Ayurveda considers food as medicine. It makes use of herbs and spices in daily life to create and maintain balance in the physiology. Ayurveda considers any herb that benefits the digestive system to be among the important herbs. Turmeric is one such herb. In India it is traditionally thought that it bestowed the energy of the Divine Mother. South Asian cultures use it both medicinally and culturally. I used to notice that cooks in Uttarakhand put it in everything even pasta! When I asked them they told me that haldi is put in everything except when somebody in the family dies.
In recent times the West has become aware of the various benefits of this herb and because of this it has been getting a lot of attention. Everything now has some turmeric in it. You can find it in juices, coffees, teas, soups and there is even something called turmeric shots.
Research done in the Western world has found that it is the ingredient called curcumin that is mainly responsible for the benefits that turmeric exhibits. But they also discovered that this curcumin is not very easily absorbed in the body and also it is excreted very fast. They found that if this curcumin was taken along with piperine, one of the ingredients of black pepper, then it’s absorption was better. In Ayurveda curcumin is not extracted and then given as the medicine. The whole turmeric root is ground and that powder is given. It has been found that turmeric has about 235 compounds. When the whole rhizome is given the effects of turmeric are very easily seen. Maybe the other ingredients help in their own way and this whole combination acts as a complete medicine. It has also been found that the whole is better than just curcumin. These other products play a role in absorption and also the transport of turmeric throughout the body.
The yellow color of turmeric is given from this curcumin. It is also called as the sun’s spice because of its color.
The research which has been done is taking turmeric to new heights, and awareness about it is increasing.
I am just going to briefly talk about the benefits of turmeric. It has been shown to have anti cancerous properties. It acts in three ways here. It helps to neutralise substances and conditions which cause cancer. It helps to protect the cells from carcinogens. It also blocks the formation of enzymes which cause cancer. Even during cancer treatment it helps to prevent some of the side effects.
It has anti inflammatory properties. A paste of turmeric and neem leaves gives relief when a joint is inflamed. When research was being done on its anti inflammatory properties on elderly patients it was found that it also protected the brain and chances of developing Alzheimer’s were less. The effect of turmeric as an anti inflammatory agent were compared to steroids when first discovered.
In gingivitis it has been found to be very effective. It is used as a mouthwash here.
. . . to be continued
Mrs. Mira Swami, Department of Ayurveda