10 Health benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric revered in India as "holy powder" or yellow-gold spice has being used for centuries in Indian Cuisine as a seasoning that provides flavor to Indian curries. It has for centuries been an important part of traditional Asian and Ayurvedic medicine used to treat everything from a runny nose to chest pain.

Turmeric is truely one of nature's most powerful healers. Scientists in Michigan are reporting discovery of the secret behind the fabled healing power of Turmeric.

Using a high-tech instrument termed solid-state NMR spectroscopy, the scientists discovered that molecules of curcumin, the active ingredient, act like a biochemical disciplinarian. They insert themselves into cell membranes and make the membranes more stable and orderly in a way that increases cells' resistance to infection by disease-causing microbes.

1. Small studies have found that curcumin the active ingredient, cuts cholesterol
2. Animal research suggests it inhibits tumor formation.
3. Turmeric is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent, useful in disinfecting cuts and burns.
4. It prevented breast cancer from spreading to the lungs in mice.
5. Reduces the risk of childhood leukemia.
6. May prevent and slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease by removing amyloyd plaque buildup in the brain.
7. A new research, just published in the May 2009 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, involving mice provides clues that turmeric could be helpful in the fight against obesity.
8. Speeds up wound healing and assists in remodeling of damaged skin. Also helps in the treatment of psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions.
9. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, it is a natural treatment for arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
10. Now more than a dozen studies in humans are investigating whether it protects against cancer and other diseases like multiple myeloma, pancreatic cancer