#19: Is Turmeric Healthy?
Turmeric is a trending health food’ today but it has been used in traditional medicine - both in India and China - for at least 6,000 years.
The medicinal properties of turmeric come from curcumin, the pigment that gives the spice its golden colour. And today, there are thousands of articles shedding light on its health benefits. It is a strong, pharmacologically active compound with anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-mutation, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-oxidant effects.
Laboratory and animal studies have shown that curcumin has the function of preventing cancer and inhibiting metastasis of cancer cells. In fact, the National Cancer Institute have earmarked curcumin as the ‘most promising’ cancer-preventing compound out of more than a thousand others tested. Why? Because:
It works to prevent DNA mutations (as an anti-oxidant)
It blocks carcinogen activity
It prevents tumors from growing and spreading
It also regulates programmed cell death; a process known as apoptosis (not autophagy) where cells die naturally to make way for fresh cells.
Curcumin’s power as an anti-cancer agent really shines in the fourth point. A timely cell death is an important part of human health. Every cell has its own lifespan. But unfortunately, some cells tend to stay on a little longer than they’re supposed to, Cancer cells are a prime example.
In having learnt how to ‘switch off’ their death mechanism, they continue to divide, eventually forming tumors that could potentially spread throughout the body.
Curcumin appears to remind cells of their commitment towards their own death by stimulating ‘death receptors’ on the cell that trigger a self-destruction sequence. And like little golden paladins of justice, they seem to leave normal cells alone.
Impressively, curcumin also works on cancer cells by using enzymes known as caspases to destroy the cell from within.
By incorporating turmeric - at a dietary level - you may be providing an additional defense (if not general prevention) against many chronic diseases born of inflammation. Namely, cancer, lung disease, brain disease, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.
It is a safe food with no real side effects and can even be purchased in capsule form. But to really maximize its efficiency, one should take it with a pinch of black pepper; it can boost the absorption of curcumin by up to 2,000%.
