Curcumin is extracted from turmeric root. It makes up about 2 to 5 percent of the root. Turmeric is a common Indian spice with a long history of healing uses. As a strong anti-inflammatory, it signals cancer cells to eliminate themselves. How cool is that? Evidence suggests that curcumin guards against Alzheimer’s Disease. What about living longer? Can this bad ass truly be bad ass?
One theory of aging suggest that a compound structure at the end of a chromosome (Telomeres) are reduces each time a cell replicates.
The smaller a telomere gets, the more gene expression is impaired. What results is cellular aging and all that comes with it; heart disease, Alzheimer’s, etc.
So if you’re thinking about living longer you may want to hold on to as much of your telomeres as possible, without seeming like you’re hording.
Fairly recent research has demonstrated that curcumin, the pigment of turmeric may thwart telomere abbreviation and may literally encourage elongation of telomeres!
Finally a telomere elongation solution!
Ultimately it seems that preserving or reestablishing telomere length is the secret to slowing down the aging process and extending lifespan.(As well as perhaps reducing chromosomal harm, cell oxidation, and other causes).
Several things have demonstrated this much desired affect:
- Implementing a complete dietary and lifestyle habit for good health has been shown to safeguard telomere length.
- Daily physical exercise is another method for preserving telomere length.
- Meditation has been shown to preserve telomere length by way of decreasing the harmful effects of stress.
- High vitamin D levels have been associated with lengthier telomeres
Inflammation indicators in the blood coincide with telomere shortening. So offering strategies to lessen inflammation would seem like a great idea to reduce the rate of telomere shortening.
Though telomeres reduce in length with each cell separation, dividing cells express telomerase, a protein that attempts to synthesize and elongate telomeres. Researchers theorize that curcumin might increase telomerase expression and thus help conserve telomere length.
Testing their theory, they examined its effects on telomerase expression in brain cells exposed to beta-amyloid, a primary source of oxidative damage and brain cell death connected to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers measured the effects of curcumin on cell survival and cell growth, intracellular oxidative stress and telomerase expression in these brain cells. Results showed that the protecting effects of curcumin in Alzheimer’s may be mainly due to its effects on telomerase expression. When telomerase expression was later repressed the protective effects produced by curcumin disappeared.
These outcomes demonstrate that another interesting aspect of curcumin in protective brain health is through its effects on telomere expression.