing your brain foods today! And we’ve scoured the internet to find a couple of the best recipes to get you started.

Indian-Style Rice with Cashews, Raisins & Turmeric (Click for Recipe, courtesy of – Allrecipes.com)

Main Ingredietns: Turmeric, cumin, vegetable oil, basmati rice, coconut milk, chicken stock, salt, bay leaf, raisins, red pepper flakes. And here are 10 easy ways to incorporate it to your every-day diet.

Ask the Chris Elliott Fund, we are here to help you in your process to plan a diet plan around foods that are healthy for you and your brain. Call, email or leave us a note today: 1-800-574-5703 or [email protected]

Photos courtesy of Pixabay.