FW: [Sisterhood_of_the_GreenHeart] The Best Home Remedies May Be Sitting in Your Spice Cabinet

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The Best Home Remedies May Be Sitting in

Your Spice Cabinet

By Kim Ridley, Ode

Posted on March 14, 2008, Printed on March 17, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/79774/

By the middle of the afternoon, Ellen Ryan was out of steam. A community

organizer in central Maine,

Ryan says her energy crashed every afternoon. To get through the rest of the

day, she'd grab a chocolate bar or a handful of candy kisses. " But I'm

52, " Ryan says, " and those explosions of calories are becoming harder

to work off. "

When a friend said cinnamon helped alleviate another health problem, Ryan

decided to give it a try by taking two 500-milligram capsules in the morning.

" I immediately noticed a difference, " Ryan says. " My chocolate

cravings went away and I no longer have that crashing feeling in the afternoon.

I haven't talked to a doctor; all I know is that cinnamon is inexpensive, easy

to take and it stops the crash. "

Clinical studies support Ryan's experience. Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon

a day lowered blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes, according to a

study of 60 subjects carried out at NWFP

Agricultural University

in Peshawar, Pakistan, and published in Diabetes

Care in 2003. The same study found that cinnamon also lowered cholesterol.

People around the world have been using spice cures for centuries, but now

scientists are finding that spices can ease inflammation, activate the immune

system, kill bacteria and viruses and even cause cancer cells to self-destruct.

Although most studies are preliminary, some research suggests that compounds in

spices might help fight everything from Alzheimer's disease and cancer to

depression and diabetes. Here's an overview of the potential medicines lurking

in your spice rack.

Turmeric: Asia's aspirin

This bright yellow-orange powder, common in Indian curries, may pack more

healing power than any other spice. Turmeric is the aspirin of Asia, where it has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic

medicine to heal wounds and treat inflammatory illnesses like arthritis as well

as at least a dozen other health problems. Made from the powdered root of a

tropical plant closely related to ginger, turmeric contains curcumin, a

compound that is both a powerful anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant. It's

also non-toxic.

Today, scientists are finding tantalizing clues that suggest curcumin might

help prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Investigators at the University of California

at Los Angeles,

studying a mouse model of Alzheimer's, reported that the brains of animals fed

curcumin had up to 80 percent fewer of the protein plaques associated with the

disease than those of mice given a normal diet. The abnormal clumping of

proteins in the plaques is thought to cause Alzheimer's. Teams at UCLA, Harvard

and in Japan

subsequently discovered that curcumin might fight Alzheimer's in several ways.

First, curcumin forms a powerful bond with the amyloid beta protein associated

with Alzheimer's that prevents the protein from clumping into plaques in the

brain. Second, this bonding capacity enables curcumin to dissolve these

plaques. Third, curcumin reduces oxidative damage and brain inflammation that

contribute to the disease process.

It's still too soon to know whether curcumin can prevent or treat

Alzheimer's in humans, says Sally Frautschy of UCLA's Alzheimer's Research Lab,

where many of the studies are being carried out. " The animal models are

not precise models of Alzheimer's, so these studies need to be replicated in

humans, " she says. Frautschy adds that a UCLA team led by John Ringman and

Jeffrey Cummings has just completed a pilot clinical trial and researchers are

now analyzing results.

Another challenge is finding a form of curcumin that's absorbed by the body,

because it doesn't readily dissolve in water. Still, people in India have been

getting their curcumin for centuries by cooking turmeric in ghee (clarified

butter), which, like any fat, enables this compound to be absorbed. Indians

also have some of the lowest rates of Alzheimer's disease ever reported,

according to a 2001 study led by Vijay Chandra of the University of Pittsburgh

Graduate School of Public Health.

Could India's

low Alzheimer's rate simply be a matter of genetics? Genes may well play a

role, but research by Tze-Pin Ng and colleagues at the National University of

Singapore also points to a diet rich in turmeric. A study of 1,010 people over

age 60 who had no dementia found that those who ate curry

" occasionally " and " often or very often " scored higher on

mental performance tests than those who rarely or never consumed it. Ng, whose

study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2006,

also notes that the most typical curry in Singapore is the turmeric-laden

yellow curry.

Evidence is mounting that curcumin may help fight many cancers, says Bharat

Aggarwal, a professor of cancer medicine at the University of Texas M.D.

Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

In addition to reporting that curcumin blocks most of the mechanisms by which

prostate cancer cells survive and grow, he and his colleagues have listed

nearly 40 animal studies that suggest curcumin may have a strong protective

effect against common cancers, including those of the breast, colon, lung,

prostate and skin.

" The potential is unlimited, " says Aggarwal, who notes that small

clinical studies are underway to investigate curcumin in treating colorectal

cancer and multiple myeloma. " Curcumin suppresses most of the biochemical

pathways that lead to inflammation -- and up to 98 percent of all illnesses are

due to the dysregulation of inflammation. " Research has shown that

curcumin is likely to block a molecular " master switch " responsible

for inflammation and many other processes, including the growth of tumor cells.

Small clinical trials are also underway to give us a clearer picture of

curcumin's potential in fighting Alzheimer's, cancer and other illnesses.

While we're waiting, should we start sprinkling turmeric into the pan every

time we sauté onions and garlic? And, if so, how much?

