By VERA AWUAH –
Turmeric has been recognized for its healing properties since ancient times. It is used for Ayurvedic purpose and in traditional Chinese medicine.
Everyone may know turmeric as a key ingredient in many curries, this bright yellow, bitter spice has also been used for years as an anti-inflammatory in treating both Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
It is mostly found in India and used in many home remedies. It has been used in India for thousands of years as a medicinal herb, recently science has started to back up what Indians have known for long time, it really does contain with medicinal properties.
Turmeric powder or turmeric may be the most effective nutritional supplement in existence as many high quality research show that it has major health benefits for your body and brain.
The active compounds in tumeric are curcuminoids, the most important of which is curcumin. Curcumin has powerful anti inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidants and immune booster with healing properties.
Curcumin lowers the risk of heart disease which is the number one cause of death in the world. Curcumin may help reverse many steps in the heart disease and improves the functions of the endothelium, which is the lining of your blood vessels.
Endothelia is a major driver of heart disease and involves an inability of your endothelium to regulate blood pressure, blood clotting and various other factors.
Several studies suggest curcumin leads to improvement in endothelial function; one study proves that it is as effective as exercise while another shows that it works as well as the drug Atorvastatin.
Turmeric can help prevent (and perhaps even treat) cancer, which is a disease, characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. Some forms of cancer appear to be affected by curcumin.
Curcumin affects cancer growth, development and spread at the molecular level. Studies have also shown that it can contribute to the death of cancerous cells and reduce angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels in tumors) and metastasis (spread of cancer).
Multiple studies have shown that curcumin can reduce the growth of cancerous cell in the laboratory and inhibit the growth of tumors in test animals.
Whether high dose of curcumin, preferably with an absorption enhancer like piperine, can help treat cancer in humans has yet to be researched properly. However, there is evidence that it may prevent cancer from occurring in the first place, especially cancer of the digestive system like colon cancer.
Asides the prevention of heart disease and cancer, tumeric also prevents Alzheimer’s disease. With tumeric’s numerous health benefits, it is advisable to start consuming more turmeric.
Happy healthy Eating!
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