Spice Up Your Life #4: Turmeric's Powers

We’re still on the spices that should make part of our diet and today it’s time to learn a little bit more about turmeric.
Turmeric is an important ingredient in Indian curries and also gives ballpark mustard its bright yellow color.
The medicinal properties of this spice have been slowly revealing themselves over the centuries. Long known for its anti-inflammatory properties, recent research has revealed that turmeric is a natural wonder, proving beneficial in the treatment of many different health conditions.

What is turmeric

Turmeric comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant and has a tough brown skin and a deep orange flesh. It has a peppery, warm and bitter flavor and a mild fragrance slightly.
The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. Tumeric has been used for over 2500 years in India, where it was first used as a dye.

Anti-cancer properties

Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, is a powerful antioxidant (antioxidants are compounds that can protect the body’s cells from damage caused by activated oxygen molecules known as free radicals.) Laboratory studies have shown that curcumin interferes with several important molecular pathways involved in cancer development, growth and spread.
Lately, curcumin has received a great deal more attention in studies.
Researchers are studying curcumin to learn whether it is an effective anti-inflammatory agent and whether it holds any promise for cancer prevention or treatment. And some studies have shown promising results: curcumin can kill cancer cells in laboratory dishes and also reduces growth of surviving cells. Curcumin also has been found to reduce development of several forms of cancer in laboratory animals and to shrink animal tumors. In particular, one researcher reported that curcumin inhibited the formation of cancer-causing enzymes in rodents.
However, it should be noted that human studies of curcumin in cancer prevention and treatment are in the very early stages and clinical research is needed to determine curcumin's role in cancer prevention and treatment in humans.

Anti-inflammatory remedy

Turmeric is promoted mainly as an anti-inflammatory herbal remedy and is said to produce fewer side effects than commonly used pain relievers. Some practitioners prescribe turmeric to relieve inflammation caused by arthritis, muscle sprains, swelling, and pain caused by injuries or surgical incisions. It is also promoted as a treatment for rheumatism and as an antiseptic for cleaning wounds.

Turmeric use in traditional medicine

The use of turmeric was described in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine.
In various Asian folk medicine traditions, turmeric has been used to treat a long list of conditions, including diarrhea, fever, bronchitis, colds, parasitic worms, leprosy, and bladder and kidney inflammations. Herbalists have applied turmeric salve to bruises, leech bites, festering eye infections, mouth inflammations, skin conditions, and infected wounds. Some people inhale smoke from burning turmeric to relieve chronic coughs. Turmeric mixed with hot water and sugar is considered by some herbalists to be a remedy for colds.
In India and Malaysia, there is a custom of making turmeric paste to apply directly onto the skin, a practice now under study for the possibility that it may prevent skin cancer.

How to use it

Ground turmeric is available in most grocery stores. I really enjoy turmeric in my soups or on my chicken. It can also be made into a tea, but I haven’t quite find the right recipe for that.
Just be careful that turmeric stains your clothes quite badly (the fact that Indians used it as a dye tells you a lot about that) so be careful when handling it!

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