Health from the inside out

Who may have heard of turmeric - a spice commonly used and raved about in recent years for all of its benefits. Having been used in Ayurvedic medicine for years, its history and uses have been present for as many as 4,000 years [1]. The American National Centre for Biology Information states that ‘modern medicine has begun to recognise its importance, as indicated by the over 3000 publications dealing with turmeric that came out within the last 25 years’ [2]. According to the New York Times, The Nutrition Business Journal has reported that in 2018 alone, sales of turmeric products in the United States amounted to $328 million, which was more than seven times the amount sold in the previous decade [3]. 

Curcumin is the very important little compound that’s within the turmeric root. Truth Origins’ Dr Harrison Weisinger says ‘it is actually curcumin that is responsible for the majority of known biological effects that have been attributed to turmeric.’ Dr. Weisinger attributes the benefits of curcumin to its chemical makeup, he says, ‘it is curcumin’s unique chemical structure, with its different binding capacity, that enables it to act upon various biological ‘targets’. These targets include inflammatory mediators, growth factors, enzymes, carrier proteins, metal ions, tumour suppressors, transcription factors, oncoproteins and cellular nucleic acid’  [4].

The compound may also have a wider range range of benefits - a recent study by researchers at The University of South Australia looking into the efficacy of treating Alzheimer's disease with nanoparticles of curcumin, found that ‘in animal experiments nanoparticles containing curcumin not only prevents cognitive deterioration but also reverses the damage.’ thus paving the way for further trials to monitor the benefits of curcumin in Alzheimer's disease [5]. Co-author of the study published in March 2020 Professor Xin-Fu Zhou, a UniSA neuroscientist, says ‘Curcumin is a compound that suppresses oxidative stress and inflammation, both key pathological factors for Alzheimer's’ [6].

Food for your hair 

Over at Refinery29.com, they recommend adding turmeric to your hair regime, and creating a mask made from Turmeric and Olive oil [9]. They suggest adding turmeric to olive oil and massaging the mixture into your scalp. The mask should be left on for 20 minutes and then rinsed out with a natural (surfactant-free) shampoo. They say the mixture can help ‘keep your hair healthy and treats a host of scalp conditions, especially dandruff.’