♦ Turmeric and its ‘active ingredient’ Curcumin!

🤸Important information on how to keep fit & healthy and live a long & happy Life!🧘‍♀️
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Hуgιєια
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♦ Turmeric and its ‘active ingredient’ Curcumin!

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Turmeric

Curcumin, yellow in colour, is the Molecule giving Turmeric (Curcuma longa) its distinctive bright yellow colouring.
A polyphenol, Curcumin has shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent.

As the referenced studies show, these therapeutic properties are successfully applied in the treatment of:


♦ Required Co-factors
However, as Curcumin by itself is not very well absorbed, to get the full benefit of this molecule, Turmeric requires to be prepared with other natural compounds providing the necessary synergy to gain the full benefit:
  • Piperine/Pepper
    Piperine is a bioactive alkaloid found in Pepper.
    Piperine alters intestinal permeability, it does this via Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, which is an enzyme facilitating the metabolism and transfer of compounds across cell membranes, (the outer coating around cells), which acts like a gatekeeper, regulating the permeability of compounds across the membrane.
    A study showed that 20mg Piperine increased the bioavailability of Curcumin by 2000%.

    Piperine also has been shown to help relieve nausea, headaches and poor digestion and also has anti-inflammatory properties.
    Its ability to facilitate and improve the absorption of curcumin makes it an ideal co-factor for Turmeric/Curcumin to gain its full benefit.
    The content of Piperine varies greatly in different varieties of the Piperaceae family.
    It ranges between 2% to 7.4% and up to 9% in long pepper (piper longum), black and white pepper (piper nigrum)
    .
  • Fat
    Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Wheat Germ Oil or Almond Milk, etc.
    Fats and oils facilitate the absorption of Curcumin in the following ways:
    • They increase the permeability of the intestinal wall
    • Facilitate the transport of molecules into the bloodstream via the intestinal lymphatic system.
    • Increasing the solubility of compounds that are not water soluble; this is important since Curcumin has a rather low water solubility!
  • Quercetin
    Plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols.
    Found in:
    • Green Tea
    • Red Grapes
    • Red Wine
    • Onions
    • Apples
    • Berries
    • Broccoli
    • Citrus Fruits
    • Cherries
    • Coffee
    • etc.
  • Heat
    Cooking or heating Turmeric increases its water solubility.
    Note; prolonged cooking on high heat however can damage this delicate molecule.

♦ Use the whole Herb:
The fallacy of the pharmaceutical industry is that their profit motivation and relentless pursuit of monopoly requires them to produce difficult to obtain, pure form, single molecule type pharmaceuticals which then are laced with toxic adjuvants to get their ‘active ingredient’ to even provide any therapeutic benefits.

Every Herb is imbued with a large range of molecules which act in synergy and enhance the benefits of the so called ‘active ingredient’, thus using the whole herb rather than a single extract or chemically produced molecule, provides the full benefit of mother nature’s own ‘pharmacy’!
Studies have also shown that bioavailability of Curcumin is higher when ingesting Turmeric as a whole Herb compared to ingesting the single Molecule Curcumin alone! [10]

A quick drink can be prepared by adding into a cup:

Golden Elixir
  • One heaped teaspoon of Turmeric Powder
  • Several dashes of black or white Pepper
  • Some Coconut Oil (or your own preference of oil)
  • If you find the taste too bitter add some brown Sugar if necessary
Pour boiling hot water to fill the cup!

♦ Dosage
Turmeric is a culinary Herb widely used in cooking and various other ways, thus intake and dosages can vary significantly.
As a guideline, 2 to 5 grams of dried Turmeric Powder per day as a prophylactic can be considered adequate. However this can be adjusted according to personal requirements.

If you are taking it in capsule form then one or two 500mg capsule three times per day with an equal amount of black pepper could be considered sufficient.
As an added benefit wash it down with Green Tea which contains Quercetin and the Catechin Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG).

A clinical trial in France [8] was conducted to determine the suitable dosage to treat advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
It was determined that the recommended Curcumin dosage per day is 6000mg for 7 consecutive days, every 3 weeks. (along with standard docetaxel (chemotherapy) treatment)

If you don’t like the taste of Turmeric and prefer to take it in capsule form you can fill your own capsules and take pepper also filled in capsules at the same time. For a 500mg capsule of turmeric it would require 5mg Piperine equating to approximately 100-200mg of pepper!


