Spice up your life with turmeric - and health

If you chow down on curry dishes regularly, give yourself a pat on the back (or tummy). You probably gobble the spicy stuff because it's delicious, but here's another good reason to load curry sauce on your veggies: turmeric, the main ingredient in curry, is proving to have numerous health benefits.

Turmeric, or Curcuma longa, has been used traditionally in Indian Ayurvedic medicine to strengthen overall energy, relieve gas, relieve arthritis and improve digestion, among other uses. It's more commonly known as a spice in Eastern cooking. The same yellow pigment that stains your wooden spoons - curcumin - is the powerful compound in turmeric that's been the focus of most recent research. Investigators are finding that curcumin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic (or anti-cancer) properties. Here's the lowdown on some of the most promising research to date.

Cancer

Numerous studies have found that curcumin suppresses the proliferation of cancer cells.

* In one recent study on hamsters with chemically induced tumors, subjects receiving topically applied and orally ingested turmeric and/or curcumin developed significantly less tumors than the control group. Researchers concluded that turmeric or curcumin may have a chemopreventive effect on precancerous lesions of the mouth.

* A second study found that daily turmeric intake for 9 months contributed to regression of precancerous lesions in the mouths of humans. Thus, curcumin may be especially beneficial for smokers.

* Curcumin supplementation inhibited carcinogenesis in the stomach and colon, in mice, in another study.

* Other research showed that curcumin inhibited the growth of estrogenpositive, human breast cancer cells. The researchers asserted that including turmeric in the diet might help prevent hormone-related cancers resulting from environmental pesticide exposure. There's more than one theory on how curcumin protects against cancer. It may encourage apoptosis of cancer cells - in other words, getting the nasty cells to kill themselves off. Curcumin's powerful antioxidant ability is also attributed with the compound's anti-tumor activity. This makes sense, considering that antioxidants scavenge harmful free radicals that can lead to cancer-cell proliferation.

AIDS

* Curcumin and its derivatives have been shown to inhibit a protein secreted by HIV1-infected cells that may encourage the pathogenesis of AIDS. In a controlled clinical study, 18 HIV-positive patients who took 2,000 mg of curcumin daily had increased counts of CD4 immune cells. Pending studies should clarify the potential benefits of curcumin in AIDS patients.

Cholesterol/heart disease

* Turmeric extract may help manage heart disease by decreasing cholesterol levels and other disease risk factors. Animals supplemented with turmeric extract had lower total cholesterol than controls. In a similar study, diabetic rats fed curcumin for 8 weeks experienced decreases in LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides and phospholipid levels., A higher rate of cholesterol breakdown in curcumin-supplemented rats may help explain the cholesterol-lowering effects.

You'd have to down a lot of turmeric to get the amount of curcumin considered an effective dose for medicinal benefits. Supplements are a more practical way to get optimal levels for most people. A standardized formula providing 400 to 600 mg of curcumin taken three times daily is typically recommended. Of course, increasing turmeric ,in your diet is also a good way to up your disease protection - and a good excuse to eat more tasty Indian food.

Note: Turmeric is contraindicated for pregnant women and people with hepatitis.

REFERENCES

Babu P.S., Srinivasan K. "Hypolipidemic action of curcumin, the active principle of turmeric (Curcuma longa) in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats," Mol Cell Biochem, 166(1-2):169-175, 1997.

Barthelemy S., Vergnes L., et al. "Curcumin and curcumin derivative inhibit Tat-mediated transactivation of type 1 human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat," Res Virol, 149(1):43-52, 1998.

Copeland R., et al. "Curcumin Therapy in HIV-Infected Patients," Int Conf AIDS 10, 216 (abstract no PB0876), 1994.

Huang M.T., et al. "Inhibitory effects of curcumin on tumorigenesis in mice," J Cell Biochem Suppl, 27:26-34, 1997.

Krishnaswamy K., Goud V.K., et al. "Retardation of experimental tumorigenesis and reduction in DNA adducts by turmeric and curcumin," Nutr Cancer, 30(2):163-166, 1998.

Krishnaswamy K., Raghuramulu N. "Bioactive phytochemicals with emphasis on dietary practices," Indian J Med Res, 108:167-181, 1998.

Mehta K., Pantazis P., et al. "Antiproliferative effect of curcumin (diferuloylmethane) against human breast tumor cell lines," Anticancer Drugs, 8(5):470-481, 1997.

Ramirez-Tortosa M.C., Mesa MD, et al. "Oral administration of a turmeric extract inhibits LDL oxidation and has hypocholeterolemic effects in rabbits with experimental atherosclerosis," Atherosclerosis, 147(2):371-378, 1999.

Soni K.B., Lahiri M. "Protective effect of food additives on aflatoxin-induced mutagenicity and hepatocarcinogenicity," Cancer Lett, 115(2):129-133, 1997.

Surh Y. Molecular mechanisms of chemopreventive effects of selected dietary and medicinal phenolic substances. Mutat Res, 428(1-2):305-327, 1999.

Verma S.P., Salamone E., et al. "Curcumin and genistein, plant natural products, show synergistic inhibitory effects on the growth of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells induced by estrogenic pesticides," Biochem Biophys Red Commun, 233(3):692-696, 1997.

Liz Brown is a freelance health and nutrition writer based in Portland, Oregon. She earned her B.S. in nutrition at The University of Minnesota.

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