Plant atlas Short
Turmeric and Memory: What 18 Months Showed
Turmeric · ขมิ้น · Curcuma longa
Turmeric — ขมิ้น (kha-min) — Curcuma longa.
In an eighteen-month controlled trial, a lipidated curcumin supplement improved memory and attention scores in older adults. The study tested a formulated curcumin supplement. The edible rhizome provides manganese, iron, and fiber. Southern Thai cooks use it in yellow curry, Gai Tod Khamin, and Khao Mok Gai. Fat and black pepper can increase curcumin absorption. A curry produces a different exposure from the tested supplement. Talk to your doctor before taking high-dose curcumin supplements; ordinary cooking uses much smaller amounts.
Gai Tod Khamin — ไก่ทอดขมิ้น (gai-tod-kha-min)
Khao Mok Gai — ข้าวหมกไก่ (khao-mok-gai)
Food and nutrients
Rich in: manganese, iron, fiber
Research context
Curcumin improved memory and attention over 18 months in a small controlled trial of older adults — Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, 2018
Sources
Source: Small et al. (2018). Memory, mood & amyloid/tau effects of curcumin: 18-month double-blind placebo-controlled RCT, n=40 non-demented adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 26(3):266-277. PMID 29246725. Meta-analysis: 9 RCTs (501 subjects), Front Nutr 2025, DOI:10.3389/fnut.2025.1549509
Narration transcript
Opening
Snap a fresh turmeric rhizome and it bleeds a vivid orange that stains your fingers, your board, and anything it touches for days. Turmeric — ขมิ้น, kha-min. That knobby underground stem is the part you eat, grated or pounded into southern Thai yellow curry, rubbed onto gai tod khamin — turmeric fried chicken — or layered into khao mok gai.
Gai Tod Khamin (ไก่ทอดขมิ้น)
In the south, turmeric makes gai tod khamin, a golden fried chicken marinated in pounded fresh turmeric, garlic, and white pepper, then fried crisp. Serve it with rice and a cool cucumber relish.
Khao Mok Gai (ข้าวหมกไก่)
It also colors khao mok gai, a Thai-Muslim chicken biryani, where rice and chicken cook with turmeric and warm spices. Serve it with a sweet-and-sour green sauce and fried shallots.
Nutrition summary
By weight the dried powder is extraordinarily high in manganese, iron, and copper, but a curry only ever uses a pinch.
Manganese
Manganese helps the body use food for energy and maintain normal connective tissue.
Iron
Iron is part of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in your blood, and it supports normal energy metabolism.
Fiber
Fiber adds bulk to meals and can help with fullness.
Closing
One real caution applies to concentrated curcumin capsules — the supplement amount, far above what any curry delivers: they can thin the blood and stir up gallstones, so if you take blood thinners or have gallstone trouble, check with your doctor before capsules. A pinch of turmeric in cooking is a much smaller amount, and a little black pepper and fat help your body take up what's there. Follow Longevity Biome, and LIKE this video for regular updates.
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