Turmeric, Time to Dust Off Your Spice Jar

Have you used your turmeric spice lately? You may want to dust off your spice jar and sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of the gorgeous marigold color powder in a steaming cup of tea with a spritz of your local raw honey and lemon. Stir and sip along as you read this article. 

You may have read about one or more of the many health benefits of turmeric, rhizome or the underground stem of the plant curuma longa, and member of the ginger family. 

Holding a place of great respect in Ayurveda medicine, cultivating turmeric for healing dates back to ~500 BC.           Today, turmeric seems to be most well known for it’s anti-inflammatory and cancer fighting properties. 

According to an article by the University of Maryland Medical Center turmeric shows benefit in many conditions including digestive problems, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, stomach ulcers, and bacterial or viral infections. 

Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia is another important condition helped by turmeric. 

I have a diagram in my office showing over 50 biochemical pathways in which turmeric works for good in our body. It’s way more science than I’ll get into here, but here are a few findings that may motivate you to give turmeric a try.  

Traditionally in asian cultures turmeric was used regularly in cooking as well as medicinally. Thus people would get steady doses of the healing whole spice. Meals containing turmeric spice often contained black pepper or oil which we have since learned aides absorption.  

A study in the October 2014 Journal of Phytotherapy Research, highlights turmeric along with other herbs as having      anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects, specifically looking at benefits in rheumatoid arthritis. 

A study found in the August 2009 Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine publication finds that when compared to a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for osteoarthritis of the knee, turmeric extract worked as well!

This is interesting, Johnson and Johnson Company makes bandaids that contain turmeric for their India market. 

A search on pubmed or vitasearch.com will provide multiple studies indicating the benefit of turmeric’s role in pathways that work toward apoptosis (killing cancer cells) and also in helping to prevent the spread of cancer (proliferation). 

I am a long time advocate for weaving whole spice turmeric into our life through teas, cooking and juicing.

It's been a blessing to hear many stories of how consuming turmeric in teas, cooking or taken in supplemental capsule form has helped many clients over the years.  

I have a wonderful turmeric tea recipe containing turmeric spice, honey, lemon and a dash of pepper if desired on my pinterest site: http://www.pinterest.com/dhjlivewell/teas-i-love/  

Try Veggie Juice with Turmeric Spice                                                                                                                                       (serves two)

8 small to medium organic carrots
4 stalks organic celery                                         
1/3 medium beet                                             
1 handful organic herbs such as cilantro, parsley, basil, or use kale                 
1-inch turmeric root ( found fresh in veggie section at markets )     

I’ve also been adding turmeric to soups and stirfrys. I start with 1/2 teaspoon of powder and adjust per taste. 

And From Lemons and Basil Blog, try this seriously yummy and healthy “Balsamic Almond and Turmeric” salad dressing by Kaylee Pauley  

Ingredients  

    1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

    1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

    1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

    1.5 tbsp honey

    1.5 tbsp almond butter

    3 tbsp greek yogurt, plain

    3 tbsp water

    ¼ tsp garlic

    ¼ tsp smoked paprika

    ½ tsp turmeric

To Make 

Add all ingredients to bowl and whisk until smooth, creamy texture.

Or add all ingredients to food processor and blend until smooth.

Makes approximately ¾ cup or six servings.

Store in refrigerator up to one week.                                    

From my kitchen to yours, Enjoy! God Bless, dhj