Turmeric, also called curcumin, has been used in Asian cookery for thousands of years. Powder ground from the dried root is an ingredient in curry. Turmeric is one of the cheaper spices and makes a vivid splash of color, so it gets heaped into low-market curry blends as fill. Not such a bad idea.
Turmeric holds a high place in Aryurvedic medicine as a "cleanser of the body" and today science is finding a growing list of diseased conditions which turmeric's active ingredient heals. Broad interest in curcumin's anti-inflammatory effects is increasing.
Researchers are examining curcumin as a possible immune system stimulator that can modulate the activation of T cells, B cells, macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells; down regulate various proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and enhance antibody responses. This activity, write M. D. Anderson researchers G. C. Jaggetia and B.B. Aggerwal, suggests "that curcumin's reported beneficial effects in arthritis, allergy, asthma, atherosclerosis, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and cancer might be due in part to its ability to modulate the immune system. Together, these findings warrant further consideration of curcumin as a therapy for immune disorders. (J Clin Immunol. 2007 Jan;27(1):19-35).
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| Credits: photo of Turmeric root from SEAsite |
Ground from the root of a plant (Curcuma longa L.) of the ginger family, found wild in the Himalayas and grown across South Asia, turmeric powder is surprisingly bland, not hot, tangy or peppery. The powder tastes a little sour. The first time I put some on my tongue I suspected my jar, purchased from a supermarket, was stale. Turmeric is pungent, bitter and astringent, not sweet like ginger. Fresh root, which goes well in snacks and main meals, as yet may be hard to find outside of stores in Asian neighborhoods. Turmeric capsules are sold through a number of suppliers.
But why make this spice part of the diet? Let's not romanticize South Asian nutrition today. Although India is doing relatively well, 47% of children there are underweight (Nutrition for Health Development, chart). South Asia's nutritional crises and disparities are harsh. Centuries of charcoal fires for home and industry have contributed to deforestation. Clean water, a cure for malaria, vaccinations and reproductive health care, not more spices, are what most of the citizens of those lands need to improve their health. Yet the very survival of peoples in South Asia must at times have depended on informed use of a wide array of stored dried plants including turmeric root.
