Turmeric And Parkinsons Disease: Neuroprotective Properties Of Curcumin
As far as health foods go, few natural herbs have received the notoriety of turmeric. With ancient roots stemming from Southeast Asia, turmeric had a rich tradition of serving our ancestors with an abundance of medicinal uses and health benefits.
The Curcuma longa plant is the species of ginger where youll find turmeric root, whose extract is a powerful antioxidant known as curcumin. When paired with black pepper extract , curcumins therapeutic properties take hold with very few side effects. But, does turmeric help Parkinsons disease and hand tremors?
Foods That Are Hard To Chew
Many people with Parkinsons have difficulty with chewing and swallowing foods. A person needs medical help if this is the case. A speech and language therapist may be able to help a person overcome this issue.
However, if a person is finding certain foods hard to chew and swallow, they may wish to avoid these foods.
Such foods include:
- dry, crumbly foods
- tough or chewy meats
If a person does wish to eat chewy meats, they could try using gravy or sauce to soften them and make eating easier.
They could also try chopping meat into smaller pieces or incorporating meat into casseroles, which can make it more tender.
Having a drink with a meal can also make chewing and swallowing easier.
Experiment With These Berries
- Add dried golden berries into oatmeal
- Enjoy them as a snack on the go with some cheese or nuts
- Top goldenberries on a sweet and tart chia seed pudding
- Add them to trail mix with whole oats, roasted nuts, and dark chocolate chips
- Mix them into homemade whole-grain bars or fruit crisps, cobblers, or crumbles
- Transform raw golden berries into a jam or compote.
Do you have a favorite way to use golden berries or other yellow foods? Spread the food-spiration and share your tastiest meal and snack ideas with us in the comments!
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Where Did The Story Come From
The study was carried out by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the University of California in the US, and the Tongji University School of Medicine in China.
The work was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the RJG Foundation, the Michael J Fox Foundation, the Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation, and the US Department of Defense.
The news headlines fail to capture the uncertainty about whether redheads are at greater risk of Parkinson’s. Some studies have suggested this may be the case, but the evidence isn’t conclusive.
The current research didn’t look at this question directly it looked at whether researchers could find a biological reason why there might be a link.
The Dosage Of Turmeric For Parkinsons
The most common way to take turmeric is in spice/powder format. More details on dosage here
Including turmeric in the diet is very very easy. You can add it to anything you cook. You can check some great recipes in recipe section of the website too.
Always include black pepper in the diet so that you can get the full benefit of turmeric. This is because turmerics absorption in the body is low. Black pepper enhances it. More details on black pepper + turmeric benefits here
Curcumin, the active ingredient of turmeric is poorly absorbed in the body. Natural ingredients like black pepper and oil increase its absorption. Therefore we recommend taking Golden Paste, a recipe that combines all three.
You can start with ¼ to ½ teaspoon a day and gradually increase the dose to 1-2 tsp 2-3 times a day or how it suits you.
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New Technologies To Improve The Bioavailability Of Ginger Bioactive Compounds
Low bioavailability of gingerols has been related to its poor water solubility and excessive phase II hepatic metabolism. Different strategies have been implemented to enhance the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble compounds. These technologies include nanoparticles, micelles, emulsions or solid dispersion , liposomes or self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems . Studies performed in animal models on these forms of encapsulation of single and combined ginger compounds revealed better pharmacokinetic profiles in all cases.
Xu et al. conducted a bioavailability study with a 6-gingerol-loaded self-microemulsifying drug delivery system for oral administration in rats. It was formulated with 250 mg/kg dose of 6-gingerol and the system consisted of a mixture of oil phase and surfactants, creating an oil-in-water microemulsion. The 6-gingerol-SMEDDS exhibited prolonged plasma circulation, and significant higher absorption than free 6-gingerol .
