Turmeric: Properties and Benefits

In India it is known and used by at least 5,000 years, as medicine, spice and even color, botanically speaking, turmeric belongs to the family of Zingiberacee. These plants are herbaceous perennials, with rhizomes and grown mainly in tropical regions. The plant of turmeric is characterized by long, oval leaves, while the flowers are harvested in the ear. Its name derives from the Persian-Indian and specifically from the word Koura Koum, which means saffron, turmeric and it also known as the Saffron of the Indies. Its rhizomes, which are part of the plant containing the active ingredients or drugs are boiled for several hours and dried in large ovens, then crushed to yield a yellow-orange powder that is commonly used as a spice in cuisine of South Asia.

The spice is derived from turmeric, as we said a nice golden yellow color, contains hundreds of components, but scholarly attention has focused on one in particular: curcumin.

Other components of turmeric are represented by potassium, vitamin C, and 26% starch. Very important also the presence of essential oils that are able to stimulate the appetite and bitter that they are able to stimulate the formation of digestive enzymes.

Healing properties and benefits of Turmeric

According to recent studies showed that curcumin could be useful to counter the emergence of at least eight cancers: colon, mouth, lungs, liver, skin, kidney, breast and leukemia. Turmeric is used in traditional Indian medicine and the Chinese as a detoxifying the body, especially the liver and as anti-inflammatory. These health properties that are attributed to the popular tradition turmeric are the same that are now confirmed by official medicine, especially in light of the numerous studies and discoveries that science has now officially confirmed.

The thing that has "captured" the attention of scholars is the fact that in Asian countries and particularly in India, where turmeric consumption is high, the incidence of cancer is very low. Very interesting antioxidant properties of curcumin that are able to convert free radicals into harmless substances for the body and of course to slow the cellular aging of our heritage. Also very good healing action of curcumin, in India it is applied to the rhizome of turmeric to heal wounds, burns, insect bites and skin diseases with very satisfactory results. Finally, according to a study published in the journal Cancer Research, turmeric have a key role in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. It was also found that the effect of curcumin is even more evident when combined with an isothiocyanate present in vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli or cabbage turnip.

Uses of Turmeric

The plant from which we get is that of Turmeric longa, a plant that lives between 20 and 30 degrees. The first world producer of turmeric is India with its Sangli city, south India, which represents the main center of production.

The turmeric powder is the ingredient that gives the characteristic color to curry, the taste is very volatile, while, on the contrary, the color remains unchanged over time. For this reason it is a substance that is widely used as food coloring in class, its code is E 100; foods such as cheese, yogurt, mustard, canned soups and several others are often colored with turmeric derivatives.

Not to be confused with the curry, turmeric is a dark yellow powder derived from a plant belonging to the ginger family. Its absorption by the body is quite low and this peculiarity makes the use very safe, as it becomes very difficult to recruit large quantities that would be harmful to the organism. On the contrary, this peculiarity may be unable to attend to its effectiveness in this case there are two to help "spices" black pepper and green tea, whose recruitment, substantial increases' s absorption of certain food substances, including curcumin.

To use health-conscious enough to be able to integrate it into our daily diet. A couple of teaspoons a day is the ideal dose, may be added at the end of cooking many foods but you can also add several types of yogurt or make a sauce. It 'important to remember that turmeric is taken with black pepper or green tea to facilitate absorption. Beyond. Also the combination with some fat, like olive oil, butter, or whatever, facilitates the absorption of turmeric.

Did you know? A teaspoon of turmeric is 2 calories. Cosmetics turmeric and the formulation of sunscreen products, anti-wrinkle, purifying and dandruff.

Curcumin is used as well as food coloring (E 100) as a dye for wool and silk and acid-base indicator such as alkaline environment in the color turns to red.

Unfortunately, as happens in many other fields, turmeric is added, from dubious companies, to "stretch" the most expensive saffron in this case, fortunately, given the healthful properties of turmeric, there are no problems.

The oil of turmeric can be used to replace the olive oil in all its uses; beneficial in liver and fat metabolism in general.

Ingredients for 50 cl. of oil:

50 cl. of extra virgin olive oil

3 teaspoons turmeric powder

Put the oil and turmeric in an airtight jar and mix well until the complete amalgamation of the two ingredients. Soak it all remembering to shake the container once a day.

After seven days does not shake the jar and decant it into a glass bottle, eliminating the need to get the turmeric that in the meantime will be deposited on the bottom.

Thanks to the remarkable oxidizing power is also called "oil of youth".

WARNING:

The information provided on this website are for informational purposes only and are general in nature, they can not replace in any way the requirements of a physician or other health care professional under law. Notions about dosages, medical procedures and description of products on this site are illustrative and do not allow a goal to gain the necessary experience and manual for their practice or their use. If you have been prescribed medical treatment please do not interrupt or change them, because all the tips you find on www.mr-loto.it must always be compared with the advice of your doctor.