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I am feeling the need to extoll the health benefits of turmeric today. I discovered turmeric as a panacea when I became very sick in 2007. When you aren’t sure if you’ll ever walk normally again, you’ll do just about anything. Well it turns out that turmeric, which is also known as circumen, is  a member of the ginger family and has been around for thousands of years. It is revered as a staple in Ayurvedic medicine, among its many uses being taken in a warm glass of milk three times a day to ward off colds and flu. In Eastern religions it is used in ceremonies and pujas. And women actually wear it on their skin for good fortune. 

I started putting a half a teaspoon in water and drinking it once a day, and I have recently started doing this twice a day. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory, therefore it helps sufferers with diseases like arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. It is used widely in cancer prevention. It inhibits cancer cell growth and metasteses. It improves liver function, lowers cholesterol, protects against Alzheimers, and cardiovascular disease. And it is inexpensive. I buy it at the Vitamin Cottage in Boulder in bulk and it costs $4.16/lb (I buy a little over a 1/4 lb at a time). Or you could buy it in pre-packaged capsules, but it is far more expensive and you don’t really need the gelatin capsule. Note: I read somewhere that it takes a couple of months of regular use for the health benefits to take effect.

I can’t say that the turmeric alone is making the difference in my life, as I eat a clean diet, I exercise, meditate, do yoga, get acupuncture 2-3 times a month, and keep things simple. But it resonates for me that I should include it, so I do. And I live a fairly symptom-free existence these days. Except for when I break down and eat sugar and other unwholesome foods, which does occasionally happen. My how the body becomes the barometer.

Here is a good article on the health benefits of turmeric, and there is far more research out there on the world wide web. Western medicine is finally catching on.