Email   Print

The spices of life

Is it time to trade that aspirin tablet for a teaspoon of turmeric?

Could India’s low Alzheimer’s rate simply be a matter of genetics? Genes may well play a role, but research by Tze-Pin Ng and colleagues at the National University of Singapore also points to a diet rich in turmeric. A study of 1,010 people over age 60 who had no dementia found that those who ate curry “occasionally” and “often or very often” scored higher on mental performance tests than those who rarely or never consumed it. Ng, whose study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2006, also notes that the most typical curry in Singapore is the turmeric-laden yellow curry.

Evidence is mounting that curcumin may help fight many cancers, says Bharat Aggarwal, a professor of cancer medicine at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In addition to reporting that curcumin blocks most of the mechanisms by which prostate cancer cells survive and grow, he and his colleagues have listed nearly 40 animal studies that suggest curcumin may have a strong protective effect against common cancers, including those of the breast, colon, lung, prostate and skin.

“The potential is unlimited,” says Aggarwal, who notes that small clinical studies are underway to investigate curcumin in treating colorectal cancer and multiple myeloma. “Curcumin suppresses most of the biochemical pathways that lead to inflammation—and up to 98 percent of all illnesses are due to the dysregulation of inflammation.” Research has shown that curcumin is likely to block a molecular “master switch” responsible for inflammation and many other processes, including the growth of tumour cells. Small clinical trials are also underway to give us a clearer picture of curcumin’s potential in fighting Alzheimer’s, cancer and other illnesses.

While we’re waiting, should we start sprinkling turmeric into the pan every time we sauté onions and garlic? And, if so, how much?

The mice in Frautschy’s study were fed the daily human equivalent of a gram, or about a quarter-teaspoon of turmeric. Aggarwal notes that clinical studies have found that a daily dose of up to 12 grams (about a tablespoon) a day for three months is safe. The basic rule of thumb? According to Aggarwal: “Eating turmeric is okay for every day.”

Saffron: The priciest spice

This yellow spice comes from the dried and powdered stigmas of Crocus sativus, a fall-blooming purple flower native to southwestern Asia and cultivated in countries including India, Spain, Greece and Iran. The world’s most expensive spice, saffron has been used for millennia as everything from an aphrodisiac to a remedy for colds and stomach problems.

It was also used in traditional Persian medicine to treat depression, a fact that inspired Shahin Akhondzadeh and colleagues at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences and the Institute of Medicinal Plants in Iran to test it in a modern clinical trial of 40 subjects. The researchers reported in Phytotherapy Research in 2005 that mildly and moderately depressed adults who received a daily 30-milligram capsule of saffron for six weeks experienced a significant improvement over those who were given a placebo.

Further research suggests that the ancients, who used saffron to treat about 90 illnesses, may have been onto something big. A series of recent studies in animals have found that saffron extracts blocked or slowed the development of colon, skin and soft-tissue tumours.

<< PREVIOUS   1 2 3 4 NEXT >>
view as a single page