Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain
Speaker 1: Stuff lauringvogal bomb here. Turmeric, a particular staple of Indian
Speaker 1: and Middle Eastern cuisine, has gone totally mainstream in recent years.
Speaker 1: You can find recipes including it and everything from curries
Speaker 1: and soups to tea and smoothies. Turmeric gives curry powder
Speaker 1: it's bright yellow color, but in addition to flavoring dishes.
Speaker 1: This spice has been used medicinally and in religious ceremonies
Speaker 1: for more than four thousand years. The plant is a
Speaker 1: relative of ginger and has grown predominantly in India, though
Speaker 1: it's also farmed in other parts of Asia and Central America.
Speaker 1: Of the world's crop is consumed in India, where it's
Speaker 1: part of the standard daily diet. Some people are skeptical
Speaker 1: of turmeric's glowing reputation. However, after all, we've gotten hyped
Speaker 1: up about things like fish oil supplements and coconut oil before,
Speaker 1: only to have our hopes completely dashed or at least
Speaker 1: tamped down quite a bit when scientists have studied them.
Speaker 1: So what about turmeric? Is it more than just a
Speaker 1: food fat? Turmeric has been part of ayur Veda, a
Speaker 1: branch of alternative medicine that treats mind, body, and spirit
Speaker 1: together four thousands of years, it's thought to improve the
Speaker 1: overall energy of the body, much like modern day prescription drugs.
Speaker 1: Turmeric has an active ingredient called Kirkaman. Kirkoman is the
Speaker 1: reason to umeric is claimed to help with a litany
Speaker 1: of health issues like digest and regulation, hay fever, skin issues,
Speaker 1: breathing problems, gas relief, PMS, back pain, and even Alzheimer's.
Speaker 1: Turmeric has been hailed for its anti inflammatory properties, much
Speaker 1: like ginger. Turmeric seems to block inflammatory cytokinds and enzymes
Speaker 1: within cells in your body, but does science back this up.
Speaker 1: One small randomized study of forty five patients with rhematoid
Speaker 1: arthritis gave five milligrams of Kirkhoman to one group of patients,
Speaker 1: while a second group of patients was given fifty milligrams
Speaker 1: of diclofenic sodium and anti inflammatory drug. A third group
Speaker 1: got both treatments. While all three groups experienced to reduction
Speaker 1: in swelling and tenderness of their joints, the group that
Speaker 1: got only Kirkoman had the most improvement. Another randomized study
Speaker 1: from of a hundred and seven patients with osteo arthritis
Speaker 1: in the knee compared a group of patients who were
Speaker 1: given a thousand milligrams of Kirkhoman with patients who were
Speaker 1: given eight hundred milligrams of iboprofin. The scientists found that
Speaker 1: there was a similar rate of reduction in pain when
Speaker 1: walking for both groups. Nevertheless, the National Institutes of Health
Speaker 1: says that claims of the anti inflammatory properties of turmeric
Speaker 1: and kirkoman have yet to be validated by strong studies.
Speaker 1: That's not to say that turmeric doesn't relieve inflammation, just
Speaker 1: that science hasn't yet definitively determined whether it does or not. Indeed,
Speaker 1: turmeric is still being looked at for this and the
Speaker 1: number of other benefits. The NIH also notes the preliminary
Speaker 1: studies show that kirkuminoids could lower the number of post
Speaker 1: surgery heart attacks and bypass patients, and also reduced the
Speaker 1: skin irritation that often occurs after radiation treatments for breast cancer.
Speaker 1: Another promising used for turmeric maybe depression. We spoke via
Speaker 1: email with Melissa Majumdar, a registered dietitian spokesperson for the
Speaker 1: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and nutrition coordinator at Berghaman
Speaker 1: Women's Hospital in Boston. She said turmeric and depression has
Speaker 1: not been studied on a long term basis, but in
Speaker 1: six to eight week trials, participants demonstrated improved symptoms when
Speaker 1: taking turmeric alongside their antidepressant. One six week study showed
Speaker 1: Kirkman was almost as effective as the drug flu oxytine
Speaker 1: or prozac and relieving depression and didn't cause that drug
Speaker 1: side effects like thoughts of suicide. Even if the medical
Speaker 1: establishment is not giving turmeric, it's full endorsement, yet there's
Speaker 1: not much to lose by trying the spice for medicinal purposes.
Speaker 1: The NIH has declared its active ingredients to be generally
Speaker 1: considered safe. However, it warns that high doses or long
Speaker 1: term use may cause guest or intestinal problems. So how
Speaker 1: much might you take? Since one teaspoon of turmeric has
Speaker 1: two milligrams of Kirkman, you need to add about three
Speaker 1: teaspoons to your food each day. You can also buy
Speaker 1: the active ingredient Kirkman as a supplement in health food stores.
Speaker 1: A dose of five hundred to one thousand milligrams each
Speaker 1: day can help you fight body inflammation, but be sure
Speaker 1: to let your doctor know if you're going to be
Speaker 1: taking Kirkman because Kirkuman supplements often have an ingredient called piperine,
Speaker 1: which increases kirkumen absorption in your body, but may also
Speaker 1: slow down the elimination of some prescription drugs that you
Speaker 1: might be taking for conditions like seizures and high blood pressure.
Speaker 1: This low metabolism in your body can make those drugs toxic.
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Ali A Hoyt and produced
Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang. The brain Stuff is a production of
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this
Speaker 1: and lots of other topics, visit our home planet, how
Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. And for more podcasts from my
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