Superfoods to spice up your life – and boost your brain
WHEN it comes to healthy eating, a Mediterranean diet, which includes lots of oily fish, nuts and olive oil, is one of the best on the planet.
But there are lots of other cuisines packed with healthboosting foods. I have, for example, just returned from India, where I have been eating foods rich in two on my favourite super-ingredients – turmeric and chili.
I was delighted to read a study from Vermont University that showed people who regularly consume hot red chili peppers were 13 per cent less likely to die from heart disease or strokes than those who prefer their food less spicy. Possible explanations include the fact that capsaicin, the active ingredient in chilies, can improve blood flow to the heart and also improve the balance of your gut bacteria. Turmeric has been used for thousands of years as a spice and a medicine. In its raw form it looks a bit like ginger root, but when it is dried and ground down, you get a distinctive yellowy-orange powder. There are at least 200 compounds in turmeric, including curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Oscar-winning actor Sir Michael Caine has been taking a turmeric supplement for 30 years and says it was his wife Shakira who alerted him to it. Caine, 85, says after researching Indian culture, he discovered few people there develop Alzheimer’s. ‘They eat a great deal of turmeric. I have been taking turmeric tablets for 30 years and I have a memory like a computer.’
And it seems there is science to back this up: in a recent study, 40 adults between the ages of 50 and 90 who had problems with their memories were asked to take part in a trial where they were asked to swallow either a placebo pill or 90 milligrams of curcumin in a capsule, twice daily, for 18 months.
Before beginning the trial, the patients undertook a range of memory tests, which were repeated 18 months later. Those who took curcumin saw a 28 per cent improvements in their memory tests and mood. Researchers also saw significant changes in areas of the brain that control memory and emotion.
Curcumin taken in capsule form (200mg a day) has also been shown to improve symptoms of both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. If I had arthritis or started experiencing memory problems, I would certainly take those capsules, but for now I am happy to just include a bit more turmeric in my diet.
The Clever Guts Diet Recipe Book, by Clare Bailey, is published by Short Books, £14.99.