I’ve been hearing a lot about curcumin lately. It is a compound found in the spice turmeric. If you’ve ever had Indian food with curry, you have no doubt eaten turmeric. It is what gives curry its yellow color.
But, could curcumin help cure and prevent some diseases?
Research is point in that direction. A recent nine month study showed that curcumin may be beneficial for people with pre-diabetes. As you know, diabetes, probably due to the obesity problem in America, is on the rise. But, a study conducted in Thailand recently showed that people who consumed curcumin lowered their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The study included 240 subjects with pre-diabetes. Half took curcumin capsules while half took a placebo. At the end of nine months, a sixth of the placebo group went on to contract full blown Type 2 diabetes. No one from the group that took curcumin did.
Researchers believe curcumin helped because it improved the function of beta cells, which release insulin. Of course, as with all studies, more research is needed.
But, curcumin is also believed to help other conditions. Baylor University is doing research on the effect curcumin may have on rheumatoid arthritis. One study showed that taking curcumin may help reduce joint swelling.
In Italy, they are doing research on how curcumin may decrease pain and stiffness associated with knee osteoarthritis.
One study published in Cancer Research suggests that curcumin may slow the growth of tumors in patients who have prostate cancer. And prostate cancer isn’t the only cancer curcumin may help. There are currently more than 1,000 studies that have shown curcumin may shrink tumors in other types of cancers.
Finally, a recent study showed that curcumin, along with DHA, allowed rats with spinal cord damage to preserve walking ability because curcumin minimizes the cellular injury.