THE turmeric Or yellowing is a spice derived from the root of the “Curcuma Longa” plant and has beneficial properties for our body.
The well -known spice is one of the main ingredients of Indian cuisine, giving its characteristic yellow color to food.
The main active substance of curcuma is curcumin, which has anti -inflammatory and antioxidant activity, limiting the risk of heart disease. In addition, dozens of studies have shown that curcumin can soothe the pain in the joints.
At the same time, turmeric is the basis for curry which is a mixture of ground spices, giving it a golden look.
Curcuma has been used not only in cooking, but also in many medicines for thousands of years.
In recent decades, curcuma has become popular and as a dietary supplement, thanks to the benefits of curcumin, according to a report by the New York Times highlighting a new study.
In Thailand, turmeric is also often consumed in the form of spices or supplements to suppress gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating and indigestion, Dr. Krit Pongpirul, Associate Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
However, only limited studies have evaluated the benefits of turmeric.
In a related test published in the medical journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, Dr. Pongpirul and his colleagues examined whether curcumin supplements could help patients with functional indigestion, a common gastrointestinal disease that causes stomach pain, nausea.
For the research, which lasted eight weeks, the researchers distributed 206 people with operational indigestion into three groups, randomly separated: one group received 20 milligrams of omeprazole (an active substance that reduces stomach acid) once a day, one day and one day two omeprazole and curcumin in addition to the above doses each day.
There were 151 patients who completed the study, both in both four and eight weeks, and all three groups reported relief of unpleasant symptoms: pain, breaking, heartburn and bloating.
According to Dr. Pongpirul, curcumin seemed to be equally effective in reducing the symptoms of functional indigestion with omeprazole.
Few people had side effects, although the authors noted that long -term studies were required to evaluate the risks and benefits of the supplement.
Dr. Brian Lacy, Gastroenterologist and Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, told the New York Times that despite the promising results, he would hesitate to recommend curcumin supplements to his patients only from this study.
As he said, the results would be more convincing if the study included a placebo group.
Without it, it is impossible to know if the participants’ answers came from the treatment, a placebo effect or the passage of time.
However, as functional indigestion causes severe discomfort and there are no approved drugs for its treatment-omeprazole seems to help only 1 in 10 patients-O Dr. Lacy stresses that those who prefer natural or plant products “could use the above data with confidence to say:” Let’s try curcumin first. “
However, Dr. Mahtab Jafari, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California (Irvine), stresses that “patients with painful gastrointestinal symptoms should not use curcumin without any appropriate medical evaluation”.
However, the scientific community concerns about the purity and safety of turmeric supplements, the ideal choice, according to it, is to get fresh turmeric root: “Buy turmeric roots, rub them, add them to your food and enjoy it.” Jafari.