Hurry and Grab Some Curry for Weight Loss?

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There's a component found in certain plants that reduced body weight gain and total body fat without any other change in the food intake when it was included in a "high fat" diet given to mice. The researchers noticed mice with the special diet had less blood vessel growth, specifically in fat tissue . The special phytochemical is curcumin, a bioactive component found in turmeric and some curry spice blends (such as korma curry paste, yellow curry paste, and most commercial curry powders). The noticeable bight yellow color of curry comes courtesy of turmeric, a common ingredient in Indian cooking.

The mice whose diet was supplemented with curcumin also benefited from lower blood levels of glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol and lower liver fat levels. It sure sounds like we should all hurry and start cooking with curry, doesn't it?

The next step for researchers is to study whether cooking with reasonable amounts of curcumin would actually help reduce weight in humans and lower serum triglycerides, cholesterol and glucose.

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Turmeric Tips: Who knew turmeric has an interesting history! It's been dried and sold as a powder and used in cooking since before the time of Christ. In the Middle Ages, it was called "Indian saffron" and used as a cheaper alternative to saffron thanks to its bright yellow color. Store turmeric in a cool dark cabinet (as is best for most herbs and spices) because it is sensitive to light.

Source: Journal of Nutrition May 2009 Vol 139

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