The healing and anti inflammatory powers of turmeric have gotten enormous attention lately. Tumeric has been recommended as a natural treatment for inflammatory conditions like arthritis and psoriasis and has even been used as complimentary treatment for cancer.Tumeric is also an antibacterial agent, liver detoxifier and has even been used to treat depression and promote weight loss. One of tumeric’s many promising healing functions has to do with treating or preventing brain related diseases, such as Alzheimers.
The compound in turmeric that’s thought to be responsible for its healing powers is curcumin. Tumeric powders, capsules and supplements focus on isolating and promoting this particular compound for its healing benefits.
But like all plants, turmeric is made up of hundreds of compounds. There are many more healing compounds in tumeric than curcumin, though these other compounds get far less attention and praise. One of these compounds is called ar-turmerone. The healing combination of curcumin and ar-turmerone has been found to have synergistic effects on healing the body and brain.
Ar-tumerone has recently been studied as a promising treatment for the regeneration of neurological disease.
A recent study from Germany found that tumeric has a massively regenerative effect on the brain. The study shows that adding the whole turmeric root to the diet may have mpre beneficial medicinal effects on the brain than curcumin alone.
German researchers evaluated ar-tumerone’s effect on neural stem cells, which are a group of brain cells capable of the self-renewal required for brain repair.
The study found that when brain cells were exposed to ar-tumerone, neural stem cells increased in number through enhanced proliferation. The increase number of differentiated neuronal cells is an indication that healing was taking place.
Another study showed that rats injected with ar-tumerone into the brain, also experienced increased neural stem cell proliferation and the creation of newly formed healthy brain cells.
There are other benefits of whole turmeric root.
For example, inflammation in the colon and polyps in the colon respond much better to treatment from the whole turmeric plant.
The additional benefits of the whole root over the powder is that the powder tends to get absorbed in the small intestine and never make it to the large intestine to treat the inflammation. The whole root, which is harder to digest, will have a much better chance of making it to the large intestine for treatment.
The examples above prove that curcumin isn’t the only promising healing compound in turmeric and possibly works in tandem with other turmeric compounds to create specific healing effects.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the whole turmeric root has been so popular in Indian cooking and Indian medicine for thousands of years. It also adds a great flavor to food and drinks.
If brain issues are a concern or run in your family, you might want to add whole turmeric root to your diet for protective measures. Coupling this with a low sugar, whole food diet, stress reduction and exercise will bring even greater benefit to your brain and body health.
Fresh turmeric root can be found in supermarkets in the produce department. Tumeric can be peeled and shredded or juiced. It can be added to curries, smoothie or used to make a comforting, traditional and delicious beverage called golden milk.
Golden milk can be made with grass fed dairy, coconut milk or almond milk. Add 1 tablespoon of fresh, grated whole turmeric root and 1 tablespoon of fresh, grated ginger root to 2 cups of milk of choice. Add a pinch of pepper to make the turmeric more bio available. Simmer the milk for 10 minutes and strain. Let cool and sweeten with a touch of coconut sugar or raw local honey.
You can also throw your freshly grated turmeric root into your morning smoothies or spice your rice with freshly grated turmeric. You can also cut it into chunks and infuse it into kombucha or hot water with lemon. The flavor and health possibilities are endless.
And if you can’t find turmeric locally, you can always find the benefits of whole turmeric in the herbal supplements that come with the 21-Day Body Makeover.
