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Spicing up your food may be just what the dietitian ordered. Adding the spice, turmeric, to cooking may be a way to lessen inflammatory conditions, based on research conducted by researchers in the University of Nottingham and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
The European researchers determined that curcumin, an important ingredient in turmeric, can help suppress the biological mechanisms that cause inflammation in tendons, the fibrous structures that connect muscles to bones. One particular type of inflammation, tendinitis, commonly affects elbows, heels, shoulders and wrists, and causes pain and tenderness that is often worse at night or with movement.
Curcumin provides turmeric with its well-recognized yellow color. The spice is best known for use in curry, a food, dish or sauce in South Asian cuisine. Curry contains a mixture of seasonings.
Janel Hayden, dietitian at Advocate Christ Clinic in Oak Lawn, Ill., agrees that turmeric could be a healthy addition to a variety of recipes. However, she dispels the perception that turmeric is limited to make use of solely as a Thai and Indian food spice and, instead, recommends adding it to a lot of different foods.
“People often think turmeric is just for curry. That isn’t the situation. The spice could be added to eggs or combined with essential olive oil and put along with vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli and onion,” Hayden explains. “In fact, turmeric could be added to soups, casseroles and salads.”
She describes the flavour of turmeric as warm and bitter. “It isn’t sweet; it provides food just a little kick and flavor,” she says. “And, the fantastic thing about the spice is it is very inexpensive.”
The researchers involved in the study used a human tendon culture to analyze how curcumin affects interleukins, or cytokines, small cell-signaling protein molecules that activate inflammation genes. The outcomes showed that introducing curcumin inhibits activation from the “switch” that triggers inflammation, thereby, preventing further swelling.
Currently, the therapy for tendinitis includes rest, steroid injections and employ of non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), which are frequently associated with long-term side effects, for example stomach ulcers and kidney failure.
While they do not believe curry, turmeric or curcumin are cures for inflammatory conditions, they’re confident the spices provide a new lead in the treatment of such disorders through nutrition-a indisputable fact that Hayden strongly supports.
She recommends adding turmeric to food instead of using the spice in pill form. “Leave that sort of prescribing up to a doctor because the turmeric pill might have negative interactions along with other medication,” Hayden says. “Cooking with the spice is a lot healthier and safer.”
