Part II: Curcumin
As covered in Part I, prevention is always better than the cure for any injury related issues…whether that be through changing the rules of a game, appropriate screening or nutrition.
To reiterate a very important point from last week, the research on nutrition strategies for concussion is extremely infant, and in best cases are all done in rodents…you know, knocking someone out to see if supplement ‘x’ works isn’t very ethical.
This week however, we’re moving onto the second nutraceutical; curcumin.
Curcumin, is the bioactive compound found in the spicy herb turmeric. Of which, delivers high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that could potentially help decrease cell and neuronal damage.
Here’s what we know (Oliver et al, 2018):
1) Supplementing with curcumin appeared to show ‘a lack of cognitive deficit’ after having a concussion. I.e. cognition and neuroplasticity remained relatively unchanged. So, quite promising!
2) Curcumin has strong anti-inflammatory properties which can suppress inflammation through regulating several inflammatory pathways. In particular, the lowering of inflammation may reduce cerebral edema (brain swelling) following concussion.
3) Curcumin has also shown to stabilise the energy fluctuations in the brain (similar to creatine, although a different pathway). It’s thought that curcumin supports mitochondrial function, which is described as the power house of the cell. Since these power houses become compromised after concussion, the ability to provide energy for the brain is compromised. Therefore, curcumin can potentially prevent this.
4) Curcumin appears to work in a dose dependent manner, i.e. more is more (in rodents). The combination of having very poor absorption in the gut, combined with the rapid metabolism and elimination from the body, means that lower dosages may not work as well. I.e., even 10-12g of curcumin failed to show any detectable differences in blood concentration. However, combining it with natural antioxidants resulted in a 46-fold increase…
Just like part I, we find ourselves asking the question…does it actually work and how much do I take?
The golden rule with any supplement or approach is to ensure that it dose no harm – it needs to have either a neutral or positive effect. Any signs of a negative and we cut it.
Since there’s a clear potential role to this and nothing to suggest it causes harm, I’d say crack on and use it as another tool in your toolbox.
In terms of the exact dose…you’re guess is as good as mine. To be continued.
This week however, we’re moving onto the second nutraceutical; curcumin.
Curcumin, is the bioactive compound found in the spicy herb turmeric. Of which, delivers high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that could potentially help decrease cell and neuronal damage.
Here’s what we know (Oliver et al, 2018):
1) Supplementing with curcumin appeared to show ‘a lack of cognitive deficit’ after having a concussion. I.e. cognition and neuroplasticity remained relatively unchanged. So, quite promising!
2) Curcumin has strong anti-inflammatory properties which can suppress inflammation through regulating several inflammatory pathways. In particular, the lowering of inflammation may reduce cerebral edema (brain swelling) following concussion.
3) Curcumin has also shown to stabilise the energy fluctuations in the brain (similar to creatine, although a different pathway). It’s thought that curcumin supports mitochondrial function, which is described as the power house of the cell. Since these power houses become compromised after concussion, the ability to provide energy for the brain is compromised. Therefore, curcumin can potentially prevent this.
4) Curcumin appears to work in a dose dependent manner, i.e. more is more (in rodents). The combination of having very poor absorption in the gut, combined with the rapid metabolism and elimination from the body, means that lower dosages may not work as well. I.e., even 10-12g of curcumin failed to show any detectable differences in blood concentration. However, combining it with natural antioxidants resulted in a 46-fold increase…
Just like part I, we find ourselves asking the question…does it actually work and how much do I take?
The golden rule with any supplement or approach is to ensure that it dose no harm – it needs to have either a neutral or positive effect. Any signs of a negative and we cut it.
Since there’s a clear potential role to this and nothing to suggest it causes harm, I’d say crack on and use it as another tool in your toolbox.
In terms of the exact dose…you’re guess is as good as mine. To be continued.