turmeric

Three Reasons to Eat Turmeric – Dr. Weil

Genevieve Leave a comment
This is a re-post of Dr. Weil’s article since it has such relevance to my last post and I love his work…
3 Reasons to Eat Turmeric

1 turmeric inside

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a culinary spice that spans cultures – it is a major ingredient in Indian curries, and makes American mustard yellow. But evidence is accumulating that this brightly colored relative of ginger is a promising disease-preventive agent as well, probably due largely to its anti-inflammatory action.

One of the most comprehensive summaries of turmeric studies to date was published by the respected ethnobotanist James A. Duke, Phd., in the October, 2007 issue of Alternative & Complementary Therapies, and summarized in the July, 2008, issue of the American Botanical Council publication HerbClip.

Reviewing some 700 studies, Duke concluded that turmeric appears to outperform many pharmaceuticals in its effects against several chronic, debilitating diseases, and does so with virtually no adverse side effects. Here are some of the diseases that turmeric has been found to help prevent or alleviate:

  • Alzheimer’s disease: Duke found more than 50 studies on turmeric’s effects in addressing Alzheimer’s disease. The reports indicate that extracts of turmeric contain a number of natural agents that block the formation of beta-amyloid, the substance responsible for the plaques that slowly obstruct cerebral function in Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Arthritis: Turmeric contains more than two dozen anti-inflammatory compounds, including sixdifferent COX-2-inhibitors (the COX-2 enzyme promotes pain, swelling and inflammation; inhibitors selectively block that enzyme). By itself, writes Duke, curcumin – the component in turmeric most often cited for its healthful effects – is a multifaceted anti-inflammatory agent, and studies of the efficacy of curcumin have demonstrated positive changes in arthritic symptoms.
  • Cancer: Duke found more than 200 citations for turmeric and cancer and more than 700 for curcumin and cancer. He noted that in the handbook Phytochemicals: Mechanisms of Action, curcumin and/or turmeric were effective in animal models in prevention and/or treatment of colon cancer, mammary cancer, prostate cancer, murine hepatocarcinogenesis (liver cancer in rats), esophageal cancer, and oral cancer. Duke said that the effectiveness of the herb against these cancers compared favorably with that reported for pharmaceuticals.

How can you get more turmeric into your diet? One way is via turmeric tea. There are also extracts in tablet and capsule form available in health food stores; look for supercritical extracts in dosages of 400 to 600 mg, and take three times daily or as directed on the product.

And, of course, one can simply indulge in more curried dishes, either in restaurants or at home. However you do it, adding turmeric to your diet is one of the best moves toward optimal health you can make.

Related Topics
Healthy Turmeric Tea

Three Reasons to Eat Turmeric – Dr. Weil.

Sautéed Vegetables with Fresh Turmeric and Ginger to reduce Inflammation

Genevieve 1 Comment
Anti-Inflammatory Vegetables

Anti-Inflammatory Dinner (Mixed Vegetables with Quinoa)

Both ginger and turmeric are powerful anti-inflammatory herbs. They are very versatile since they can be used in flavoring foods or just made into a tea to promote circulation, reduce pain, and improve digestion.

In Chinese Medicine we use ginger to tonify the Stomach and Spleen. Its nature is warming, which aids the digestive fire and its energy is said to be descending. This is helpful when there is digestive upset, nausea, dizziness or even motion sickness. Western Medicine has recently shown support of ginger’s anti-inflammatory nature (see study). There are even studies showing the effectiveness of ginger for motion-sickness and preventing nausea from chemotherapy (see study).

Turmeric is used in Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda to aid digestion, to promote circulation and alleviate pain and to reduce swelling in the body (this is for reducing swelling with trauma and from tumors/cancer). Its nature is also warming since it promotes blood circulation and aids digestion. Western medicine shows much positive research with turmeric for arthritis (both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis), Alzheimer’s and cancer. Dr. Andrew Weil has a great article outlining this (see this article).

Essentially what the research is saying about these herbs is that they have naturally occurring COX-2 inhibitors, which reduce the inflammatory pathways in the body to alleviate pain. What I am saying about these herbs is that they taste good and Traditional Medicine has used them effectively for thousands of years, so eat up!!

Sautéed Vegetables with Fresh Turmeric and Ginger (serves 4)

  • 1 small onion
  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 1/2 head of cabbage
  • 2 inches grated fresh ginger root
  • 2 inches grated fresh turmeric root
  • 1/2 block of tempeh
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 TBS liquid aminos (soy or coconut) or salt to taste
  • 2-3 TBS nutritional yeast
  • 2-3 cups cooked rice or quinoa

Steam saute the onion and cabbage first for a couple minutes (just add a little water to the bottom of the pan to lightly steam while you are cooking… this avoids needing to use oil). Then add broccoli (florets and stalk). Steam saute for another couple minutes and then add remaining vegetables: peas, corn, carrots… whatever you have on hand. Add the ginger, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and turmeric the last couple minutes of steam sauteing. Make sure to add more water if needed to make a nice broth to pour over cooked rice or quinoa.