India's 'holy powder' finally reveals its centuries-old secret

[Dover]

Scientists in Michigan are reporting discovery of the secret behind the fabled healing power of the main ingredient in turmeric — a spice revered in India as "holy powder." Their study on the ingredient, curcumin, appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

In the study, Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy and colleagues point out that turmeric has been used for centuries in folk medicine to treat wounds, infections, and other health problems. Although modern scientific research on the spice has burgeoned in recent years, scientists until now did not know exactly how curcumin works inside the body.

Using a high-tech instrument termed solid-state NMR spectroscopy, the scientists discovered that molecules of curcumin act like a biochemical disciplinarian. They insert themselves into cell membranes and make the membranes more stable and orderly in a way that increases cells' resistance to infection by disease-causing microbes.

More information: "Determining the Effects of Lipophillic Drugs on Membrane Structure by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy -- the Case of the Antioxidant Curcumin," Journal of the American Chemical Society.

http://www.physorg.com/news159438178.html

[tabatha]

1. Thom Hartmann mentioned this on his program the other day.

Also, check out Dulse.

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

2. Proud to say I sell raw turmeric

and that we should probably order more.

It looks great in my produce display, an eye-catching, conversation-starting appearance that can be startling at first: they look for all the world like little orange grubs or caterpillars. A tiny piece has the orange-staining power of a case of chee-tos.

[Dover]

3. Where do you get them?

Is turmeric easily grown in the U.S.?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Don't know about that, but.... millions of acres of sugar cane

stains the American landscape, imagine if half of it were converted to medicinal herbs and such. Imagine the healthcare savings... plus the reduction in sugar consumption.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I was just wondering what tumeric looked like

Thanks for the picture and vivid description!

And I agree-wouldn't it be nice if more folks grew herbs instead of sugar? Sugar is for many folks an addiction, almost akin to alcoholism. (I know, I'm one of those folks.)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Tumeric is great stuff

Doc suggests that many patients use it. Just hope some drug company doesn't try to isolate the active ingredient--I think it is better to take the whole spice, especially in a nice curry!

[astral]

7. Well, of course they ARE trying to isolate it

but hopefully they won't be able to keep people from continued access to the Real Thing.

If you take it with organic black pepper, with the piperine in the pepper being the active ingredient, it is supposed to make the potency increase tenfold or something like that. I take the powdered capsules with pepper in it, from Vitacost.

[supernova]

8. I top my eggs with it in the am

if I ate something from my naughty list the previous day, I notice my face is slightly puffy.

The tumeric takes it away. :thumbsup:

[conscious evolution]

11. Some drug company tried to patent tumeric

in India.
Huge lawsuit.
Drug company lost.

[Codeine]

14. Citation needed. nt

[Grateful for Hope]

9. I used it mixed with warm milk recently

when I had a bad case of bronchitis. It definitely helped. I think it is a wonderful spice.

[Dover]

10. Apparently milk/fat works well with Turmeric. Here are some other turmeric folk remedy recipes:

In order for curcumin to be maximally effective against cancer, it MUST be introduced into the body in a bioavailable form. Curcumin is almost totally insoluble in water. On the other hand, it is completely soluble in fat.

Curcumin dissolves readily in coconut milk or cream, especially if they are warm. There is NO reason to boil coconut milk or cream in order to dissolve curcumin. Never boil anything unless you are absolutely certain the heat will not damage the medicinal properties of the natural medicine. I have no idea how heat stable curcumin is for medicinal purposes. So don't boil it.

Curcumin that is dissolved in fat will be introduced into the lymphatic system with the fat. There is exactly where we want curcumin to be introduced into the body. The lymphatic fluid bathes all the tissues in the body. We are NOT interested in directly introducing it into the blood.

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/turmeric.html

** 1/8 teaspoon turmeric, 3 cardamom pods (optional), 1/4 cup water. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes, then add : 1 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons almond oil (cold pressed). Bring just to the boiling point (but do not boil). Add honey or maple syrup to taste. Sip slowly as a hot tea.


** Take about a teaspoonful of turmeric powder, a teaspoon full of grated fresh ginger (or equivalent of dried ginger powder), a pinch of ground black pepper, honey or sugar to taste, and put it into about half a cup of water and bring to a boil. Then add about half a cup of milk, heat to just below boiling point, and drink the mixture slowly, while hot.


Also should mention from first hand experience that for bronchitis another good tea to drink is made from the Horehound plant which is easily grown -- pour hot water over several fresh or dried leaves and then add some honey and steep for 10 minutes before drinking. It breaks up conjestion in the lungs and sinuses. It's bitter tasting, hence the honey. I've found it very soothing to throat and chest and it reduces coughing too. And I also supplement with Omega 3/6 (flax or fish oil) to help repair lung/throat tissue. Actually I take Omega 3/6 daily anyway.
Horehound - http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=1390
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrubium_vulgare

[Grateful for Hope]

12. Thank you, Dover!

You are a wealth of information.

:hug:

[Dover]

13. I just tried that first recipe I posted.

I had ordered some organic cardamom pods online (they smell heavenly!) about a week ago.

I must say this drink was deeeeelicious and could become a regular 'before bed' ritual as it's very calming to the tummy along with the many other health benefits.

I made a few slight changes to the recipe - instead of adding milk and almond oil I just used some almond milk I already had (Blue Diamond's Unsweetened Almond Breeze). And I tossed in a couple of whole cloves too. Yum!

Might also be good to use goat milk instead or regular milk in the original recipe.