Turmeric: Holy Powder

You might be familiar with the flavoring in curry if you've ever eaten Indian food. Turmeric is found in curry powder and is one of the favored spices indigenous to India. I personally don't like turmeric well enough to eat every day.  Besides, research shows that curry powder doesn't have enough turmeric to be therapeutic in preventing or fighting disease. So, I feel it is best to supplement with this very important antioxidant if you want to make a difference in your health.

When you get done reading this article you will understand why, in India, turmeric is considered Holy Powder! This spice is worth its weight ten times over in gold. And gold is its color.

The amazing preventive and healing qualities of this herb is why it was chosen to be a part of NSP's Super ORAC formula. It synergistically combines with other super antioxidants to create a powerful health aid for a variety of conditions. Whenever you calm inflammation, you increase health. I take between 2-3 capsules of Super ORAC daily.

You might consider doing this too if you want to

• Avoid Alzheimer's disease
• Inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells
• Inhibit the transformation of cells from normal to tumor
• Help your body destroy mutated cancer cells so they cannot spread throughout your body
• Decrease inflammation
• Enhance liver function
• Inhibit the synthesis of a protein thought to be instrumental in tumor formation
• Prevent the development of additional blood supply necessary for cancer cell growth and more!

Most notably turmeric is known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties, which come from curcumin -- the pigment that gives turmeric its yellow-orange color, and which is thought to be responsible for many of its medicinal effects. There are an estimated three to five grams of curcumin in 100 grams of turmeric.

Every acute painful condition you have has inflammation as part of why you feel pain. So think about gardening, household jobs, or even fun things like baseball, tennis and even golf. When you stress your muscles you create inflammation. Wouldn't it be great to already have something in your system raring to go to those areas affected by strain to minimize or eliminate inflammation? Now you know why I'm an avid fan of taking Super ORAC daily in advance of gardening or other activities. This is called prevention.

Once you have inflammation, it is harder to decrease. It's easier to prevent a forest fire than it is to control one. When you prevent inflammation from happening, damage doesn't occur. When you control inflammation, damage has already been done. So, it is always better to prevent and having nutrients available for the body to use immediately goes a long way in the prevention process. You do not want to not have pain because that tells you when you have done too much. If you take painkillers you can damage the body because you are going beyond the body's ability to heal as you go.

In India where turmeric is widely used, the prevalence of four common U.S. cancers -- colon, breast, prostate and lung -- is 10 times lower. In fact, prostate cancer, which is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in U.S. men, is rare in India and this is attributed, in part, to turmeric. Numerous studies have looked into this potential cancer-fighting link, with promising results. Indian people already have this amazing antioxidant in their system ready to fight and protect because they eat it daily.

Because the volatile oil is one of the constituents that make this herb so powerful, using the dried powder may not have the same powerful antioxidant effect as using an encapsulated form. Capsules actually trap the oils and prevent them from evaporating whereas buying turmeric in bulk does not. If you can smell it, the oils are evaporating! So, if you are cooking with it and you can smell it—you are losing some of its healthful benefits. This same thing applies to teas. If you smell peppermint tea, some of the volatile oils are escaping and you will not get the full potency of the herb.

Now you know why I love capsules. They actually retain the freshness and potency of the herb until your digestive system can dissolve them, which generally takes less than 20 minutes. Then this goodness can go directly to the liver to help it detoxify as well as combine with other health beneficial nutrients to assist your body in the healing process. Turmeric is helpful for digestion, circulation, immune function and even nerve protection.

Growing evidence suggests that turmeric may afford protection against neurodegenerative diseases. Epidemiological studies show that in elderly Indian populations, among whose diet turmeric is a common spice, levels of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's are very low. Concurrently, experimental research conducted recently found that curcumin does appear to slow the progression of Alzheimer's in mice.

Preliminary studies in mice also suggest that curcumin may block the progression of multiple sclerosis. While it is still unclear how it may afford protection against this degenerative condition, one theory is that it may interrupt the production of IL-2, a protein that can play a key role in the destruction of myelin, the sheath that serves to protect most nerves in the body.

Want more encouragement to add this herb to your daily intake? Curcumin, one of the active ingredients in turmeric, crosses the blood brain barrier!  Research conducted at UCLA and published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (December 2004), which has been confirmed by further research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (April 2006), provides insight into the mechanisms behind curcumin's protective effects against Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease results when a protein fragment called amyloid-a accumulates in brain cells, producing oxidative stress and inflammation, and forming plaques between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain that disrupt brain function.

The UCLA researchers first conducted test tube studies in which curcumin was shown to inhibit amyloid-a aggregation and to dissolve amyloid fibrils more effectively than the anti-inflammatory drugs ibuprofen and naproxen. Then, using live mice, the researchers found that curcumin crosses the blood brain barrier and binds to small amyloid-a species. Once bound to curcumin, the amyloid-a protein fragments can no longer clump together to form plaques. Curcumin not only binds to amyloid-a, but also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, supplying additional protection to brain cells.

So, if you want to have a better brain you should include Turmeric (found in Super ORAC) and Omega 3 EPA (both in Super Trio) Having nutrients available when needed goes a long way if you want to prevent disease, avoid having to take days off work due to inflammation and be top on your game for fun and daily activities. How difficult can it be to throw a packet of Super Trio in your purse or pocket to take during lunch and dinner? At about $1.50 per day you can prevent a lot of discomfort!