Anti-Cancer Foods: Turmeric Uses & Benefits

Have you ever wondered what gives curry dishes their beautiful bright yellow color? Turmeric is the spice that offers traditional Indian Curry its famous color and its distinct fragrance.

Not only is this golden orange root packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, but its healing powers have been used since ancient times as traditional medicine for fighting ailments from colds and coughs to arthritis inflammation.

What Is Turmeric?

Turmeric is a spice that comes from the Curcuma longa's root. This flowering plant is a member of Zingiberaceae and it is also called golden spice or Indian saffron. It contains an active ingredient, curcumin, which is responsible for many of its medicinal properties.

Additionally, turmeric is rich in vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, and iron. Furthermore, turmeric is native to India and produced extensively in Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Western Africa.

 

 

How Is Turmeric Used?

For thousands of years, India has used turmeric as the primary food spice and medicinal herb for treating various diseases. Today, turmeric is a part of everyday life. For instance, multiple goods, including food, beverages, supplements, and cosmetics have turmeric as a primary ingredient. Turmeric or curcuma paper is used as an acidity and alkalinity indicator in chemical analysis.

Several compounds in turmeric provide several health benefits. For instance, curcumin is the most well-known of these compounds, which can help relieve menstrual cramps, reduce inflammation, treat or prevent type 2 diabetes, ease joint pain, and avoid depression.

Studies have shown that turmeric helps improve brain function, lower cholesterol levels, and support heart health. Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects can also help protect against various ailments and diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease,

depression, arthritis, allergies, and more. What's more is that various studies have shown that Curcumin can prevent and treat various infections, like flu and herpes. It also helps in treating skin-related diseases and slowing down aging.

 

Turmeric

 

What Makes Turmeric An Anticancer Food?

Curcumin (the most active component of turmeric) has been researched as a beneficial herb in treating cancer and has been discovered to affect cancer growth and development. Moreover, Supplements containing curcumin appear to have an impact on different forms of cancer.

Studies have shown that it can help kill cancer cells, slow the formation of new blood vessels in tumors, and stop cancer from spreading to other body parts. According to research, curcumin may reduce the risk of developing cancer, particularly breast, gastric, colorectal, and liver cancer.

References

Health Benefits

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23832433/
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6509173/
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22481014
  4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3476912/
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12930003/
  6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20388102/

As Anticancer

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6835707/
  2. https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/35/2/645
  3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212429218303948?via%3Dihub
  4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21372035/
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27325106/
  6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30725357/
  7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27354595/
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