Battling Diabetes

Familiar with turmeric?

Turmeric is a spice in the ginger family.

Spelled t-u-r-m-e-r-i-c, it is pronounced tumeric.

Turmeric is the primary ingredient in curry powder and also gives mustard its yellow color. Curcumin is the main property of turmeric.

Long hailed for its antioxidant properties, turmeric is thought to heal sores, cure arthritis and is considered an anti-Alzheimer’s agent. Curcumin is currently under investigation for its anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University has completed studies which show promising results for the use of curcumin supplementation for colorectal cancer and Alzheimer’s.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a division of the National Institutes of Health states:

But what about diabetes?

Drew Tortoriello, M.D., an endocrinologist and research scientist at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center, and his team are studying the effects of turmeric on laboratory mice and the diabetes connection. They have discovered that turmeric fed obese mice are less likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes and had less inflammation of fat tissues and liver compared to the control group.

What’s the connection? They suspect the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties of the spice reduces insulin resistance, inflammation and reduces some body weight.

What does this mean for diabetics?

Eat more curry?

“It’s too early to tell whether increasing dietary curcumin [through turmeric] intake in obese people with diabetes will show a similar benefit,” Dr. Tortoriello said. “Although the daily intake of curcumin one might have to consume as a primary diabetes treatment is likely impractical, it is entirely possible that lower dosages of curcumin could nicely complement our traditional therapies as a natural and safe treatment.”

Source:Medical News Today.

Interested in reading more about turmeric and clinical science?

Check out tumeric-curcumin . com

In the meantime a few turmeric/curry dishes for diabetics:

From the American Diabetes Association, Virtual Grocery Store: Curried Shrimp

From Bella Online, Cauliflower with Turmeric

And dLife has a great Bombay Curry recipe.