Turmeric: The Spice

GreenMedInfo is really pushing the benefits of turmeric, touting that the spice has "600 experimentally confirmed health benefits."  Sayer Ji, the founder of GreenMedInfo, produced a video highlighting the archives on his site for all things turmeric.

In fact, he's got 1,800 per reviewed studies and abstracts at his site. Interesting.  

So how effective is turmeric in addressing specific conditions or diseases? Can't say for sure.  Everything I read says that turmeric is the number one spice for treating heart attacks to viral infections to brain injuries.  That's quite a scope of ailments.  I know that when I consume turmeric and combine it with ginger in my morning milk, turning it into a morning turmeric milkshake, my stomach feels better.  Or at least I think that is what is happening.  I'd like to think that my stomach is the center of my overall health and that as such if it feels stronger and well, all other organs in my body from feet to brain are doing better as well.  I can hope, can't I?

One recent article, thought it's not so recent, cites specific compounds within turmeric that are capable of increasing the number of neurons. That's what he says:

The study [conducted by researchers at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Julich, Germany] found that when brain cells were exposed to ar-tumerone, neural stem cells increased in number through enhanced proliferation.  Moreover, these newly formed neural stem cells also increased the number of fully differentiated neuronal cells, indicating a healing effect was taking place. This effect was also observed in a live animal model, showing that rats injected with ar-tumerone into their brains experienced increases in neural stem cell proliferation and the creation of newly formed healthy brain cells.

That sounds hopeful.  But what does that mean and what was the percentage of increase, 1%, 5%, 25%, 50%?  And what parts of the brain did the study find is responsible for neural repair?  

WHAT'S THE BEST FORM OF TURMERIC TO TAKE?

Sayer Ji explains:

For instance, if you have colonic inflammation or polyps, and you are trying to use turmeric to reduce inflammation there or regress precancerous growths, then using the whole plant is best versus a highly bioavailable form of curcumin in capsule form (e.g. Meriva), for instance, which will likely be absorbed by the small intestine and mostly pass through the liver never getting adequate quantities to the large intestine. So, in this person's case taking a teaspoon of relatively difficult to absorb turmeric may result in painting the diseased surfaces of that person's intestinal or colonic lumen with exactly the form needed to reverse disease. 

Again, promising news on how turmeric can treat cancer.  But what about the brain?  

But what if you have someone who wants to experience a systemic effect, say, for arthritis or for brain cancer? In these instances, getting turmeric compounds such as curcumin through the glucuronidation barrier in the liver with a phospholipid-bound or black pepper (piperine) combination could be ideal.

INCORPORATE TURMERIC INTO YOUR DIET: IT'S BETTER FOR YOU THIS WAY

Ultimately, the goal is not to wait to have such a serious health problem that you have to force yourself to take a 'heroic dose' of any herb or food extract. Better is to use small amounts in culinary doses in combination with ingredients that synergize on a physiochemical/informational and sensual basis (producing the all important vitamin P [pleasure] as well!). Recently we actually featured a study that showed culinary doses of rosemary helped improve memory whereas higher 'heroic' doses impaired it!

This is why exploring the use of turmeric in curries, or by adding a pinch in a smoothie, may be an ideal daily supplementation approach, versus capsules, whose questionably 'natural' capsules and excipients all can add up to cause some stress on the liver you are trying to protect with these natural interventions.  Just remember quality is everything and less is more!