How Turmeric Upgrades Your Organ Systems & Effectively Treats All Cancers, Inflammatory Diseases, & More
by Jeff Roberts
Turmeric, and its bioactive
ingredient curcumin, has been scientifically proven as an effective
counteractive agent against cancer, auto-immune disease, inflammatory
disease, and a whole lot more.
If you are a lover of Indian food, then you’re likely familiar with the pleasant aroma of the yellow herbal root, turmeric.
But besides its delicious flavour
profile, turmeric has a plethora of medicinal applications, used widely
in Chinese herbal medicine as well as in Ayurvedic medicine. Even
Western medicine has recognized the medicinal
value of turmeric, as seen in the incredible amount of scientific
literature available today surrounding curcumin, the bioactive
ingredient in turmeric.
Traditional
medicinal uses include the treatment of liver disease, skin problems,
respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments, sprained muscles, joint
pains, and general wound healing.
It actually exhibits over 150
potentially therapeutic activities, including anti-inflammatory and
antimicrobial activity, as well as containing potent anti-cancer
properties that have been studied intensely.
What Research Has Discovered About Curcumin (Turmeric)
Researchers have found that curcumin has a positive effect on multiple systems in the body. For one, curcumin has been found to modulate around 700 of our genes. Furthermore, it modulates over 160 physiological pathways.
Curcumin also regulates our cell membranes, allowing for more efficient transport of molecules in and out of the cell.
But one of the most amazing aspects of
curcumin is its positive effect on signalling molecules, which, if gone
awry, can lead to chronic inflammatory responses, autoimmune responses,
issues with DNA and RNA regulation, and more. In short, curcumin is a
vastly important ingredient in the prevention of almost all types of
diseases.
Why Turmeric Is Being Used To Treat Alzheimer’s & Other Inflammatory Diseases
Research has also discovered applications of curcumin in treating Alzheimer’s and joint health.
Curcumin
is capable of crossing your blood-brain barrier, which is one factor
that has led researchers to investigate its potential as a neuroprotective agent for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
In his article, Turmeric—A “Universal” Cancer Treatment, and Much More, Dr. Mercola outlines a newly discovered compound in turmeric called aromatic turmerone, which helps endogenous neutral stem cells (NSC) to grow,
and these stem cells play an important role in brain repair and
regeneration activities. Here’s what he had to say about curcumin’s
neuroprotective properties:
“Curcumin may also be helpful. Previous research has shown that curcumin helps inhibit the accumulation of destructive beta-amyloids in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, as well as break up existing plaques associated with the disease. People with Alzheimer’s tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains, and curcumin is perhaps best known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. It can inhibit both the activity and the inflammatory metabolic byproducts of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX) enzymes, as well as other enzymes and hormones that modulate inflammation.”
Curcumin Kicks Cancer’s Butt
Not surprisingly, curcumin actually has the most evidence-based anti-cancer literature out of any other herb.
As noted by Dr. William LaValley—one of the leading natural medicine cancer physicians, curcumin is unique
in that it appears to be universally useful for just about every type
of cancer. This is odd, considering the fact that cancer consists of a
wide variety of different molecular pathologies.
One
reason for this universal anti-cancer proclivity is curcumin’s ability
to affect multiple molecular targets via multiple pathways.
Once
it gets into a cell, it affects more than 100 different molecular
pathways. And, as Dr. LaValley notes, whether the curcumin molecule
causes an increase in activity of a particular molecular target or
decrease/inhibition of activity, studies repeatedly show that the end
result is a potent anti-cancer activity.
Moreover,
curcumin is non-toxic, and does not adversely affect healthy cells,
suggesting it selectively targets cancer cells—all of which are clear
benefits in cancer treatment. Research has even shown that it works
synergistically with certain chemotherapy drugs, enhancing the
elimination of cancer cells.
Important Notes About Turmeric Sourcing
The yellow turmeric spice you find on
your local grocery store shelves won’t offer you the same medicinal
value as properly extracted and sourced curcumin.
The
turmeric root itself contains only about three percent curcumin
concentration, and curcumin is poorly absorbed by your body to boot.
When taken in its raw form, you’re only absorbing about one percent of
the available curcumin. Even in supplement form it’s unlikely to provide
the results shown in various disease studies. If you want to use
curcumin therapeutically, you can try one of the following three
alternatives recommended by Dr. Mercola:
Locate a high quality turmeric extract
that contains 100 percent certified organic ingredients, with at least
95 percent curcuminoids. The formula should be free of fillers,
additives, and excipients (a substance added to the supplement as a
processing or stability aid), and the manufacturer should use safe
production practices at all stages: planting, cultivation, selective
harvesting, and then when producing and packaging the final product.
Typical anticancer doses are up to three grams of good bioavailable
curcumin extract, three to four times daily.
Make a microemulsion using raw curcumin powder. Combine one tablespoon of the powder with 1-2 egg yolks and a teaspoon or two of melted coconut oil.
Use a high speed hand blender to emulsify it. Keep in mind that
curcumin is a very potent yellow pigment that can permanently discolor
surfaces, so take precautions to avoid “yellow kitchen syndrome.”
Boil the curcumin powder. Another
strategy that can help increase absorption is to put one tablespoon of
the curcumin powder into a quart of boiling water. It must be boiling
when you add the powder as it will not work as well if you first put it
in room temperature water and then heat the water and curcumin. After
boiling it for 10 minutes you will have created a 12 percent solution
that you can drink once cooled. It will have a woody taste. The curcumin
will gradually fall out of solution however. In about six hours it will
be down to a six percent solution, so it’s best to drink the water
within four hours.