Similar results were observed by Wei et al. , who developed nanostructured lipid carriers to improve oral solubility and bioavailability of 6-gingerol. After oral administration in rats, AUC was significantly higher compared to controls. Encapsulation of the drug in a lipid core coated with surfactants might help to first, increase the diffusion to epithelial space and improve the absorption and second, to avoid the first-pass effect. The small particle size contributes to a greater surface/volume ratio and major absorption.
Does Turmeric Help Parkinsons Disease And Hand Tremors
Current evidence suggests a powerful link between Parkinsons disease and the brain-gut axis. It seems that gastrointestinal manifestations often precede motor symptoms in PD patients. Increased intestinal permeability and bacterial overgrowth may induce systemic inflammation initiating alpha-synuclein misfolding in the brain.
This discovery points to the possibility of using natural anti-inflammatory herbs such as turmeric to positively influence the initial steps of Parkinsons, an age-associated neurodegenerative disease.
As mentioned above, researchers are confident that the abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein within Lewy bodies may be a significant cause of Parkinsons disease. Chronic exposure to neurotoxins and genetic mutations are known to increase S aggregation, which leads to oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Studies show that curcumin could alleviate S-induced toxicity, which helps protect cells against apoptosis . This result suggests potential therapeutic value in using turmeric for Parkinsons disease.
Further research shows that Curcuma longa extract offers a dose-dependent neuroprotective effect. Treatment with a low concentration of curcumin may help protect against the neurotoxicity induced by salsolinol. Salsolinol is a compound in the brain said to participate in the etiopathogenesis of Parkinsons disease.
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Golden Berries For Parkinson’s
Golden berries are the golden ticket to brain health protection. While all berries contain a wide variety of phytochemicals and antioxidants, the amounts are no match for goldenberries.
They are in an antioxidant league of their own!7 Like ginger, goldenberries contain phenolic compounds, which play an important in protecting brain health by preventing oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death.8
Warning, dont consume raw or unripe golden berries since they can be toxic. But, dont panic. There are many foods that you cant eat raw or consume parts of, such as raw potatoes or rhubarb leaves.
What Were The Basic Results
The researchers found the MC1R gene was normally active in the dopamine-producing nerve cells of the substantia nigra, which are typically affected by Parkinson’s disease.
Mice with an inactive MC1R gene showed progressive problems with their movement. They moved around less in an open area compared with normal mice of a similar age, and the problem got worse as they aged.
These mice appeared to be losing dopamine-producing nerve cells in the substantia nigra.
Additional experiments suggested brain cells in these mice had more DNA damage from naturally occurring chemicals called free radicals.
The abnormal mice were more susceptible than normal mice to two different Parkinson’s-inducing chemicals.
The researchers also found chemically activating the protein made by the MC1R gene in normal mice reduced the effects of these toxic chemicals.
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Curcumin Derivatives Have Potent Therapeutic Action In Parkinsons
Various derivatives of curcumin have been developed which show enhanced neuroprotective activity than curcumin in case of Parkinsons.
CNB-001, a compoundderived from curcumin shows therapeutic value in Parkinsons by :
- Protecting dopaminergic neurons in the brain
- Reducing oxidative stress and protecting mitochondrial function
- Attenuating impairments in movement
- Suppressing neuroinflammation
Liposomal curcumin is proven to improve motor function, prevent apoptosis in neurons and stimulate dopaminergic neurons as a means to ameliorate symptoms linked to Parkinsons disease.
Curcumin glucoside, a derivative of curcumin, prevents clumping and aggregation of -synuclein.
Curcumin and its metabolite, tetrahydrocurcumin also offers neuroprotection and reverses brain damage.
What does this mean?Various compounds are being developed from curcumin which are more potent than curcumin itself in treating symptoms of Parkinsons and have the potential of being developed into clinical drugs.
A Unique Combination To Fight Parkinsons Disease
Ginger and cinnamon for patients with Parkinsons disease is a unique mixture that may help stop the disease, according to one laboratory study. This study showed that consuming cinnamon helps reverse the anatomical and cellular changes in the brains of several laboratory rats with PD. This can provide cinnamon as a possible and safe alternative to reduce PD symptoms progression.
