Saturday, March 14, 2009

Turmeric - A magical spice


Turmeric is one of the most important spice for its culinary usage and medicinal properties. It is an indispensable culinary ingredient and imparts a musky flavor with yellow color. It is used extensively in Asian cooking for making any type of curry. It is also used as a coloring matter in pharmacy, confectionery and food industry.

Turmeric is widely used as antiseptic for healing wounds inside and outside the body. It is used as an intestinal antiseptic, expelling worms, anemia, and treatment of measles. Due to its antiseptic properties, it is used as an effective remedy for chronic cough and throat irritations. It is very effective in treatment of skin diseases like ring worm and scabies. Turmeric is also used extensively in beauty care industry. Turmeric has an active ingredient called Curcumin that is responsible for the curative properties.

MD Anderson cancer center at University of Texas has been studying curcumin for cancer treatment, Cholesterol, HIV, Inflammation, Osteoarthritis, Stomach ulcer, and many other diseases. Please visit the site UT MD Anderson school website for more information. Prof. BB Aggarwal and other people are studying Curcumin and its implications at Anderson medical center.
Mayo clinic is also studying the use of Turmeric for cancer treatment. Timothy Moynihan, MD at mayo clinic says: 

1. Curcumin is thought to have antioxidant properties, which means it may decrease swelling and inflammation. It's being explored as a cancer treatment because inflammation appears to play a role in cancer.

2. Lab research suggests that curcumin may slow the spread of cancer and the growth of new tumor blood vessels. It may also cause cancer cells to die. In the lab, curcumin has been studied for use in treating or preventing colon, skin and breast cancers.

At this time, there isn't enough evidence to recommend curcumin for preventing or treating cancer, but research is ongoing.


This blog should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. You should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.

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