A 2018 study out of UCLA confirms that a daily dose of curcumin—the active ingredient in turmeric—improves memory and mood in people with age-related memory loss. In the double-blind, placebo-controlled study, forty adults between the ages of fifty and ninety who complained of memory issues were assigned to one of two groups. Group one received a placebo, while group two received 90 milligrams of curcumin twice daily for eighteen months. All forty participants took standardized cognitive assessments at the study’s inception and then at six-month intervals. Thirty of the participants also underwent positron emission tomography (PET) scans to monitor brain amyloids before starting and then again after eighteen months. The results revealed that the participants who took curcumin experienced markedly improved memory and attention abilities. In fact, the people taking curcumin improved their memory scores by an average of 28 percent over eighteen months. This group also noted mood improvements, and their brain PET scans showed less amyloid buildup.

• Leigh Hopper, “Curcumin Improves Memory and Mood, New UCLA Study Says,” UCLA Newsroom, January 22, 2018, http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/curcumin-improves-memory-and-mood-new-ucla-study-says.)