Turmeric and Your Health
Author: Ric Hawkins
Have you ever wondered why turmeric and health are so closely connected? Discover here how this spice can improve your health and the best way to take it.
Because turmeric is a common cooking spice, especially in Indian dishes, many people are not aware of the connection between turmeric and your good health.
This spice or its active ingredient curcumin, contains powerful antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
This root extract has been proven to help enhance liver function resulting in better elimination of toxins – It is a natural liver detoxifier. Additionally, this remarkable spice helps ease the symptoms of arthritis and type 2 diabetes, and helps to prevent degenerative brain disease like Alzheimer’s. It can improve your cardiovascular health, for example, by helping the liver to eliminate bad cholesterol.
Scientists have also found that it can help prevent cancer in all three stages by killing the cancer cells, but leaving the healthy ones alone. This action is unlike present treatments such as chemotherapy which kill the surrounding healthy cells along with cancer cells…
Some suggest that with skin cancer, for example, turmeric may prevent melanoma and cause existing melanoma cells to commit suicide.
This exceptional herb has long been used in traditional medicine in India and China, but it has only recently come to prominence here in the West. In India, for example, where vast quantities are consumed each day, many cancers like prostate cancer and degenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s are extremely rare.
The actual daily amount to take can be hard to pin down, as it depends on what the turmeric is blended with, how much is used and at what purity.
Turmeric is fairly hard for the body to absorb and the Indians only tend to benefit because of the large amounts used in everyday cooking.
To get the maximum health benefits, it is recommended that it be taken in a nutritional supplement form with other natural nutrients. Piperine from black pepper increases absorption rates by up to 2000%, while the addition of bromelain significantly increases its anti-inflammatory powers.
The best extract is 98% pure curcumin at 50mg a day, assuming it is blended. Daily use is better than random high, single doses for best benefits.
If you can find supplements with an enteric coating that is also recommended. Enteric coatings ensure safe passage to the upper intestine, where the contents are released for the maximum effect.
Besides daily supplements, start adding turmeric in your cooking. You can add this spice along with black pepper, to eggs, rice and many other dishes.
Now you know more about turmeric and its relationship to good health, why not include this important spice in your daily routine.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/turmeric-health-discover-the-health-benefits-and-the-recommended-daily-amount-3170308.html —- About the Author: >Discover the best nutritional health supplements available today. Ric Hawkins is a dedicated researcher of nutrition, diet and quality turmeric extract.
Information provided is not medical advice – you should always consult your doctor.
More on Turmeric
Also known as “Indian Saffron”, turmeric comes from the root of the Curcuma Longa plant, native to Southern India and Indonesia. This wonderful spice is believed to have been used in the East for both cooking and medicinal purposes for more than 5000 years, and was first introduced to the West in the 13th century by Arab traders. Fresh turmeric has thick brown skin and dark orange flesh, yet it’s more popularly used in the powder form. Its flavor is faintly bitter and peppery.
Some people compare its aroma to those of an orange and ginger while some others describe it as musty. Personally, I think it neither smells orangey nor musty. Rather, it is soothingly earthy without the underlying scent of staleness. Pungent? Yes, but in a good way.
To decrease the pigmentation on skin, it is advised to blend turmeric with natural anti-oxidants like lemon juice or cucumber, then repeatedly apply on pigmented spots and rinse after a couple of minutes.
Turmeric – It is a herb used in India for its health benefits. Curcumin, the powerful component which gives turmeric its yellow color has amazing anti cancerous, antibacterial and antioxidative effects. It helps cleanse the liver, stimulates the production of bile, protecting the liver from damage caused by toxins. Best is to make a turmeric tea to drink three times a day for one week.
It is established that Resveratrol and Curcumin hold great potential for immune regulation, and especially for an autoimmune disease such as MS, where the myelin of nerves is destroyed. In addition to the effects that these nutrients have on the autoimmune activity, these natural ingredients also support nerve health in general.
Many of India’s foods go back as far as five thousand years. The Indus Valley peoples, who settled in what is now northern Pakistan, hunted turtles and alligator. They also collected wild grains, herbs and plants. Many foods and ingredients from the Indus period (c. 3000–1500 B.C.) are still common today. Some consist of wheat, barley, rice, tamarind, eggplant and cucumber. The Indus Valley peoples cooked with oils, ginger, salt, green peppers, and turmeric root, which would be dried and ground into an orange powder.
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