An ancient Indian herb used for thousands of years by Ayurvedic medicine practitioners is making a big splash in the modern world of anti-aging medicine.

The golden-yellow spice turmeric is being tapped for its apparent ability to help turn the clock back on aging, fading memory. Or more specifically, it’s the compound found inside this delicious spice—called turmeric—that’s showing great promise as a brain protector.

Turmeric may help halt cognitive decline

A new study has revealed that turmeric may have the ability to put the brakes on cognitive decline.

In a study conducted over six months researchers gave a group of 96 volunteers, between the ages of 40 and 90, either 500 mg of curcumin three times a day or a look-alike placebo.

And the results were pretty dramatic.

Those folks taking the placebo had the small declines in memory we expect to see as your brain ages. It’s these little loses that can eventually snowball into cognitive decline and, in some cases, could even lead to dementia.

Curcmin appears to protect the brain against memory loss

But for the lucky group who got the real-deal curcumin it was a whole different story. The potent compound appeared to block the typical decline building a sort of layer of protection around the brain.

And perhaps most exciting, that protection was the strongest in the areas you need it most, the ones that you use all the time in your day-to-day life.

Because the folks who got the curcumin not only performed better on tests of overall memory, they knocked it out of the park on critical verbal skills as well.

For those of us who follow research on natural medicine closely these results, although impressive, weren’t entirely surprising. In fact, in many ways they mirror earlier studies that also revealed curcumin’s impressive effects on the brain.

For example, the study last year that highlighted how a single dose of the herb enhanced working memory and attention within just an hour of swallowing it.

Curcumin tackles memory issues in two different ways

Curcumin tackles memory issues like cognitive decline on two different levels.

1. Curcumin cleans house:

The spice can help breakdown the memory-robbing protein deposits in your brain that are linked to dementia and cognitive decline.

2. Curcumin fattens up your brain:

The potent herb also bumps up the DHA levels in your brain. This is important because the essential fatty acid makes up around 30 percent of the fat in your brain and low levels of fatty acids such as DHA have been linked to cognitive decline.

But curcumin’s benefits don’t end with the brain. The compound fights inflammation all over easing joint pain and helping to protect against deadly heart disease.

You can cook with turmeric to get curcumin into your diet. But to significantly bump up you levels you might want to try a supplement. They are widely available in health food stores and online.