Tumeric - Orange Power to Counter Inflammation

Tumeric, long used in Eastern culture, but also used as an anti-inflammatory treatment.

Its bright yellow-orange color comes mainly from curcumin, a type of phytonutrient.

Tumeric, while is from the ginger family, contains mainly curcumin, whereas ginger is mainly gingerol, another type of phytonutrient. Both are equally potent as antioxidants.

Tumeric's Main Nutrients

• Antioxidant:    Phytonutrients  (curcumin), Manganese
  
• Other:               Phytonutrients (curcumin), Tumerone (oil), Manganese, Iron, Vitamin (B), Potassium, Copper
  

Interesting stuff on Tumeric

Native of:

• Southern India
  

Now Found\Grown in:

• Many parts of Asia
  

The use of tumeric for medicinal purposes dates as far back as 4,000 years ago.

And its use as medicine has been discovered in many ancient culture - Indian, Chinese and Eyptian.

Today, India remains the top producer of tumeric in the world, as well as the top consumer.

Other uses of tumeric:

• as a cullinary herb
  
• in cosmetic products
• as as coloring dye
  

Examples of Health Benefits of Tumeric

• Anti-inflammatory - such as for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)
  
• Anti-cancer - helps destroy mutated cells - in particular lung, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colorectal cancer, and reduce risk of childhood leukemia
  
• Aids digestion, and treat colic
  
• Helps relief nausea and motion sickness
• Boost Immune System
• Improve liver fucntions
• Reduce chollesterol
• Protection against neurodegenerative diseases - such as Alzheimer
  

Some precautions

Although there is no known fatal reactions to taking large amounts of tumeric, however:

• it can cause yellowing of the skin through from the yellow-orange color of the herbs.
• excessive curcumin intake may cause over stimulation of the bile, and where there are gall stones, it may cause the expulsion of the stones, which may in turn cause great pain, or blockages of bile ducts that may be fatal, if the stones are too large.