Tumeric from Bottom Line's Daily Health News

[Guest guest]

....

Multiple Healing Benefits

Winston told me that turmeric has a wide variety of healing

abilities...

 

Powerful anti-inflammatory components safely reduce the pain and

swelling of arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and joint inflammation in

general.

Anti-inflammatory benefits also extend to gastrointestinal

(GI) challenges such as indigestion, stomach upset, ulcers and

irritable bowel syndrome.

Disease-fighting antioxidants help wipe out unstable oxygen

molecules that can otherwise run amok, damaging cells and opening the

door to dangerous diseases such as cancer.

Turmeric helps curb excessive immune responses that characterize

diseases such as allergies, asthma and multiple sclerosis.

Studies suggest a still wider range of healing benefits, such as

lowering cholesterol and fighting atherosclerosis.

 

Turmeric or Curcumin?

Don't mix up turmeric with its most well-known active ingredient,

curcumin. Turmeric is a member of the ginger family with a long history

of use in healing. It contains a variety of inflammation-fighting

compounds known as curcuminoids -- the most widely known and

extensively studied of which is curcumin.

While curcumin alone can be irritating, turmuric contains a number

of active ingredients that combine to have a gastroprotective effect.

At the health-food store, you can purchase either turmeric (commonly

in capsule or tincture form) or a standardized curcumin product.

Winston personally prefers turmeric, as it contains all of the herb's

anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant components working

together.

As a culinary herb, Winston considers turmeric to be a very safe

remedy. Because it stimulates bile secretion, however, you should not

use turmeric if you have a bile duct blockage. A standard dose of

turmeric is 2 milliliters (ml) to 3 ml of the tincture three or four

times a day, or two capsules of the powdered herb three times daily. An

average dose of curcumin consists of 400 mg (containing 95% curcumin)

in capsule form up to three times daily. Note: Turmeric

should be used with caution in individuals prone to bleeding or on

blood thinners.

Spice Up Your Life

.... add a little curry

powder to dishes at home. While you can't eat enough to have a real

therapeutic effect -- that is, to cure what ails you -- Winston notes

that eating turmeric can help prevent inflammatory problems such as

ulcers, GI tract cancers and atherosclerosis. So add a little spice to

your life and give your health a boost at the same time... not a bad

combination.

Be well,

 

Carole Jackson

Bottom Line's Daily Health News