On the other hand, eating ginger helps relieve some of PD side effects. Eating ginger reduces the feeling of nausea caused by some of the medicines used to treat this disease.
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Garlic Provides Several Effects To Protect Brain Cells
The research evidence is clear that garlic contains a host of compounds that work synergistically to protect and even prevent the brain cell damage that results in the devastation of Parkinsons disease. Weve discussed several compounds in garlic in this article, including S-methyl-L-cysteine, S-allyl-cysteine, deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl)-L-arginine and thiacremonone.
Other medicinal garlic compounds include alliin , allicin and various other sulfur compounds like thiosulfinates and ajoenes, S-allylmercaptocysteine, L-cysteine sulfoxides, -glutamyl-L-cysteine, S-trityl-l-cysteine, terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids and phenols. Garlic is a complex plant with many medicinal properties.
All these constituents work together to produce a combination of healing effects on the body. These include reducing free radical damage and oxidative stress.
Effects of garlic also include inhibiting brain cells from developing Lewy bodies. Effects include boosting levels of thiols and glutathione. And garlics effects also include boosting levels of hydrogen sulfide within the body and brain tissues.
This synergy of effects from garlic results in what may become one of the biggest breakthroughs in the treatment of Parkinsons disease. No, there has yet to be any large-scale clinical studies treating Parkinsons patients with garlic. But this is likely the result of the fact that garlic or aged garlic is easily purchased at any supermarket or health food store.
Antioxidant And Inflammatory Activity
The production of free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species or nitrogen reactive species leads to the development of many oxidative-related disorders, such as the most common neurogenerative diseases . Hopefully, antioxidant bioactive compounds are widely spread over a large number of food matrices as fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, edible flowers or medicinal plants . Moreover, the latest scientific literature has found promising bioactive compounds contained in ginger that possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities . Gingerols and shogaols have a plethora of biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases .
The antioxidant activity of ginger has been evaluated in vitro, showing better performance for dried ginger compared with fresh, stir-fried or carbonized ginger. This fact was principally related with the concentration of polyphenols, higher in dried ginger, as the temperatures applied for stir-fried or carbonized ginger could change gingerols into shogaols, leading to minor antioxidant capacity .
Studies on the mechanisms related to the antioxidant activity of ginger.
Studies on the mechanisms of action related to the anti-inflammatory activity of ginger.
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Managing Medication Side Effects
- Drink lots of water to avoid dehydration-induced headaches and muscle tension.
- Drink green tea, bone broth, or ginger tea to boost your immune system.
Dont:
- Drink alcohol or coffee or any other caffeinated beverages to avoid having sleep issues.
Knowing what to eat and what to avoid can help you manage the symptoms of Parkinsons disease. Follow these tips to relieve symptoms and have a better quality of life.
Consult your doctor to know what other foods you can consume to help you manage Parkinsons.
Engage with the community by asking a question, telling your story, or participating in a forum.
Garlic Tested In Other Studies
The use of garlic for nerve-related damage comes not only from the Blackfeet Nation. Garlic has been used for thousands of years for a variety of conditions. The Egyptians, the Greeks, and healers from many other traditional medicines have used garlic for nerve-related disorders of different kinds.
But now we find the emergence of studies that confirm, at least from a laboratory basis, that garlic may be able to provide a valid treatment for Parkinsons.
The first are findings that garlic significantly increases the bodys levels of hydrogen sulfide and thiol levels. In 2007, University of Alabama researchers discovered that it was garlics ability to boost hydrogen sulfide levels that was responsible for its ability to reduce blood pressure.
Boosting levels of glutathione is but one of the many effects of fresh or aged garlic consumption.
In a 2016 study, researchers from South Koreas Pusan National University tested a compound extracted from garlic called thiacremonone. This compound was found to significantly halt the progression of damage to substantia nigra cells in Parkinsons nerve cell degeneration.