♦ References
  • Curcumin has been shown to inhibit the activity of cytokines and enzymes such as COX-1 and COX-2.
    PMCID: PMC3011108 PMID: 21206541
    .
  • [2] Synthetic curcumin derivative DK1 possessed G2/M arrest and induced apoptosis through accumulation of intracellular ROS in MCF-7 breast cancer cells
    PMCID: PMC5320730 PMID: 28239299
    [8]Phase I dose escalation trial of docetaxel plus curcumin in patients with advanced and metastatic breast cancer
    PMID: 19901561 DOI: 10.4161/cbt.9.1.10392
    .
  • [1] Natural anti-inflammatory agents for pain relief
    Curcumin has also been suggested as a treatment for colitis, chronic neurodegenerative diseases, arthritis, and cancer. In addition, it regulates the activity of several enzymes and cytokines by inhibiting both COX-1 and COX-2. Most studies to date have been performed in animals, but given the centuries of use of curcumin, as well as its now demonstrated activity in the NF-kB, COX-1, and COX-2 inflammatory pathways, it may be considered a viable natural alternative to nonsteroidal agents for the treatment of inflammation.
    PMID: 21206541 PMCID: PMC3011108 DOI: 10.4103/2152-7806.73804
    .
  • [3] Curcumin has been found to suppress initiation, progression, and metastasis of a variety of tumors. These anti-cancer effects are predominantly mediated through its negative regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other oncogenic molecules. It also abrogates proliferation of cancer cells by arresting them at different phases of the cell cycle and/or by inducing their apoptosis.
    PMID: 25665066 PMCID: PMC6272781 DOI: 10.3390/molecules20022728
    .
  • [4] Curcumin inhibits cancer stem cell phenotypes in ex vivo models of colorectal liver metastases
    PMID: 25979230
    .
  • [5] Values for serum and salivary vitamins C and E showed a significant decrease in oral leukoplakia, submucous fibrosis and lichen planus, in contrast to healthy individuals, but increased significantly in all groups subsequent to curcumin administration after clinical cure of lesions. Based on these results, we can conclude that curcumin mediates its anti-pre-cancer activities by increasing levels of vitamins C and E, and preventing lipid peroxidation and DNA damage.
    J Oral Sci. 2010;52(2):251-6. PMID: 20587949
    .
  • [6] No toxicities were observed.
    Curcumin down-regulated expression of NF-kappaB, cyclooxygenase-2, and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients (most of whom had baseline levels considerably higher than those found in healthy volunteers).
    Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Jul 15;14(14):4491-9. PMID: 18628464
    .
  • [7] Curcumin, a plant-derived natural polyphenol, could be a promising anti-cancer drug
    Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2010 Sep 22. Epub 2010 Sep 22. PMID: 20859741
    .
  • [8] Values for serum and salivary vitamins C and E showed a significant decrease in oral leukoplakia, submucous fibrosis and lichen planus, in contrast to healthy individuals, but increased significantly in all groups subsequent to curcumin administration after clinical cure of lesions. Based on these results, we can conclude that curcumin mediates its anti-pre-cancer activities by increasing levels of vitamins C and E, and preventing lipid peroxidation and DNA damage.
    J Oral Sci. 2010;52(2):251-6. PMID: 20587949
    .
  • [10] Effect on pro-inflammatory and antioxidant genes and bioavailable distribution of whole turmeric vs curcumin: Similar root but different effects:
    Whereas turmeric diet increases the levels of IL-6 (1.9-fold, p=0.05), iNOS (4.39-fold, p=0.02), IL-8 (3.11-fold, p=0.04), and COX-2 (2.02-fold, p=0.05), suggesting that turmeric either was more bioavailable or had more effect on pro-inflammatory genes compare to curcumin diet.
    PMID: 22079310 PMCID: PMC3267883 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2011.10.070
    .
  • The role of turmerones on curcumin transportation and P-glycoprotein activities in intestinal Caco-2 cells:
    Results showed that in the presence of α- and aromatic turmerones, the amount of curcumin transported into the Caco-2 cells in 2 hours was significantly increased.
    PMID: 22181075 PMCID: PMC3282471 DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2011.1845
    .
  • [9]Investigation of the effects of solid lipid curcumin on cognition and mood in a healthy older population
    Curcumin may inhibit amyloid pathology (a type of degenerative brain plaque found in Alzheimer's disease)
    • Protects against oxidative stress
    • Reduces inflammation
    • Neuroprotective, promotes neurogenesis and neuroplasticity
    • Improves the functioning of neurotrasmitter systems

