6 Benefits of Turmeric

I love my curries. My struggles for freedom last year have basically yielded a good thing, that I learnt how to make better curries. And what’s a good Indian curry without turmeric?

Turmeric, also called kunyit in Malay, is often used in traditional medicine to treat cough, diabetes and inflammatory diseases. When you get a cut/burn on your hand, apply some turmeric on it, and it should help with the healing.

The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, which makes up 2-5% of the original turmeric. In recent years, scientists have discovered the benefits and medicinal properties of turmeric. The effects of turmeric are numerous, and they include:

1. Increased wound healing– Turmeric (curcumin) promotes cell growth by increasing collagen deposition on the skin. Collagen is that protein in the skin that gives it that “youthful” look, and is now often quoted in cosmetic advertisements.

2. Antiinflammatory response– The immune system is the most important natural defense our body has against diseases. Turmeric can enhance antibody responses, and stimulates cells of the immune system while reducing signals (cytokines) that tell the body to start “inflaming” the wound.

3. Anticancer– Turmeric suppresses formation and proliferation of tumour cells by inducing cell death. It also stops cancer cells from migrating around the body to form more cancer cells. In addition, anticancer drugs can get a little boost from turmeric if needed, making them more effective.

4. Diabetic cataract– Diabetes is a pretty dangerous disease to get, what with all those high glucose levels. Diabetic cataract is the onset of blindness caused by a pretty advanced stage of diabetes. Now, scientific trials have shown that turmeric can actually delay/prevent the formation of diabetic cataract in rats.

5. Autoimmune diseases– When your immune system goes mad, immune cells start attacking your normal red blood cells for no reason, and this leads to the formation of an autoimmune disease. Turmeric has been shown to suppress multiple sclerosis, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease by interfering with specific biochemical pathways.

6. Antioxidant properties– Turmeric can play a part in reducing free radicals which are responsible for inflammation, heart disease and cancer. In fact a study has proven that curcumin in turmeric has an antioxidant property which is 10 times stronger than Vitamin E.

However, these results are obtained from animal trials, whereby translating to a human system might be difficult. Such is the case whereby a clinical trial revealed that after the oral administration of curcumin tablets, little of the original substance is remained in the body to actually carry out its beneficial effects. Yet, some other studies noted that this small amount might actually be enough. Curcumin is also extremely safe and well tolerated. A dose of 12g/day has shown to have no side effects, if any.

Now, not only as a natural foodstuff and colouring for curries, turmeric is slowly making its way to a clinic near you.

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