In a 2016 study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, researchers tested aged garlic extract against nerve cell damage related to Parkinsons. They found that the aged garlic, and in particular, two compounds in aged garlic halted nerve inflammation damage related to the Nrf2 pathway. These two garlic compounds were S-allyl-L-cysteine and N –L-arginine.
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Ginger As A Treatment For Nausea
Ginger root is a natural alternative for calming feelings of nausea and queasiness related to anti-parkinsons medications. It can be eaten fresh or in crystallized form as prepared for use in cooking. Fresh ginger root can be boiled into a tea, and ground ginger can be dissolved in water. Health food stores also sell ground ginger in capsule form, which may be difficult to swallow for the person with Parkinsons disease. It takes 20 to 30 minutes to feel the effect. Ginger has no side effects and can be taken with any medication, making it a safe alternative to conventional antinausea medications. Not everyone gains relief from ginger, however, or can tolerate the taste. Many grocery stores carry fresh ginger root in the produce department, and nearly all carry ground or crystallized ginger in the seasoning section of the store. Ginger also helps to reduce intestinal gas .
Parkinsons And Thiol Levels
Another important finding was underscored by a 2017 study from Turkeys Yildirim Beyazit University. Medical researchers tested 52 Parkinsons patients along with 41 healthy people. They found that the Parkinsons patients had significantly lower levels of thiol. That is, native thiol and total thiol levels in the Parkinsons patients were a lot lower than they were in healthy people.
Thiol levels are critical to the bodys ability to protect its tissues and cells from damage. One example of this is glutathione. When thiol levels are depleted, the activity of glutathione is compromised. This opens up the bodys most important tissues to damage from toxins and free radicals.
Thiol levels may well be part of the reason why gut probiotics have been linked to Parkinsons. Good gut microbes tend to bolster and support glutathione levels, and thiol levels in general.
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Multiple Sclerosis And Ginger
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system characterized by inflammation, demyelination of neurons and axonal degeneration even in the early stages of the disease. MS is one of the most common causes of neurological disability in young people and usually appears in women with ages comprised between 25 and 30 years .
Currently MS is considered as multifocal chronic inflammatory disease that associates neurodegeneration . Some individuals are genetically predisposed to such an abnormal autoimmune response, and the development and progression of the disease will be affected by various environmental factors. Genetic predisposition is mediated especially by the major histocompatibility complex. Among the risk factors with the best available evidence are the association with Epstein-Barr virus infection, high BMI during adolescence, low vitamin D levels and smoking . The number of population affected by MS has increased in recent decades and it is estimated that 2.5 million people worldwide suffer from the disease, affecting some 700,000 population in Europe .
There are currently more than a dozen drugs on the market to treat MS. However, they are questioned both for their moderate efficacy and side effects. The possibility of using ginger to attenuate the symptoms of MS arises from the fact that there are certain components derived from plants with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties and with low side effects .
Vitamin B12 And Folate
Vitamin B12 is an antioxidant. It helps keep red blood cells and nerve cells healthy and helps produce DNA. Sources of vitamin B12 are typically red meat, chicken, sardines, eggs, fortified cereals and bread, and nutritional yeast.
Researchers discovered that patients with early-onset Parkinson’s disease had lower vitamin B12 levels, which reduced motor and cognitive functions. In some cases, taking a multivitamin that included vitamin B12 slowed the loss of those functions.
Folate is found in organ meats , yeast, and leafy green vegetables. Folate plays several roles in the body and brain.
Both B12 and folate are involved in the metabolism of homocysteine, an amino acid. High levels of homocysteine are seen in various cognitive disorders. Studies show that Parkinson’s disease patients taking levodopa for the condition are also more likely to have elevated homocysteine.
In one meta-data analysis, researchers investigated the correlations between cognitive function , homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 levels in patients with Parkinson’s disease. They discovered that patients with cognitive dysfunction had high levels of homocysteine and lower levels of folate and vitamin B12.
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