The mice in Frautschy's study were fed the daily human equivalent of a gram,

or about a quarter-teaspoon of turmeric. Aggarwal notes that clinical studies

have found that a daily dose of up to 12 grams (about a tablespoon) a day for

three months is safe. The basic rule of thumb? According to Aggarwal:

" Eating turmeric is okay for every day. "

Saffron: The priciest spice

This yellow spice comes from the dried and powdered stigmas of Crocus

sativus, a fall-blooming purple flower native to southwestern Asia and

cultivated in countries including India,

Spain, Greece and Iran. The world's most expensive

spice, saffron has been used for millennia as everything from an aphrodisiac to

a remedy for colds and stomach problems.

It was also used in traditional Persian medicine to treat depression, a fact

that inspired Shahin Akhondzadeh and colleagues at the Tehran University of

Medical Sciences and the Institute of Medicinal Plants in Iran to test it in a modern

clinical trial of 40 subjects. The researchers reported in Phytotherapy

Research in 2005 that mildly and moderately depressed adults who received a

daily 30-milligram capsule of saffron for six weeks experienced a significant

improvement over those who were given a placebo.

Further research suggests that the ancients, who used saffron to treat about

90 illnesses, may have been onto something big. A series of recent studies in

animals have found that saffron extracts blocked or slowed the development of

colon, skin and soft-tissue tumors.

Chili Peppers: Kicks from capsaicin

All hot peppers, from cayenne to habaneros to the new, ultra-fiery Bhut

Jolokia or " ghost chili, " get their kick from capsaicin, a

compound that triggers the body to produce more heat, and hence, burn more

energy.

Teams at Maastricht University in the Netherlands

and Laval University

in Quebec, Canada, reported in Physiology

& Behavior in 2006 that capsaicin and other compounds that trigger this

reaction may help fight obesity. But don't cancel your gym membership just yet.

Eating even the spiciest salsa will never beat exercise for burning calories.

You might still, however, want to add more spicy food to your diet.

Scientists think capsaicin may cause cancer cells to self-destruct while

leaving normal cells unharmed.

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

in Los Angeles

reported in Cancer Research in 2006 that feeding mice doses of capsaicin

equal to a human eating 10 habanero peppers three times a week dramatically

inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cells. Another research group at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute investigated

capsaicin in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. In mice fed the equivalent of

one spicy Indian meal a day, tumors shrank by nearly half after only three to

five days.

Ginger: Not just for gingerbread anymore

This aromatic root has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic, Chinese and Tibb-Unani

(traditional Islamic) medicine to treat health problems including digestive

ailments, arthritis, infectious diseases, fever, high blood pressure, pain and

muscle aches. Today, researchers are zeroing in on the biochemical effects of

ginger in the body, which may not only help explain its benefits but also begin

to lay the groundwork for new and less toxic treatments for a host of

illnesses.

Two key compounds in the spice are gingerols, which gives fresh ginger its

pungency, and shogaols, which gives dried ginger its zip. Some of the most

convincing findings on ginger's health benefits in humans come from studies of

morning sickness. A study of 70 women in the first trimester of pregnancy led

by Teraporn Vutyavanich of Chiang Mai University

in Thailand

reported that women who received one gram of ginger per day had significantly

less nausea and vomiting from morning sickness than a control group given a

placebo.

Ali Badreldin of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan

Qaboos University

in Oman, along with

colleagues in the UK and the

United Arab Emirates,

recently examined 91 studies on ginger conducted around the world over the last

decade. In a 2008 review article in Food and Chemical Toxicology, the

researchers highlight animal and test-tube studies that have found ginger can

lower both blood sugar and cholesterol, contains pain-killing compounds that

mimic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with fewer side effects,

eases inflammation from arthritis and protects against ulcers.

Badreldin and his colleagues also note the results of studies in rodents

that found that ginger has powerful antioxidant properties that protect against

the toxic effects of radiation treatment and skin diseases caused by

ultraviolet B radiation.

These studies lay the groundwork for possible ginger-based treatments for

diabetes, arthritis and other inflammatory illnesses, protection against

radiation sickness from cancer treatment and even cancer itself.

Even if ginger proves effective, these treatments are likely years away.

What is known is that ginger has been used medicinally for centuries,

underscoring its safety. " Ginger is considered to be a safe herbal

medicine with only few and insignificant adverse side effects, " Badreldin

notes. But he and his colleagues are also quick to say that large, rigorous

clinical studies are needed to pinpoint ginger's efficacy in various illnesses

and uncover any side effects from long-term use.

If you want to try ginger, how much should you take? The American Academy of

Family Physicians notes that no specific studies of doses have been conducted,

but clinical studies on nausea generally use between 250 milligrams and 1 gram

of powdered ginger root in a capsule, taken one to four times a day.

Is it possible to overdose on spices? Like anything else, spices should be

taken with a healthy dose of common sense. Pregnant women should avoid saffron,

because in large doses it may induce abortion, and they should consult with

their doctors when taking any herbal products. (That's a good rule of thumb for

everyone). Ginger can cause stomach upsets. Some studies have found that too

much capsaicin from hot peppers can cause stomach problems.

It will take further clinical studies to establish whether and how spices

might prevent or even cure disease. Based on recent research, though, turmeric

remains one of the most promising and safest condiments in treating a host of

illnesses. So don't forget to add it to your next soup or main dish. If it

really does help prevent Alzheimer's, it may well help you remember a lot of

other stuff too.

Kim Ridley is co-editor of " Signs of Hope: In Praise of Ordinary

Heroes. " She writes about people creating positive social change for Ode Magazine.

© 2008 Ode All rights reserved.

View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/79774/

 

 

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