Turmeric: a Miracle Drug in Your Kitchen

“If I had only one single herb to depend upon for all possible health and dietary needs, I would…choose the Indian spice Turmeric. It is an herb one should get to know and live with.”
~ Dr. David Drawley, founder & director of American Institute for Vedic Studies

Some Amazing Properties

• Reduces inflammation
• Improves digestion
• Lowers bad cholesterol
• Aids liver process toxins
• Prevents and fights cancer
• Antibacterial

History
Turmeric has a medicinal history going back 5,000 years and has been crucial especially in Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine) and traditional Chinese medicine.

Turmeric derives from the root of the perennial shrub, Curcuma longa, native to Indonesia and southern India.  Its active constituent, Curcumin, is believed to be the primary medicinal agent.

Flavor and aroma
Belonging to the Ginger family, Turmeric has a deep yellow color and a pungent flavor, being peppery, warm, musty and slightly bitter.  The leaves are generally not used, but roots are harvested for medicines and food flavoring.

The Magic of Turmeric Up Close

• Anti-inflammatory
  • Numerous studies have shown curcumin to be as potent as hydrocortisone (a steroid anti-inflammatory, e.g. Aquanil HC, Caldecort, Cetacort, Cortaid, Hycort, Hytone) and phenylbutazone (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) ¹
  • Studies on mice have shown curcumin effective in treating inflammatory bowel disease, like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis ¹
  • Curcumin is also a strong anti-oxidant, which helps relieve arthritis, a disease where free radicals (caused by oxidation) inflame and damage the joints  ¹

• Improves digestion
  • Reduces gas and bloating ⁴
  • Helps digestion of proteins and fats ⁴
  • Enhances waste and toxin elimination ⁴

• Lowers cholesterol
  • Since curcumin is an anti-oxidant, it inhibits free radical damage to fats, including cholesterol.  Damaged (oxidized) cholesterol can damage blood vessels leading to heart attack or stroke ⁴
  • Curcumin directs genes in liver cells to increase mRNA production, which in turn direct creation of LDL (bad) cholesterol receptors.  More LDL receptors allow more bad LDL cholesterol to be swept out ⁷

• Improves liver function
  The main function of the liver is to process and expel toxins from the bloodstream. Stress, pollution, and poor diet can negatively affect its ability to process toxins.
  According to studies, curcumin:
  • Increases bile flow which in turn cleanses the liver and makes it easier to break down toxins ⁴
  • Helps prevent toxins such as alcohol from converting to compounds that harm the liver ⁴
  • Establishes formation of a primary liver detoxification enzyme, glutathione S-transferase (GST) ¹

• Prevents and Fights cancer
  In India, where Turmeric is very popular, the four common U.S. cancers (colon, breast, prostate and lung) are ten times less common.
  According to studies, curcumin:
  • Inhibits growth of tumor cells ⁶
  • Slows spread of breast cancer to lungs in mice ²
  • Inhibits activation of protein NF-kappaB, which tells genes to produce inflammatory molecules that promote spread of cancer cells ^{2, 6}
  • Inhibits tumor initiation, proliferation and metastasis ³
  • Inhibits multiplication of leukemia cells in cell culture ¹
  • Retards growth of human prostate cancer cells in mice ⁵
  • May help prevent colon cancer. Research published in the August 2006 issue of “Clinical Gasteroenterology and Hepatology” shows curcumin reduces the size and quantity of precancerous lesions in the human intestinal tract

• Antibacterial
  • Laboratory tests have shown turmeric oil to have anti-bacterial properties ⁸
  • Another study demonstrated that eye drops derived from Turmeric protected against bacteria causing conjunctivitis ⁹

Contraindications

• Do not take if you have gallstones, extremely toxic liver disorders, bile obstruction or congestive heart disease from unknown cause
• If you are pregnant, consult your doctor before taking larger doses as turmeric can be a uterine stimulant
• Prolonged use of high doses can upset the stomach and intestinal tract.  Typical dosage is 250-500 mg in capsules two or three times per day ¹⁰

So What Can I Do With Turmeric?

• Add it to food!
  • Turmeric is especially good with any bean or rice dish (and it helps digest the tough bean proteins). It is also delicious in egg salad.
  • Here are some delicious and quite healthy recipe’s from Dr. Ben Kim’s site: Red Lentil Soup, Healthy Curried Stew, Falafel Pita
  • Be creative and experiment with this flavorful, vibrant spice!

• Take it in a pill
  Typical dosage is 250-500 mg in capsules two to three times per day with meals¹⁰

• Make a poultice
  Mix 1 tsp Turmeric powder with a little water to make a paste and apply to itchy, inflamed skin¹¹

For cooking, make sure you use pure Turmeric powder, not curry powder, as that contains very little curcumin.  If you don’t particularly like the flavor of Turmeric in food, take it in a pill format, preferably from organically grown root.  Turmeric can be found in most natural health food stores and in some grocery stores as well.

¹ The World’s Healthiest Foods, Turmeric
² Biochemical Pharmacology, Volume 70, Issue 5, 1 September 2005, pages 700-713
³ The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Complementary/Integrative Medicine Education Resources, “Curcumin at M.D. Anderson” (accessed January 22, 2009)
⁴ Dr. Mercola, “Super Spice Secrets: Can This Miracle Spice Stop Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Arthritis?”
⁵ Khor TO, Keum YS, Lin W, Kim JH, Hu1 R, Shen G, Xu1 C, Gopalakrishnan A, Reddy B, Zheng X, Conney AH, Kong AN. Combined Inhibitory Effects of Curcumin and Phenethyl Isothiocyanate on the Growth of Human PC-3 Prostate Xenografts in Immunodeficient Mice. Cancer Research. 2006 Jan; 66(2): 613-621. 2006. PMID:16423986.
⁶ Scientific American, “Spice Healer”, January 2007
⁷ Peschel D, Koerting R, Nass N. Curcumin induces changes in expression of genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis. J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Feb;18(2):113-9. Epub 2006 May 18. 2007. PMID:16713233.
⁸ Ammon and Wahl, 1991; Madhyasta and Bhat, 1985; Dahl et al., 1989
⁹ Srinivas, C., and K.V.S. Prabhakaran, “Haridra (Curcuma Longa) and Its Effect on Abbhisayanda (Conjunctivitis)”, Ancient Science of Life VIII(3-4): 279-83, Jan. – Apr. 1989
¹⁰ “The Herbal Drugstore” Linda B. White, M.D., Steven Foster, and the Staff of Herbs for Health, 2000
¹¹ “Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine” Andrew Chevalier, FNIMH, 2000