Turmeric has a
pungent bitter taste and a key component of curry powder and some mustard. It is a common ingredient in Eastern and Asian food dishes. It is been used as medicine in Asia since
long time ago. Asian Medicine use turmeric to treats hemorrhoids and
flatulence, as well as a poultice or ointment for the treatment of fungal
infections such as ringworm and for jaundice and hepatitis, and the Turmeric Oil
is sometimes used in perfumery.
Scientific studies show that turmeric may help
improve health conditions. Turmeric
has strong antioxidant properties, which it can block the enzyme that promotes
with growth of cancer. Recent studies in UCLA has been proving that curcumin in
turmeric has block the growth of enzyme in head and neck cancer. Curcumin may
help prevent or treat several types of cancer including prostate, skin and
colon.
Dr. Randy J. Horwitz, the medical director of the Arizona Center for
Integrative Medicine and an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the
University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson wrote a paper on turmeric
benefit as an anti inflammatory drug. “Turmeric is one of the most potent
natural anti-inflammatory available,” Horwitz states in the paper. Dr. Horwitz examined
the benefit of turmeric rheumatic arthritis’s rats in 2006. He found out that
pretreatment with turmeric completely inhibited the onset of rheumatoid
arthritis in the rats and reduced the symptoms.
Turmeric can
controlling high cholesterol, it brings down blood cholesterol levels and keeps
you from cardiovascular disease. Of course, keep in mind turmeric alone cannot
work you need to quit smoking, walk half an hour every day, eat healthy foods
and low in fat.
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9. It is a potent natural
anti-inflammatory that works as well as many anti-inflammatory drugs but
without the side effects.
10. Has shown promise in
slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis in mice.
11. Is a natural painkiller and
cox-2 inhibitor?
12. May aid in fat metabolism
and help in weight management.
13. Has long been used in Chinese medicine as a
treatment for depression.
14. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties,
it is a natural treatment for arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
15. Boosts the effects of chemo drug paclitaxel
and reduce its side effects.
16. Promising studies are underway on the effects
of turmeric on pancreatic cancer.
17. Studies are ongoing in the positive effects
of turmeric on multiple myeloma.
18. Has been shown to stop the growth of new
blood vessels in tumors.
19. Speeds up wound healing and assists in
remodeling of damaged skin.
20. May help in the treatment of psoriasis and
other inflammatory skin conditions.
Turmeric can be taken in powder or pill form. It
is available in pill form in most health food stores, usually in 250-500mg
capsules.
Once you start using turmeric on a regular basis,
it's fun to find new ways to use it in recipes. My favorite way to use it is to
add a pinch of it to egg salad. It adds a nice flavor and gives the egg salad a
rich yellow hue.
Contraindications: people with gallstones or bile
obstruction should not use Turmeric. Though pregnant women often use turmeric,
it is important to consult with a doctor before doing so as turmeric can be a
uterine stimulant.
Ready to buy turmeric supplements or powder?
Check out our 7 Best Turmeric Supplements
article and our 6 Best Turmeric Powder Brands
to help you decide which ones are right for you.
Based on today’s discussion and reviewing your blog comments I find turmeric to be somewhat of a revolutionary remedy for inflammation. I tried to do more research on the potential side effects and surprisingly, after extensively searching the web, came up with very little. As discussed in lecture, unless you have pre-existing problems such as those related to the gallbladder or stomach, you really don’t have much to worry about. Although you can experience an upset stomach, nausea, dizziness or diarrhea, I find these symptoms to be less threatening. As a person who has suffered from psoriasis, I definitely understand what it feels like to suffer from a chronic inflammatory disease. The constant itchy and often times in my case, painful red patches ALL OVER my body was enough to drive me over the edge! Not to mention the embarrassment that came with having psoriasis ALL over your body and having to wear FULL coverage clothing all the time especially in the summer time! This being said, I would definitely take the leap of trying anti-inflammatory remedies such as turmeric. It seems from what we have discussed so far, that the complications that could occur are minor in my eyes (unless I had a pre-existing condition as stated above) and not to mention less costly than other medical treatments. Turmeric seems worth the risk.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing in the tasty treat today, Diyana! I am adding tumeric to my grocery list and am excited to try it out in some new recipes! It is amazing how many things tumeric seems to help with, I wonder how we could mimic the anti-inflammatory "powers" of tumeric and perhaps use it in an "enhanced" drug form maybe for other inflammatory diseases.
ReplyDeleteWe've talked in class about how some treatments may seem like a wonder drug at first, but that eventually harmful side effects are documented (like statins for example). It is interesting that tumeric has been used for many years in Asian and Indian cultures, as you mentioned, and that it doesn't seem to have such harmful side effects. I still can't help but wonder how much of a good thing is too much, and as Dr. Cohen mentioned, if tumeric really is that great, should it be incorporated into our drinking water? will it ever get to that point?
Whenever I hear about a natural remedy for something I am always interested.We have talked about how in our society we always want the "magic" pill to fix all of our problems once they arise, however it seems far more effective to do things preemptively to prevent health issues. Tumeric seems to be the best of both worlds, it can help once you begin to experience an ailment or as a method of prevention.
ReplyDeleteI think adding turmeric to your diet is a great idea. As being raised up in an Indian family, I was exposed to foods that contained a lot of turmeric and I love it. I also think the added benefits of turmeric is great as it can help with not only inflammation, but also, relieve the symptoms of serious other conditions such as psoriasis. I think it would be a great thing to add into our everyday diet as it can only help with our immune system.
ReplyDeleteTurmeric has been used for many many years in Indian Ayurvedic medicine as an anti-inflammatory. So if they have been using it that long then it must have some positive effects. I like that it is a more mild natural form of a COX-2 inhibitory, without all the negative side effects. I also think that it would be a good thing to incorporate in your diet because I only found positive things on this spice. But of course if you have pre-existing conditions that Nicole mentioned then I would definitely be cautious.
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