On Tumours and Turmeric

The humble spice of turmeric has been used for thousands of years in Indian cuisine to flavour curries and give it the rich yellow colour. Research over the last decade has been indicating that turmeric may have a lot more going for it than just spicing up your Saturday night take-out from the local Indian restaurant.

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.

Detox Diets Debugged: Do they really work?

In our health-conscious era, the words "detox", "cleansing" and "diet" are on everybody's lips. There's a multimillion dollar industry revolving around the idea that somehow all these toxins are building up inside us which need to be "flushed" out the system. This pervading theory has aided companies to sign up thousands of customers who do not know the complete medicine behind what exactly they are doing. Ask one of these fad-diet followers what they are doing and you will answers like "this detox diet cleanses my liver". So what are these detox diets and why do people swear by their apparent effectiveness?

Detox in itself is quite a misleading term. Your body does not have a build-up of toxins, unless it is heavy metals like lead or minerals like asbestos, in which case no diet is going to "cleanse your system" of these substances. Biology has provided the human body with two wonderful organs that deal with the toxins for us: kidneys and the liver. Without the enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase found in hepatocytes (Liver cells), the alcohol you consume on a Saturday night could easily kill you. Most toxins are broken down by the liver and the kidneys do the job of filtering them out from the blood and into the urine. You literally pee your toxins out.

Nonetheless, these detox diet fads are gaining momentum. So what exactly is happening?

The basis of all these fad-diets is avoiding overly-processed food, excess salt and sugar and cutting down on saturated fats, caffeine and alcohol. This basis is pretty simple to understand and you don't need to be a nutritionist or doctor to get it. Processed foods contain artificial chemicals and flavours which would otherwise not be found in whole foods. Excess salt can cause hypertension and other cardiovascular problems. While too much sugar can affect your glucose metabolism and the excessive carbohydrates are stored as fat at the end of the day. Saturated fats and alcohol, well in today's world, the bad effects of both of these have been drilled into us by all forms of media. However, on the flipside, as with anything in life: moderation is key.

Yes, too much alcohol is bad for you. Being an chronic alcoholic can predispose you to a host of diseases. Too much saturated fats in your diet can give rise to cardiovascular disease and so can too much salt. But you still need all of the above mentioned in moderation (except maybe alcohol). It has been proven by researchers that drinking a glass or two of red wine per day will actually keep your liver in optimum condition and aid cardiovascular health. The logic behind this? A glass or two of wine has enough alcohol so that the liver is always producing enzymes to break down the alcohol (and other toxins). It's literally like putting your liver on the treadmill for a workout to keep it healthy and functioning well. Cholesterol is an essential part of your cells and without it, you would die. Poor old cholesterol has been demonised so much in today's fad-diets that people have forgotten what it is actually useful for. See those arm muscles? Yeah those guns were formed as a result of the testosterone in your body which was created from cholesterol. Also, having too little salt in your diet can lead to a host of other heart conditions and overall ill-health. In conclusion, what's the moral of the story? MODERATION IS KEY.

So what can you do to achieve the same results as these detox diets at just a fraction of the costs?

• eat whole foods- these include rainbow coloured fruits and vegetables, whole grain
• eat eggs- yes even the yellow bit is good for you (don't consume if you have familial hypercholesteraemia) 
• eat lean meat
• drink plenty of water
• drink tea- yes that's right. Drink tea. Green teas and herbal teas are the best. They contain a lot of essential antioxidants which reduce the effects of free radicals on cells which keeps you healthier. Green tea can also boost your metabolism.
• have alcohol in strict moderation
• make sure you are getting enough vitamins and other micronutrients- in case you may not be getting these through your diet, subscribe to a good vitamin pill
• drink milk- yes, you heard right. Milk has recently been demonised as something that should be avoided at all costs. Drink light/skim milk. Otherwise you are missing out on essential protein and calcium which keeps your bones and teeth strong. Also, drinking milk at night can help you achieve a good night's sleep as milk contains the essential amino acid called tryptophan- this is converted to melatonin in the body which regulates sleeping patterns
• if you are exercising and go to the gym, make sure you have a good protein power- I would suggest whey protein isolate or whey/casein mixtures. These provide essential BCAA's required for muscle regrowth
• instead of snacking on chocolates- try protein bars. Quest protein bars are my favourite and they taste amazing. You won't be craving that Nutella after a Quest bar
• eat carbs- but in moderation. Carbs are the primary source of energy for the body, so cutting them out completely is stupid. Eat slow-releasing carb foods such as oatmeal and wholegrain bread
• EXERCISE- I cannot emphasise this point enough. Exercise is the most overlooked and underutilised anti-depressant. Make sure you are active for at least one hour each day. Every little bit counts
• Last but certainly not the least: BE HAPPY. Surround yourself with positive energy and people

So, at the end of this very long post, let me just reiterate by saying that there are a lot of fad-diets out there and as a future doctor I would advise you all to just keep your minds open and critical when you hear someone purporting about a detox diet which would make you lose kilos in weeks. It's probably that you aren't eating, so you will lose those kilos anyway. 

Happy exercising people! Over and out.

DISCLAIMER: the views reported in this article are my personal opinions. Choose what is the best for your health. These are guidelines only and is not supposed to be a foolproof diet plan