About Turmeric

I have just begun doing my research on turmeric and its use as an alternative medicine.  It grows wild in and is the forests of Asia and is a herbaceous plant.  The root can be dried and ground up or used whole like ginger. I have never used it whole, just the powder.  It is mainly used as a spice for cooking in Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern foods.

Turmeric has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years to cure liver ailments, stomach problems and skin problems.  Turmeric has been shown to be effective in treating inflammatory illnesses also.  I think now that there are clinical trials being done to see if it is effective in treating cancer.

I am even more convinced that food is medicine and can be used to treat our ailments.  Food can also be a preventative measure if we take the time to eat the right way to heal our bodies.

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~

Tumeric! It Works!

I have always heard that food is medicine but I have not really paid that any attention until now.  Recently I have been having joint pain, maybe even a little gout as I have not been the healthiest in the past year.  I read quite a few articles on turmeric and found that it may reduce pain.  So I thought I would try.  As you may know from an earlier post I am into oil pulling.  That works.

So this past Saturday I went to my local Earth Fare and bought some turmeric supplements.  This is day 2 and I swear the relief has been almost magical!  I will be taking this for a while.  The achy pain I was feeling is just about gone!  I can hardly believe it worked so fast but it has! 

Here is a little research about the benefits.

What the Doctor Says:

This orange and yellow spice, famous for its extensive use in South Asian cuisine, also has anti-inflammatory properties. Dr. Santos recommends it frequently to patients complaining of sore and achy joints, and uses it herself to relieve pain in her joints from sports and exercise.

“I use a lot of turmeric in my practice,” she said. “It’s an amazing spice. Usually what I do is I make sure nothing else is going on, that it’s just plain old inflammation from wear and tear.”

While many people may encounter turmeric only in curry dishes and South Asian restaurants, Dr. Santos advises her patients to find it in health food stores in pill or capsule form. She recommends a dose of 1,000 milligrams a day. The benefit of buying it in a bottle, she said, is that it’s usually combined with a compound called piperine, which aids absorption.

“In India, whenever they use turmeric they usually have pepper in the meal,” said Dr. Santos. “Piperine is a pepper. It helps the turmeric get absorbed so that it goes into your bloodstream versus staying in your gut.”

Dr. Santos said she recently suggested to her father that he try turmeric after an operation on his hip. He was undergoing rehab and was experiencing pain and stomach issues, another area in which the use of turmeric has been studied.

“He was skeptical,” she said. “But he called me up a few days later and said he was pain-free.” 

 


You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~