Turmeric is regarded as miraculous spice whose positive effects on the body are backed up by more than 600 health benefits. This is mostly due to its active compound called curcumin, which has a wide plethora of health benefits and healing properties. But, did you know that whole turmeric can help with brain regeneration? What`s more, this ability doesn’t attribute to curcumin!
Benefits of Turmeric
It offers strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Curcumin inhibits the molecules known to play a role in inflammation and it neutralizes free radicals
It increases the levels of the brain hormone BDNF, which in turn stimulates the growth of new neurons and combats degenerative processes in the brain
It lowers the risk of heart disease by improving a few risk factors for heart disease
It helps prevent and treat cancer
It boosts the levels of neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, fighting off depression
It delays aging and combats age-related conditions
An Overlooked Benefit
Aromatic-turmerone is a fat-soluble compound found in turmeric, which is often overlooked. German researchers have thoroughly studied its effects on neural stem cells and what they found was that the number of neutral stem cells increased by 80 percent when exposed to aromatic-turmerone. In other words, a healing effect was happening. When used on rats, they created healthy new brain cells and noticed a size growth in both subventricular zone and the hippocampus.
Ar-turmerone is a potent regenerative which can aid NSCs in brain regeneration and it is believed to help in cases of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer`s or stroke. Apart from promoting stem cell proliferation, it also distinguishes between stems cells and neurons, which is the main goal of regenerative medicine. On the other hand, curcumin has been found to boost the overall memory of Alzheimer`s patients.
So What does this mean?
While many people believe that using a curcumin extract is enough to gain is benefits, using the whole turmeric offers many healing properties which may be missing out on. For example, in the case of polyps or colonic inflammation, using the whole plant instead of an extract is much better since the extract can be absorbed by the small intestine before reaching the large intestine.
Although the effects of ar-turmerone are still not fully understood, this recent study shows that there is a regenerative factor within. Healing plants are consist of many beneficial compounds, so assuming which one contributes the most to the healing power of the plant is inaccurate. Both curcumin and ar-turmerone are found to have health benefits to the body, to get the most of this plant make sure you use turmeric as a whole.