Les épices sont bonnes pour le cœur et la mémoire

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Spices and Herbs May Improve Cardiovascular Risk Factors
West, Sheila G. and Skulas-Ray, Ann C.
Nutrition Today: September/October 2014 - Volume 49 - Issue 5 - p S8-S9

Traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) include high blood low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes. Family history and inflammatory factors also affect CVD risk. Diet therapy for treating and managing patients with CVD and for reducing risk among healthy individuals focuses on consuming a diet containing vegetables and fruits; eating whole-grain breads and cereals; choosing poultry, fish, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy foods; and limiting the intake of saturated fat, trans-fat, sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meats. Because spices and herbs are rich in potentially bioactive compounds, clinical studies have examined their effects on blood insulin, blood lipids, and inflammation.

CONCLUSION

Spices and herbs are rich in compounds that may reduce inflammation and improve blood factors associated with increased CVD risk. However, the body of literature regarding their effects is small, and the clinical findings are not always consistent. The vascular effects of spices and herbs and their efficacy and safety relative to traditional drug therapy represent an exciting area for future research given the public health significance of CVD.

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Turmeric improves post-prandial working memory in pre-diabetes independent of insulin
Lee M-S, Wahlqvist ML and al.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 24(4)

Background and Objectives: Cognitive impairment develops with pre-diabetes and dementia is a complication of diabetes. Natural products like turmeric and cinnamon may ameliorate the underlying pathogenesis.

Methods: People ≥60 years (n=48) with newly-recognised untreated pre-diabetes were randomised to a double-blind metabolic study of placebo, turmeric (1g), cinnamon (2g) or both (1g & 2g respectively), ingested at a white bread (119g) breakfast. Observations were made over 6 hours for pre- and post-working memory (WM), glycaemic and insulin responses and biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)(0,2,4 and 6 hours): amyloid precursor protein (APP), γ-secretase subunits presenilin-1 (PS1), presenilin-2 (PS2), and glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3β). Differences between natural product users and non-users were determined by Students t and chi square tests; and between pre-test and post-test WM by Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Interaction between turmeric and cinnamon was tested by 2-way ANOVA. Multivariable linear regression (MLR) took account of BMI, glycaemia, insulin and AD biomarkers in the WM responses to turmeric and cinnamon.

Results: No interaction between turmeric and cinnamon was detected. WM increased from 2.6 to 2.9 out of 3.0(p=0.05) with turmeric, but was unchanged with cinnamon. WM improvement was inversely associated with insulin resistance (r=-0.418, p<0.01), but not with AD biomarkers. With MLR, the WM responses to turmeric were best predicted with an R2 of 34.5%; and with significant turmeric, BMI and insulin/glucose AUC beta-coefficients.

Conclusions: Co-ingestion of turmeric with white bread increases working memory independent of body fatness, glycaemia, insulin, or AD biomarkers.

L'étude complète (PDF)

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Reprise des études :

Les épices sont bonnes pour le cœur et la mémoire

La consommation d'herbes et d'épices peut améliorer la santé cardiaque et la mémoire, révèlent deux nouvelles études.

La première étude, publiée dans le journal Nutrition Today, a été réalisée par des chercheurs de l'université Penn State. Ils ont découvert que l'utilisation d'épices comme la poudre d'ail, le romarin, l'origan, la cannelle, le clou de girofle, le paprika, le curcuma, le gingembre et le poivre noir pouvait réduire de 30 % la concentration de triglycérides dans le sang.

La concentration de triglycérides peut augmenter après un repas riche en gras, accentuant le risque de maladie cardiaque. La consommation d'ail, en revanche, réduirait le taux de cholestérol de 8 % et abaisserait de 38 % le risque de crise cardiaque chez les quinquagénaires.

Les chercheurs ont aussi mesuré une augmentation de 13 % de l'activité des antioxydants dans le sang des sujets qui avaient consommé un repas auquel avaient été ajoutées deux cuillères à soupe d'une épice culinaire riche en antioxydants. Cela peut aider à lutter contre la maladie cardiovasculaire et d'autres problèmes chroniques.

Ils sont maintenant à développer une nouvelle expérience pour vérifier si les épices n'empêcheraient pas aussi l'organisme d'absorber du gras.

La deuxième étude mène des chercheurs de l'université australienne Monash à conclure que l'ajout d'un gramme de curcuma au petit-déjeuner améliore la mémoire de patients qui présentent les premiers signes de diabète, et qui sont donc à risque d'un déclin cognitif. L'impact était particulièrement marqué sur la mémoire de travail, qui permet de stocker temporairement et de manipuler certaines informations.

Cette étude est publiée dans les pages du Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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