Turmeric, also known as Curcuma longa, botanically belongs to the same family of plants as ginger. Southeast India is its native ground and it was here that the deliciousness of turmeric started being used as flavouring. Ayurveda, or the traditional herbal medicinal system of India, has long prescribed turmeric for conditions ranging from external cuts, diabetes to conjunctivitis. I remember as a child, if I fell down while playing outside (it was a 90's kids thing), then my mum would immediately apply turmeric to the wound and it would stop bleeding pretty quickly. Never having given much thought to that as a 7 year old, looking back on it now with my medical background, its an interesting observation. So I decided to do some research on what exactly it was in this spice found in nearly all Indian households which was so effective at treating wounds. Turns out, healing knee scrapes is the least of the wonders this almost magical plant is capable of.
Turmeric can ward off dementia (including Alzheimer's Disease), reduce the risk of getting several types of cancers, helps lower blood bad cholesterol levels (LDL) and improve liver function.
The World Alzheimer's report in 2009 stated that 3.6% of South Asians over the age of 60 suffer from dementia, compared to 6.4% of Australasians and 7.2% of Western Europeans. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has shown in their reports that India has lower rates of many cancers than most Western countries. Could the daily consumption of turmeric be partly responsible for these statistics? Let's take a deeper look.
Alzheimer's Disease is caused when aggregates of protein fragments called Amyloid-B accumulate in brain cells, causing increased oxidative stress and inflammation. These aggregates form plaques between the connections of your neurons, causing disruption in normal brain functions such as memory recollection. In a healthy person's brain, these protein fragments are broken down naturally. However due to complex mechanisms that are not completely understood yet, this fails to happen in persons suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.
One of the main components of turmeric is called curcumin, which is what gives turmeric its yellow colour. Research has indicated that curcumin has the capacity of crossing the blood-brain barrier and may prevent the protein aggregates from forming. Not only has the research shown that it can dissolve these amyloid deposits, but curcumin also has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, further affording brain cells protection.
Chronic inflammation is what is seen in several diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's Disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Curcumin, as stated previously, is a potent anti-inflammatory and targets several pathways in the inflammatory response including blocking the effects of cytokines IL-2 and NF-KB. Studies have shown that this may help alleviate many symptoms seen in chronic inflammatory diseases.
Glutathione-S-transferase is an enzyme found in the liver which is involved with neutralising toxins in the body as well as curbing free radical damage in liver cells. Studies in mice fed with curcumin in their diet have shown that levels of this enzyme were considerably elevated in mice which were fed the curcumin-diet compared to those who were not. Curcumin is also thought to play the role of a chemical messenger and interacts with liver cells to increase the production of the receptor for LDL (bad cholesterol). In effect, with more receptors, liver cells can clear out more LDL from the bloodstream effectively helping people who suffer from hypercholesterolaemia (high blood cholesterol levels).
Last, but certainly not the least, curcumin has been implicated in helping prevent many types of cancers. Nutritionist Jonny Bowden in his book "150 Healthiest Foods in the World" stated that there have been at least 30 studies conducted which conclusively show that curcumin may have anti-tumour properties. It does this by helping curb angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels), metastasis (spread) as well as growth in cancerous cells. The antioxidant properties of turmeric also mean that the free radical damage that causes cell injury which can lead to cancer is reduced. Studies has shown that daily consumption of turmeric may help prevent prostate and colon cancers, as well as childhood leukaemia.
What's the bottom line of this whole post? Well, eat turmeric, essentially. In recap, turmeric's main active ingredient curcumin has been shown to have a host of beneficial properties. More research and studies are required to investigate the full extent of benefits offered by turmeric.
But for now, it's just one more reason to love that chicken tikka masala even more. Oh and don't forget the cheese & garlic naan with it! (Garlic itself has a host of other beneficial properties, but that's for another time).
Over and out. Peace to all.
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