Spice It Up! - Turmeric

Just as all whole foods probably have numerous phytochemicals that benefit and protect health, the same goes for spices, just as there are some foods that are a level above the rest, so too that goes for spices. Turmeric is a super star. Turmeric is the stuff in curry powder that gives it its vibrant color. The main compound in turmeric is curcumin and numerous studies being conducted across the world are finding that curcumin could be something of a wonder chemical in helping to fight everything from obesity to diabetes to Alzheimer's. It is especially being explored for its cancer prevention and even possible cancer killing properties. (1, 2) The trouble with turmeric is that most people don't eat a lot of curry dishes, not many times a week anyway and many people don't even like curry. Even people like me who do like it may only eat it a couple of times a month - (the beef curry and brown rice at the Curry House in downtown LA is great should you ever get the urge). And I have to admit I haven't branched out in my cooking enough to be throwing together curry dishes on a weekly basis. To get a regular dose of curcumin it may be one of those times where I would suggest supplementing with capsules of curcumin. It's fairly inexpensive and is a known anti-inflammatory so may help your muscles after those hard workouts.
1) S.A. Shah, S.Prasad, K.E.Knudsen. Targeting pioneering factor and hormone receptor cooperative pathways to suppress tumor progression. Cancer Research, 2012
2) S.G.Kim, M.S.Veena, et al. Curcumin Treatment Supresses IKK Kinase Activity of Salivary Cells of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer: A Pilot Study. Clincal Cancer Research, 2011