So beneficial to our body, turmeric is one of the foods that is recommended to be eaten daily. So what is it? Turmeric is a spice that dates back nearly 4000 years to India. It has many uses including food, cosmetic and medicinal purposes. Turmeric is used to treat a variety of illnesses ranging from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis, conjunctivitis, digestive disorders, depression, allergies and many more.
Turmeric is a perennial plant belonging to the ginger family. The bioactive compound in turmeric is called curcumin. Traditional medicine has used turmeric for thousands of years. Still today, turmeric is used around the world. In the Ayurvedic practice, turmeric is thought to have medicinal properties including relieving gas, improving digestion, regulating menstruation, dissolving gallstones and relieving arthritis. Many South Asia countries use it as an antiseptic for cuts, burns and as an antibacterial agent. In Pakistan it is used as an anti-inflammatory agent and as a remedy for gastrointestinal discomfort.
Modern western medicine has begun to realize the power of turmeric with over 3,000 publications covering turmeric over the past 25 years. Many of the clinical targets of turmeric have involved the digestive organs including the colon for colon cancer and bowels for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Additionally, studies have found turmeric to help with fighting oxidants in our body aiding against the effects of environmental pollutants, stress, ultraviolet radiation and other disease-causing factors. Turmeric has also been found to help with reducing inflammation across the body assisting in the fight against arthritis along with other inflammatory conditions.
Many studies have focused on the benefits of turmeric and cancer. Turmeric has been found to belong to all three groups of chemopreventative agents; carcinogen blockers, antioxidants (both prevent the initial triggering DNA mutation) and anti-proliferatives (help stop the spread). It is also found to regulate programmed cancer cells through a process known as apoptosis (tells the cancer cells to die) and can kill cancer cells directly by activating the ‘execution enzyme’ called caspases inside cancer cells that destroy them from within by chopping up their proteins.
So how do you eat Turmeric?
It is recommended that we should eat a ¼ teaspoon of ground or ¼ inch of turmeric root a day. This can be mixed into a smoothie, added to a baked potato or salad, or sprinkled on top of pretty much any dish you are cooking. Of course you can also buy a supplement, but turmeric has been found to be more effective (and considerably less expensive) in its whole food form. At the grocery story, you can buy a two inch root of turmeric for about ten cents that will last for weeks in the fridge or even longer in the freezer.
While turmeric is a very powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, it is not well absorbed in the body. Fortunately, black pepper is here to help! Eating turmeric with black pepper, which contains a compound called piperine, boosts the absorption of turmeric. Piperine has also been found to relieve headaches, nausea, poor digestion and has anti-inflammatory properties so it is a win-win all around! So how much black pepper do you need? Studies show not that much. As little as a 20th of a teaspoon can significantly increase your curcumin blood levels.
Warning!
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted its own clinical trials of turmeric and given it a label as GRAS (generally regarded as safe). With that said, various prescription medicines can, on occasion, interact with food. If you are taking and prescription drugs, you should talk to your doctor first.
Also, if you suffer from gallstones, turmeric may trigger pain. However, for those without gallstones, turmeric has been found to reduce the risk of gallbladder cancer so the pros and cons need to be weighed for each individual.
Lastly, turmeric has been used for centuries as a dye and can dye plastic and clothing if not used carefully.