Turmeric is most often thought of as a cooking spice, but this pungent yellow powder has properties that can make it as helpful in the medicine cabinet as it is in the spice rack. Turmeric has been used in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine throughout history. The spice contains curcumin, an antioxidant that may help decease inflammation and fight cancer, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
What is Curcumin?
Turmeric comes from an Indian spice plant called Curcuma longa. "Alternative Medicine Review" states that curcumin is the primary active ingredient in turmeric, as well as the source of its yellow pigment. Curcumin was discovered in 1910 and has been attributed with antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
What are Antioxidants?
Your body is exposed to toxins daily, and this exposure causes the formation of unstable molecules called free radicals. There's no avoiding free radicals. Some are produced simply by the normal processes of metabolism. The trouble with free radicals is that they cause damage to your cells. Antioxidants such as the curcumin found in turmeric can neutralize free radicals, ending their reign of cellular terror.
Curcumin and Gastrointestinal Disorders
A great deal of interest has been generated regarding the effects of curcumin on various stomach and intestinal disorders. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, curcumin stimulates the production of bile, and in Germany, it is prescribed for use in a variety of stomach disorders. Patients with ulcerative colitis may find that curcumin decreases relapses of that disease. Turmeric doesn't benefit all digestive conditions, however. Stomach ulcers, for instance, may be made worse by turmeric.
Curcumin and Cancer
Curcumin has been researched and found to have anticancer effects, according to the American Cancer Society. Laboratory research has indicated that curcumin inhibits the growth of cancer cells, an effect that has been replicated in a number of animal studies. Curcumin reduced tumor sizes and reduced the development of several types of cancer in laboratory animals. A dearth of clinical research on the effects of curcumin on human cancer patients prevents a wholehearted endorsement of turmeric as a cancer fighter, but studies are beginning to assess the feasibility of using curcumin as a cancer fighter.
Bioavailability
One of the obstacles to the use of curcumin as a medicinal agent is its bioavailability. Your body doesn't absorb curcumin easily, and "Alternative Medicine Review" states that there is hope that the search for different curcumin compounds and analogues will reveal more readily absorbed preparations that can help make it more efficacious to use turmeric's most active ingredients for therapeutic purposes.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Turmeric
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Turmeric; March 2007
- American Cancer Society: Turmeric
- "Alternative Medicine Review"; Anti-inflammatory Properties of Curcumin, a Major Constituent of Curcuma longa: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Research; Julie S. Jurenka; 2009
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