Sayer Ji, Green Med Info Waking Times
Few, if any, plants have been revered as thoroughly — by the religious and scientific community alike — as a healer of the human body, mind and soul, as beautiful turmeric.
It could be written off as an overly imaginative cultural oddity that ancient Indians understoodturmeric to be the physical essence of the Divine Mother — a botanical embodiment of compassion and healing. After all, nothing in the known biochemistry of this common spice plant lends itself to so gratuitous a characterization, does it?
It turns out that even modern science now confirm that this ‘curry’ spice has therapeutic properties relevant to well over 600 different health conditions, and may therefore bestow on those who take it significant protection from many common causes of human suffering. Some of the more amazing examples are its ability to reverse aspects of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease), replace Prozac, prevent type 2 diabetes, produce cardiovascular benefits as significant as exercise, including preventing post-bypass heart attack by 56%, heal the diabetic liver, kill lethal pancreatic cancer, and help kick painkillers to the curb for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, while giving at least a dozen more pharmaceuticals a run for their money.
While these examples are not proof of ‘divine’ benevolence, they certainly raise some interesting questions, not the least of which is how any substance could be so well suited for improving human physical and mental health with such a depth and breadth of effectiveness.
The author has personally reviewed the majority of the biomedical abstracts on turmeric and its primary polyphenol curcumin, available to view on the National Library of Medicine’s bibliographic reference database known as MEDLINE (and searchable through engines like Pubmed.gov), and has been awed by how diverse and powerful this spice is for addressing the broad range of diseases and/or disease symptoms that commonly afflict our species.
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One of the novel findings that emerged in the author’s comprehensive review of turmeric is that it can beneficially modulate over 175 distinct physiological actions, many of which operate upon traditional pharmacological pathways, e.g. interleukin-6 down-regulator, apoptotic, cyclooxygenase inhibitor, etc. During the indexing process the image emerged of a many-armed Indian Goddess, due to howdiverse, intelligent and simultaneous are this spice’s healing gifts.
In fact, from the perspective of monochemical-oriented pharmacology, a drug with more than 10 simultaneously therapeutic actions, and without the vast array of adverse, unintended side effects commonly associated with novel, patentable chemicals, turmeric would represent an impossible, miraculous entity, which if patentable, would generate more revenue than all the blockbuster drugs on the market put together. Instead, sadly, most pharmaceuticals have dozens of side effects that are often more powerful than the purported therapeutic properties they possess.
Amazingly, a 2012 article published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer discovered that when a type of cancer cell (retinoblastoma) was exposed to the turmeric polyphenol curcumin, it altered the expression of over 2,000 genes! The authors describe the remarkably broad changes:
“We identified 903 downregulated genes and 1,319 upregulated genes when compared with the control cells after treatment with 20 μM curcumin concentration for 48 h.”
The amount of information that would be required to alter the expression of such a wide range of genes in a way that actually inhibited the viability of the cancer cells is staggering, and likely a reflection of a higher order level of intelligence that our present day theoretical and empirical scientific frameworks are not equipped to fully comprehend.
After some reflection on the mass of data that accumulated on turmeric’s ability to alleviate suffering, the question emerged: are these many “evidence-based,” scientific studies really just exoteric descriptions of “compassion” and “intelligence”? Are we now rediscovering through the optic of modern science — albeit through the reductionist and animal sacrifice-based (vivisection) methodology of empirical science — the “spirit” of herbs like turmeric, whose very existence represent a kind of surplus of benevolent, regenerative energy that permeates the universe, bestowing its grace upon its inhabitants/creations? Is this not what the ancients meant, or saw, when they described the spice in Sanskrit as “Gauri” (“The One Whose Face is Light and Shining”) and “Kanchani” (“Golden Goddess”)?
Our turmeric database on GreenMedInfo.com (and by “our” I mean yours, as well, as this is an open source project) now contains the world’s largest archive of biomedical data on the subject of turmeric’s medical value in one place, and includes voluminous research on turmeric’s potential to prevent and/or treat multi-drug resistance cancers, chronic degenerative conditions, neurological problems, depression, serious infections, as well as hundreds of other diseases. Please share this information with others, especially those who need an “evidence-bridge” connecting ancient healing wisdom with the modern scientific approach.
About the Author
Sayer Ji is the founder of GreenMedInfo.com, an author, educator, Steering Committee Member of the Global GMO Free Coalition (GGFC), and an advisory board member of the National Health Federation.
He founded Greenmedinfo.com in 2008 in order to provide the world an open access, evidence-based resource supporting natural and integrative modalities. It is widely recognized as the most widely referenced health resource of its kind.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of WakingTimes or its staff.
http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/04/26/turmerics-healing-power-physical-manifestation-compassion/
Here is a healthy gift from Avatar:
Recipe for Golden Milk Tea
Ingredients:
- 1/8 tsp Turmeric*
- 1/4 cup Water
- 8 oz Milk**
- 2 Tbsp Almond Oil
- Honey or Maple Syrup to taste
Instructions:
- Place water and turmeric in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring to a paste for 8 minutes.
