CURCUMIN EQUALS EXERCISE IN ITS ABILITY TO PREVENT AGING

Turmeric root has long been prized in Asian medicine.

And the term “curcumin” refers to its complex of yellow-orange compounds.

More accurately, curcumin is just one of a trio of three closely related “curcuminoids”.

Lab experiments and preliminary clinical studies indicate that this synergistic trio of polyphenol compounds supports immune and brain health in uniquely powerful ways.

Now, the results of three clinical trials appear to add improved artery function – a key aspect of vascular health – to the list of potential curcumin benefits.

In all three trials, daily curcumin supplements improved known risk factors for cardiovascular health just as much as moderate aerobic exercise did.

As the authors of one trial wrote, “… regular ingestion of curcumin could be a preventive measure against cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women. Furthermore, our results suggest that curcumin may be a potential alternative … for patients who are unable to exercise.” (Akazawa N et al. Oct. 2012)

All three of these preliminary trials were small but well-designed: randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled.

All three trials were conducted by researchers from Japan’s University of Tsukuba, and involved postmenopausal women.

The Japanese team randomly assigned 32 postmenopausal women to one of three groups for an eight-week trial:

The women’s vascular health was judged by their reading on tests of a major measure called “flow-mediated dilation” or FMD, which was measured before and after the trial.

People’s FMD scores can predict their risk for adverse cardiovascular events … with a recent study linking every one percent drop in FMD to a 12 percent increase in cardiovascular risk.

Encouragingly, FMD scores improved equally – by 1.5 percent – in the women who took curcumin supplements and in those who engaged in aerobic exercise … with no changes seen in the control group.

As the authors wrote, “Therefore, regular ingestion of curcumin could be a preventive measure against cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women. Furthermore, our results suggest that curcumin may be a potential alternative … for patients who are unable to exercise.” (Akazawa N et al. Oct. 2012)

The Japanese team randomly assigned 32 postmenopausal women to one of four groups for another eight-week trial (Akazawa N et al. Sept. 2012):

The women’s vascular health was judged by their scores on tests of another major measure of vascular health, called “arterial compliance” (AC).

Arterial compliance is the change in blood volume in response to a change in blood pressure, and the volunteers’ AC was measured before and at the end of the trial.

Like FMD scores, people’s AC scores can predict their risk for adverse cardiovascular events.

Encouragingly, AC scores improved equally in the women who took curcumin supplements and in those who engaged in aerobic exercise, with no changes in the control group.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, AC scores improved the most among those in the Exercise + Curcumin group.

The reasons for curcumin’s effects likely relate to its effects on genes governing immune-system proteins that promote inflammation and oxidation … such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha).

As the Japan team noted, “Curcumin exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) … [h]owever, TNF-alpha levels were not assessed in this study.” (Akazawa N et al. Oct. 2012)

So as they said, “Further studies are warranted to clarify the mechanism underlying the effect of curcumin on endothelial function.” (Akazawa N et al. Oct. 2012)

The Japanese team randomly assigned 45 postmenopausal women to one of four groups for a third eight-week trial:

The aim of this pilot study was to test the idea that regular endurance exercise combined with daily curcumin supplements might lower the age-related increase in left ventricular (LV) after load … an adverse development for cardiovascular health.

After eight weeks, the Japanese team found desirable changes in the curcumin and exercise groups:

As the University of Tsukuba team concluded, “These findings suggest that regular endurance exercise combined with daily curcumin ingestion may reduce LV after load to a greater extent than monotherapy with either intervention alone in postmenopausal women.” (Sugawara J et al. 2012)

We should note that curcumin is not well-absorbed when extracted from turmeric.

In fact, the curcumin in conventional 95%-curcumin dietary supplements is very poorly absorbed … far less well-absorbed than the curcumin in fresh turmeric root.

In contrast, clinical studies show that the curcumin in Vital Choice Curcumin in Wild Salmon Oil is absorbed six to seven times better than the curcumin in conventional 95%-curcumin dietary supplements (Antony B et al. 2012).

Why is that so? Our curcumin is accompanied by turmeric volatile oils … a combination proven to greatly enhance absorption of curcumin.

All three three Japanese trials used curcumin delivered in colloidal nano-particles, whose absorption rate versus conventional curcumin supplements we cannot quantify or confirm.