    The study involving 60 healthy adults found that a single dose of 400 mg of a solid curcumin formulation resulted only one hour later in significantly improved performance on sustained attention and working memory tasks, compared with placebo.
  • [11] Curcumin may provide great potential effects against diabetic kidney disease.
    Results: Five RCTs involving 290 participants with DKD were included. Curcumin supplementation significantly improved the serum creatinine
    2021 ;2021:6109406. Epub 2021 Dec 2. PMID
    .
  • [12] Use of curcumin in achieving clinical and endoscopic remission in ulcerative colitis.
    CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates higher clinical remission rates when curcumin was used in combination with mesalamine to achieve remission in patients with UC. Curcumin, due to its cost effectiveness and safer side effect profile, can decrease the healthcare burden and morbidity associated with this relapsing and remitting disease.
    Am J Med Sci. 2018 10 ;356(4):350-356. PMID: 30360803
    .
  • [13] A complex of curcumin and phosphatidylcholine is effective in reducing the symptoms of ostearthritis.
    Significant improvements of both the clinical and biochemical end points were observed for Meriva (commercial Curcumin Product) compared to the control group. This, coupled with an excellent tolerability, suggests that Meriva is worth considering for the long-term complementary management of osteoarthritis.
    Altern Med Rev. 2010 Dec;15(4):337-44. PMID: 21194249
    .
  • A polyherbal cream application of curcumin had a HPV clearance rate of 81.3%.
    Clearance of cervical human papillomavirus infection by topical application of curcumin and curcumin containing polyherbal cream: a phase II randomized controlled study.
    HPV clearance rate in Basant arm (87.7%) was significantly higher than the combined placebo arms
    2013 ;14(10):5753-9. PMID: 24289574
    .
  • [14] Curcumin has value as an add=on therapy in patients with bronchial asthma.
    RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The results showed that curcumin capsules help in improving the airway obstruction which was evident by significant improvement in the mean FEV1 values. There was also significant improvement in the hematological parameters and absence of any clinically significant adverse events indicates dependable safety profile of curcumin capsules
    .
  • [15] Curcumin attenuates allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in sensitized guinea pigs.
    Curcumin (20 mg/kg body weight) treatment significantly inhibits OVA-induced airway constriction (p<0.0399) and airway hyperreactivity (p<0.0043). The results demonstrate that curcumin is effective in improving the impaired airways features in the OVA-sensitized guinea pigs.
    2003 Jul;26(7):1021-4. PMID: 12843631
    .
  • [16] Curcumin reduces lung inflammation via Wnt/β-catenin signaling in mouse model of asthma.
    CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin could influence the morphology and function of DCs, ease asthma symptom and inflammatory reaction through the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. These results provide new evidence new evidence for application of curcumin on asthma.
    J Asthma. 2017 May ;54(4):335-340. Epub 2016 Aug 15. PMID: 27715343
    .
  • [17] Immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory potential of curcumin for the treatment of allergic asthma.
    In conclusion, curcumin significantly ameliorated allergic asthma. The anti-asthmatic effect might be attributed to the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and elevation of aquaporin expression levels, suggesting further studies and clinical trials to establish its candidature in the treatment of allergic asthma.
    Inflammation. 2019 Dec ;42(6):2037-2047. PMID: 31407145
    .
  • [18] Curcuma longa (turmeric) and tinospora cordifolia (guduchi) prevents antibiotic-induced liver damage in patients with tubercolosis.
    CONCLUSION: The herbal formulation prevented hepatotoxicity significantly and improved the disease outcome as well as patient compliance without any toxicity or side effects.
    PMID: 18720535
    .
  • [19] Curcumin alleviates ethanol-induced oxidative damage in liver cells.
    CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin exerts hepatoprotective properties against ethanol involving HO-1 induction, which provide new insights into the pharmacological targets of curcumin in the prevention of alcoholic liver disease.
    J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Jan 18. Epub 2010 Jan 18. PMID: 20080166
    .
  • [20] Curcumin improved quality of life in liver cirrhotic patients.
    CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin improved QoL in liver cirrhotic patients according to CLDQ, LDSI 2.0, and SF-36 domains.
    Complement Ther Med. 2020 Mar ;49:102351. Epub 2020 Feb 19. PMID: 32147077
    .
  • [21] Short term curcumin intervention ablates diabetic kidney disease progress with activating Nrf2 anti-oxidative system and anti-inflammatory efficacies in patients with T2DM.
    In addition, curcumin reduced plasma MDA level with enhanced the Nrf2 system specifically regulated protein, NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO-1) together with other anti-oxidative enzymes in patients' blood lymphocytes. Furthermore, we observed reduced plasma LPS content and increased IκB, an inhibitory protein on inflammatory signaling in patient's lymphocytes after curcumin administration. Finally, several gut bacterials important for maintaining gut barrier integrity and function were upregulated by curcumin.In conclusion, short-term curcumin intervention ablates DKD progress with activating Nrf2 anti-oxidative system and anti-inflammatory efficacies in patients with T2DM.
    Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 2015 Jun ;123(6):360-7. Epub 2015 Apr 14. PMID: 25875220
    .
  • [22] Curcumin induces programmed cell death and inhibits proinflammatory prostaglandin E2 production in synovial fibroblasts of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
    Curcumin-induced apoptosis was also associated with the proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, and the concomitant degradation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase protein. Furthermore, curcumin decreased the expression levels of the cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mRNA and protein without causing significant changes in the COX-1 levels, which was correlated with the inhibition of prostaglandin E(2) synthesis.
    Int J Mol Med. 2007 Sep;20(3):365-72. PMID: 17671742






Hуgιєια; Goddess of Health!
It's incumbent upon every individual to take responsibility for their own health!
Real Healthcare is where the underlying causes are addressed.
The Body can heal itself, but only if given the right conditions!
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