- Place milk and almond oil in a separate sauce pan and heat until the milk just comes to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Add the turmeric paste to the milk and stir until the milk becomes completely yellow.
- Add honey or maple syrup to taste.
- Drink Warm.
- Add cinnamon and nutmeg [optional]
*I've found it works just as well to add the turmeric directly to the milk or coconut milk without first making the paste.
** instead of cows milk I use coconut milk
Link for recipe: http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/recipe-of-the-week-golden-milk/
Comments
You're welcome, Silvestar...I'd like to make some suggestions about the Golden Milk Tea recipe. I've found it's so much easier and works just as well to add the turmeric directly to the milk or coconut milk. The paste takes quit a while to make and for me is a needless hassle. I also add a pinch of organic cinnamon and nutmeg which gives it a great and another healthy flavor.
Thanks for posting, I've heard many good things about tumeric. Maybe try the tea tonight :)
Very interesting, rev...thank you for sharing. It looks like it wouldn't hurt for all of us to drink a cup of Golden Milk tea before bed.
Turmeric Ointment Heals Oral Lichen Planus in Clinical Study
Does nature provide a possible treatment? Quite possibly, at least for oral lichen planus.
Researchers from King George's Medical University in India studied 10 patients with chronic lichen planus for three months. The patients were given a turmeric ointment and applied the ointment onto the affected areas in and around the mouth twice a day for the three month period.
The patients were diagnosed and measured for thongprasom scores – which measures the amount of skin that the Lichen planus affects – before the study began and every 15 days during the study. The researchers also measured the patients' pain through VAS scores – the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), which graphically charts the amount of relative pain using questionnaires.
The turmeric ointment had dramatic results
After the first week, nine of the patients had "mild" clinical improvement and one had no improvement. After the second week, nine patients had moderate improvement and one had mile improvement. After the fourth week, nine of the patients had marked improvement and one had moderate clinical improvement. After the third month, nine of the ten patients were clinically healed and one had marked clinical improvement.
As for symptoms, nine out of ten had burning sensations after the first week of treatment, nine had redness, all ten had ulcerations and all ten had Wickham striae - white lines that appear around the lesions. After the second week, those symptoms were seen among five, two, eight and eight respectively. After the fourth week, none of the patients had burning symptoms, and none had redness. Five still had ulcerations and five still had Wickham strai.
But after the third month of treatment, none of the patients had burning sensations, none had redness, none had ulceration and none had Wickham straie.
Among the VAS pain scores, all the patients scored between two and four on the pain scale, and at the end of the three months, that pain went down to zero or close to it among all the patients.
The treatment also resulted in no adverse side effects.
How the turmeric ointment was made
The ointment was derived from the roots of Curcuma longa L. – turmeric – while the plant was flowering.
To make the extract, the researchers ground the root parts in a mill and soaked in 10 parts alcohol to one part powder for 48 hours. The mix was evaporated using a rotary evaporator and then refrigerated.
Turmeric's anti-mutagenic and immune-boosting properties
Turmeric contains numerous medicinal constituents – many of which have shown to be medicinal by themselves. These include turmerin, zingiberene and a number of curcuminioids such as curcumin and hydroxy-methoxyphenyl-heptadiene. It also contains essential oils with 9-turmerons.
Turmeric's antioxidant and curative properties are well known. But what is less known is its ability to alter inflammatory gene expression among the immune system. This includes inhibiting COX-2 gene expression and inhibiting tumor growth.
In a study that illustrated this, researchers from the University of Hong Kong found that curcumin inhibited the growth of tongue cancer cells within the laboratory.
This ability to moderate and stimulate the immune system is apparently a good match for lichen planus because the disorder appears to relate to damaged T-cell responses among the skin cells. Apparently the T-cells begin to attack the skin cells as though they are foreign.
Read more: http://www.ashtarcommandcrew.net/profiles/blogs/turmeric-ointment-h...
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I agree, Michael...everyone needs to be made aware of the benefits of the earth's natural pharmacy.
Great picture!
This is really great to know about turmeric and Alzheimers one of the fastest growing diseases in the American human population.
Sayer Ji, Founder
Turmeric has been used in India for over 5,000 years, which is likely why still today both rural and urban populations have some of the lowest prevalence rates of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the world. A recent study on patients with AD found that less than a gram of turmeric daily, taken for three months, resulted in 'remarkable improvements.'
Alzheimer's Disease: A Disturbingly Common Modern Rite of Passage
A diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), sadly, has become a rite of passage in so-called developed countries. AD is considered the most common form of dementia, which is defined as a serious loss of cognitive function in previously unimpaired persons, beyond what is expected from normal aging.
