essential: curcumin

Here's another powerful ingredient to a healthy diet. I feel it is also timely to repost this information from June 2012 about curcumin and it's amazing benefits. 

Curcumin is the active ingredient in the spice known as turmeric. It's a member of the ginger family and is used widely as turmeric in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly curries. Turmeric has a vibrant yellow color and has been used as a natural food colorant. This seemingly simple and innocent spice has incredibly powerful origins in curcumin. In fact, it has moved to the top of my essential supplements list. Here's why:

• powerful antioxidant
• incredibly powerful anti-inflammatory (inflammation is the major cause of all chronic disease)
• stimulates the emptying of the gallbladder
• powerful protector of the liver (our liver is a vital organ with a huge workload in ridding us of toxins we consume and are exposed to)
• helps to lower triglyceride levels

The most exciting news about curcumin is that it has been shown to have a profound effect on inhibiting cancer. Doctors are seeing dramatic results in pancreatic cancer patients. Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest cancers to cure. This is incredible information. So, curcumin not only works to inhibit cancer, but has been shown to greatly affect people who already have been diagnosed with cancer. Curcumin targets the cancer cells, causing them to die. Even better, it protects against cell damage due to chemotherapy. Also, if you've had lots of radiation in the form of x-rays, CT scans, or mammograms - you would greatly benefit from the protection of curcumin.

As always, I recommend buying a quality supplement - you can find great deals online. Look to take between 500mg and 1000mg, up to three times a day depending on your health. Clearly, if you are a cancer patient you will want to take the larger dosage. If you have bad knees due to inflammation, you'll probably want to take a mid to high dose. Again, do your research and ask your doctor questions, if necessary. It has also been proven that taking curcumin with olive oil (or coconut oil) greatly increases absorption. So, when taking the curcumin, you could simply take a teaspoon of the oil at the same time.

*the amazing information regarding curcumin and cancer patients was sourced from Suzanne Somers' new book, Bombshell. See my link here.

how to: spicy hummus

This is a hummus recipe that I really like. It comes from Suzanne Somers and has turmeric and cayenne in it, so it has some kick. I tweak it to my liking, but what I love most about it is the addition of turmeric and the spiciness of the cayenne. Both of these spices are really good for you, especially turmeric, which is a powerhouse, so I look for any way I can add it to my food. Turmeric is a primary ingredient in Asian curries and the pigment that gives it that orange and yellowish color is curcumin, which is has significant anti-inflammatory properties in the body. Interestingly, it's turmeric that usually gives American mustard its yellow color. Studies have the shown the benefits of curcumin at protecting against a variety of illnesses including some cancers, such as colon cancer.

 

4 cups canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained, (I save the liquid)

3 cloves garlic

1/2 lemon, juiced (I love lemon, so I may add more)

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons turmeric

2 sprigs fresh parsley

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor (except bean liquid) and process until smooth. I like to save the bean liquid and add it while the machine is running until you get a nice smooth hummus. Taste and add more lemon and seasoning to your liking. Serve with fresh veggies and pita chips. In the photo above, I served the hummus with Riceworks Brown Rice Crisps in the sea salt flavor. These are great gluten-free crisps that come in a few flavors - the Salsa Fresca and Sweet Chili flavors are also good. You can find them also at Costco.

You can halve this recipe if it's just for two or you don't want to nosh on it all week.