Do you want to help relieve aches and pains, while reducing inflammation and healing your digestive tract? Then head straight to your spice cabinet and look no further than ‘Turmeric’. Turmeric, the bright yellow spice that gives curry its distinctive color, is in fact a superfood that has been used for over 4000 years in India.
Yes, the use of Turmeric or Curcuma longa dates back to the Vedic era where it has been used for various religious rituals as well as a potent medicine. Popular as ‘Haldi’, or ‘Haridra’ ‘- The Yellow Spice’ or ‘Yoshitpriya - Woman’s Beloved Spice’ Turmeric is embedded in the daily lives of people from the Indian subcontinent due to its use as everyday cooking spice, for its medicinal value in Ayurveda, as a part of wedding rituals in various cultures across Southeast Asia as well as for cosmetic purpose. While the rhizome is used for medicinal purpose, the leaves of turmeric are added to aromatize various delicacies.
For thousands of years Turmeric has been a popular remedy in Ayurvedic medicine for treating for digestive disorders - dyspepsia, gas, abdominal colic, liver issues, diabetes as well as well as various inflammatory conditions like arthritis.¹
Modern research has shown it to be effective in treating is also used for treating fever, gastritis, dysentery, infections, chest congestion, cough, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, jaundice, liver and gall bladder problems, urinary tract infections, skin diseases, diabetic wounds, and menstrual discomfort.²
More than 100 bioactive compounds including curcuminoids, which impart turmeric its ‘brilliant yellow color’; turmerone andvarious terpenoids have been extracted from turmeric. Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid found in turmeric, which is widely studied for its antioxidant and anti inflammatory activities.³
Curcumin has been seen to be beneficial in cystic fibrosis, haemorrhoids, gastric ulcer, colon cancer, breast cancer, atherosclerosis, liver diseases and arthritis. Studies have also shown it’s effectiveness in supporting cognitive function in various types of dementia including Alzheimers disease as well as traumatic brain injury.
Turmeric is a potent anti cancer herb due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antimutagenic, anti-angiogenesis, antimetastasis and anticancer agent.
