Turmeric and Teammates
Turmeric has long been revered as the foundation of an herbal program for health. In India’s system of Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric has been recognized for thousands of years as a key balancing and detoxifying herb. In Indonesia’s traditional medical system known as Jamu, turmeric is considered the “Queen” of all herbs, and is the featured daily herb for tens of millions of Indonesians. In Japan and China, people embrace turmeric for its powerful yet safe liver detoxification, and there are societies in Japan where turmeric juice is consumed daily. In the Western medical and herbal traditions, turmeric is considered by many leading scholars to be the most important healing herb on earth. In Hawaii turmeric is known as Olena and is revered for its healthful qualities.
The internet has hundreds of articles on turmeric and curcumins. To me one of the most impressive is the UCLA brain institute study on turmeric in the diet of Indian men. The study noted 75% less Alzheimers in Indian men in the 70 to 79 age bracket. The researchers at UCLA have determined it is the turmeric in curries in their diet with the emphasis on the curcumins in turmeric that may be resulting in the reduced Alzheimer's disease rates.
Okay… It probably is the curcumins but one might consider the other components of the Indian diet.
Is it the fats (dairy) consumed with the curry that helps release the fat soluble oils in turmeric? Is it the pepper and ginger that is part of the Indian diet that makes a hard to digest turmeric more bio-available? Is it the numerous doses of curcumins by having turmeric through out the day in various dishes that keeps turmeric in the digestive system constantly? My point is don’t take one of these studies and go out, get some turmeric caps, pop a couple in the morning and think you will get the same results as that of an Indian. But then that is only my opinion and I am just an organic farmer at best….but it seems so obvious…whole foods and whole herbs….that is where the magic is!
Okay… It probably is the curcumins but one might consider the other components of the Indian diet.
Is it the fats (dairy) consumed with the curry that helps release the fat soluble oils in turmeric? Is it the pepper and ginger that is part of the Indian diet that makes a hard to digest turmeric more bio-available? Is it the numerous doses of curcumins by having turmeric through out the day in various dishes that keeps turmeric in the digestive system constantly? My point is don’t take one of these studies and go out, get some turmeric caps, pop a couple in the morning and think you will get the same results as that of an Indian. But then that is only my opinion and I am just an organic farmer at best….but it seems so obvious…whole foods and whole herbs….that is where the magic is!