A 2006 study estimated that 26 million people throughout the world suffer from this condition, and that by 2050, the prevalence will quadruple, by which time 1 in 85 persons worldwide will be afflicted with the disease.[1]
Given the global extent of the problem, interest in safe and effective preventive and therapeutic interventions within the conventional medical and alternative professions alike are growing.
Unfortunately, conventional drug-based approaches amount to declaring chemical war upon the problem, a mistake which we have documented elsewhere, and which can result in serious neurological harm, as evidenced by the fact that this drug class carries an alarmingly high risk for seizures, according to World Health Organization post-marketing surveillance statistics.[i][2]
What the general public is therefore growing most responsive to is using time-tested, safe, natural and otherwise more effective therapies that rely on foods, spices and familiar culinary ingredients.
Remarkable Recoveries Reported after Administration of Turmeric
Late last year, a remarkable study was published in the journal Ayu titiled "Effects of turmeric on Alzheimer's disease with behavioral and psyc...." [ii] Researchers described three patients with Alzheimer's disease whose behavioral symptoms were "improved remarkably" as a result of consuming 764 milligram of turmeric (curcumin 100 mg/day) for 12 weeks. According to the study:
After only 3 months of treatment, both the patients' symptoms and the burden on their caregivers were significantly decreased.
The report describes the improvements thusly:
This study illustrates just how powerful a simple natural intervention using a time-tested culinary herb can be. Given that turmeric has been used medicinally and as a culinary ingredient for over 5,000 years in Indian culture, even attaining the status of a 'Golden Goddess,' we should not be surprised at this result. Indeed, epidemiological studies of Indian populations reveal that they have a remarkably lower prevalence of Alzheimer's disease relative to Western nations, [3] and this is true for both rural and more "Westernized" urban areas of India.[4]
Could turmeric be a major reason for this?
Turmeric's Anti-Alzheimer's Properties.
The GreenMedInfo.com database now contains a broad range of published studies on the value of turmeric, and its primary polyphenol curcumin (which gives it its golden hue), for Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment.*
While there are 114 studies on our Turmeric research page indicating turmeric has a neuroprotective set of physiological actions, [5] 30 of these studies are directly connected to turmeric's anti-Alzheimer's disease properties.**
Two of these studies are particularly promising, as they reveal that curcumin is capable of enhancing the clearance of the pathological amyloid–beta plaque in Alzheimer's disease patients,[6] and that in combination with vitamin D3 the neurorestorative process is further enhanced.[7] Additional preclinical research indicates curcumin (and its analogs) has inhibitory and protective effects against Alzheimer's disease associated β-amyloid proteins.[8] [9] [10]
Other documented Anti-Alzheimer's mechanisms include:
Just The Tip of the
MedicineSpice CabinetThe modern kitchen pantry contains a broad range of anti-Alzheimer's disease items, which plenty of science now confirms. Our Alzheimer's research page contains research on 97 natural substances of interest. Top on the list, of course, is curcumin. Others include:
Other potent natural therapies include:
As always, the important thing to remember is that it is our diet and environmental exposures that largely determine our risk of accelerated brain aging and associated dementia. Prevention is an infinitely better strategy, especially considering many of the therapeutic items mentioned above can be used in foods as spices. Try incorporating small, high-quality culinary doses of spices like turmeric into your dietary pattern, remembering that 'adding it to taste,' in a way that is truly enjoyable, may be the ultimate standard for determining what a 'healthy dose' is for you.
To finish reading the article go to page 2.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.
Very true, Malcolm...turmeric is very beneficial for people with cancer. Pregnant women need to be careful not to consume too much turmeric because it could possibly bring on labor.
PEOPLE: take tumeric or curcumin if you are susceptible to cancer.
Curcumin Helps Change Gene Function to Combat Cancer
Byron J. Richards,
Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist
Somewhat quietly, in state-of-the-art molecular facilities at the world-renowned University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is almost secret research on the power of nutrition to kill cancer and help traditional cancer therapies work better. After all, the MD Anderson Cancer Center is at the forefront of newfangled biological cancer medicines and has been a bastion of support for the rather toxic cancer treatments that have dominated Western medicine for decades. On April 21, 2011 researchers published a groundbreaking scientific review of their research on their favorite anti-cancer nutrient – curcumin. Times are a changing.
Their fascination with nutrition is born out of the fact that various nutrients seem to possess intelligence – meaning they can actually tell the difference between a healthy cell and a cancer cell. They are actively researching curcumin, tocotrienols, green tea, quercetin, resveratrol, and many other natural substances. In the case of cancer cells, these nutrients help unleash a powerful response designed to kill the cancer. Yet in the case of healthy cells, the nutrients promote survival and increase the ability of cells to tolerate stress. No current drugs have the ability to do this, even the newer biological medicines that are more like a gene shotgun.
