The peppery spice turmeric gives curry its yellow color and spicy flavor. Turmeric is harvested from the root of the plant Curcuma longa, a relative of ginger originating in south Asia. Long used in traditional Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic medicine to treat a wide range of conditions, turmeric is currently under study to determine its specific beneficial effects in the body. You can use turmeric to flavor food or take it in supplement form.
Nutrients
A single tablespoon of turmeric contains about 1.4 g fiber, which is important for maintaining the health of the digestive tract. Turmeric is also high in iron, manganese and potassium and contains many other nutrients in small amounts, such as folate, vitamin B6, zinc, niacin and choline. The principle active phytochemical component of turmeric is curcumin, a polyphenol compound belonging to a group called curcuminoids. The curcuminoids demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin are other active components of turmeric.
Antioxidant Activity
The curcuminoid components of turmeric act as antioxidants, scavenging free radicals made up of oxygen and nitrogen. In addition, curcumin modulates the activity of certain enzymes that cause inflammation, called COX-2 and LOX, which can help prevent free radical damage indirectly. The curcuminoids also help in the production of glutathione, an antioxidant produced by the body that functions to lower cellular stress.
Gastrointestinal Health
Turmeric may be useful in preventing indigestion, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Another way that turmeric can help digestion is by stimulating the gall bladder to produce bile. Turmeric may also be effective for treating an upset stomach, or dyspepsia.
Cancer Prevention
The effects of turmeric on different types of cancer is still under study, but in preliminary research turmeric shows promise in halting skin, breast, prostate and colon cancers, explains the University of Maryland Medical Center. One potential reason for the anti-cancer effects of turmeric is the ability of curcumin to halt angiogenesis, the growth of the blood vessels that supply a tumor with nutrients. Another activity of curcumin seen in cell studies is the ability to halt the cell cycle and cause tumor cells to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis.
Considerations
The bioavailability of ingested turmeric may not be high enough to confer all of the potential benefits seen in laboratory studies, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Curcumin is rapidly metabolized in the body into other compounds which may not be as bioactive as unaltered curcumin. However, the one place that curcumin is measurable on its own after ingestion, not simply as an altered metabolite, is within the gastrointestinal tract.
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