Turmeric Herb

Turmeric is a member of the ginger family, native to Indonesia and India. Turmeric has a distinctive, deep yellow color and pungent flavor and is an essential spice in Indian Cuisine. It's known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics. Turmeric, with its main active ingredient, curcumin, is gaining worldwide attention as a possible preventative or cure for a number of diseases and conditions.

History

The use of turmeric in food and medicine in China, India and southeast Asia goes back 4,000 to 5,000 years. The popularity of turmeric spread to Europe in the 13th century. It was used as a substitute for the rare and expensive spice saffron.

Significance

In addition to being a popular spice, turmeric is used as a colorant and antioxidant in cosmetics, a dye, and as an alternative medicine to treat cancers, digestive disorders, burns, bruises and cuts. Dr. David Frawley, founder of the American Institute for Vedic Studies, says: "If I had only one single herb to depend upon for all possible health and dietary needs, I would without much hesitation choose turmeric."

Research

Turmeric is a hot research topic. A search of the U.S. National Library of Medicine produced 256 research papers published on the potential of turmeric in treating or preventing disease. The University of Maryland Medical Center published an overview of the potential medical uses of turmeric. Included in the list are conditions such as indigestion, ulcerative colitis, stomach ulcers, osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, cancer, bacterial and viral infections.

Alzheimer's Disease

Turmeric may be able to treat Alzheimer's disease. India, where turmeric is consumed on a regular basis, boasts one of the world's lowest rates of Alzheimer's disease, 4.4 times less than in the United States. According to the National Institutes of Health, in the United States alone, one in seven Americans older than 71 has some sort of dementia. The standard protocol for treating Alzheimer's disease is to prescribe Reminyl, Aricept and Exelon, drugs that can only slow the progression of Alzheimer's. These drugs have many side effects and are only useful in the early stages of the disease.
In a study published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, UCLA scientists reported findings suggesting that turmeric, combined with vitamin D3, may help clear amyloid beta. This is the material that forms the damaging plaques in the brain characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Milan Fiala, study author and researcher, said: "We hope that vitamin D3 and curcumin, both naturally occurring nutrients, may offer new preventive and treatment possibilities for Alzheimer's disease."

Cancer

Curcumin--turmeric's main active ingredient--shows a great deal of promise in studies involving cancer. MD Anderson Cancer Center's Professor Bharat Aggarwal said, "we have not found a single cancer on which curcumin does not work."