The problem for new biological medicines is that you cannot take a gene-related shotgun to the human body and expect it to survive. The same genes do different things under different health contexts. You can blast away at the core gene signal NF-kappaB, involved in driving the cancer process, but in healthy cells NF-kappaB is the brain of the cell that enables it to survive. It’s all about context. It’s all about what is switched on and what is switched off relating to the DNA. The only chance scientists have of figuring this out is by studying how nutrients function. Thus, hidden away in the Cytokine Research Laboratory of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the MD Anderson Cancer Center is research of necessity that is proving the unthinkable – the true genetic power of nutrition to improve health.
Unfortunately, their new study, Epigenetic Changes Induced by Curcumin and Other Natural Compounds1, is not available to read for free. Thus, I condensed and simplified what they had to say.
The researchers are interested in epigenetic regulation, which is how DNA is modified or “managed” without actual changes to DNA. In cancer, DNA has been hijacked and regulation transferred to the cancer process. How to stop this process once it starts and how to prevent it in the first place is of immense importance to the general cancer issue. It is clear that toxins, pollution, infections, infectious toxic byproducts, ongoing stress, ongoing inflammation, and free radical damage all work toward damaging DNA and creating the possibility for mutation and cancer (adverse epigenetic influences). Such damage occurs daily in everyone and is hopefully repaired. When damage occurs at a rate greater than repair capacity then genetic weaknesses are magnified, and cancer sets in. It is now known that this process involves epigenetic changes and these changes have the domino effect on gene activation (or inactivation).
This is how the researchers explain their interest in curcumin:
“Recently, natural compounds, such as curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and resveratrol, have been shown to alter epigenetic mechanisms, which may lead to increased sensitivity of cancer cells to conventional agents and thus inhibition of tumor growth. Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a yellow spice and the active component of the perennial herb Curcuma longa, commonly known as turmeric, is one of the most powerful and promising chemopreventive and anticancer agents, and epidemiological evidence demonstrates that people who incorporate high doses of this spice in their diets have a lower incidence of cancer. Furthermore, epidemiological evidence exists indicating a correlation between increased dietary intake of antioxidants and a lower incidence of morbidity and mortality. ... How curcumin exerts its powerful anticancer activities has been thoroughly investigated, and several mechanisms of action have been discovered. ... Curcumin exerts its biological activities through epigenetic modulation.”
The researchers then explain in great depth, how curcumin changes the regulation of DNA to help kill cancer. They also point out that it seems to influence some of the very same factors in healthy cells to survive better – a process they do not as yet understand (and as I explain above is a driving force for this research in the first place). It is quite fascinating that the core gene signal, NF-kappaB, typically receives instructions on what to do via the modulation of DNA by epigenetic factors. Literally hundreds of signals potentially impact NF-kappaB and influence what it will do next. In the cancer context curcumin is continually altering epigenetic signals to overthrow the hijacking process and kill the cancer. In health, curcumin is doing just the opposite. This is truly amazing research – proving the power of nutrients to help human health.
The researcher can’t say enough good things about curcumin:
“Extensive research over the past five decades has indicated that curcumin reduces blood cholesterol levels, prevents low-density lipoprotein oxidation, inhibits platelet aggregation, suppresses thrombosis and myocardial infarction, suppresses symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease; inhibits HIV replication, suppresses tumor formation, enhances wound healing, protects against liver injury, increases bile secretion, protects against cataract formation, and protects against pulmonary toxicity and fibrosis. These divergent effects of curcumin seem to depend on its pleiotropic molecular effects, including the regulation of signal transduction pathways, and direct modulation of several enzymatic activities. Most of these signaling cascades lead to the activation of transcription factors.”
Their point is that curcumin not only influences epigenetic settings, but it also manages the downstream consequences, helping guide multiple steps in the way gene orders are implemented. While many natural compounds help in this regard, curcumin is clearly the favorite of researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Their enthusiasm for curcumin pervades this paper. It appears that the mainstream is finally making some connections and showing appreciation for the power of natural health.
Of course, researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center are not the only ones excited about researching the anti-cancer and health protecting properties of curcumin. Papers are published every week on the topic from all around the world. Researchers just showed that in humans damaged by arsenic poisoning that curcumin could actually repair the damage to their DNA2. Other researchers showed that curcumin directly damages the DNA of colon cancer cells3. And other new research showed that curcumin could block the cancer activation of HPV infected cells4 by blunting the effects of estrogen in conjunction with HPV to turn on cancer genes, indicating a potential role in the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. The research is intense and ongoing.
In the midst of the heated turf battle between the Big Pharma-backed model of health known as Western medicine and those who advocate more natural strategies to prevent and treat health problems, there arises some common ground. My hat is off to the researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center for their work that is advancing both Western medicine and natural health.