question cumin curcumin........................

Curcumin is actually the yellow pigment in the spice Turmeric

where Cumin is the seed of a small plant related to parsley. Though both are good for you they are not the same.


Turmeric

Turmeric, with its yellow pigment curcumin, is the underground stem of a tropical perennial that grows in many hot Asian countries. The stem is a light brown colour on the outside but, when ground, produces a bright yellow powder. Being very cheap and colourful it has been heaped into curries for thousands of years - with very interesting results. For a long time it had been noted that people in India had relatively low rates of cancer of the oesophagus. In laboratory tests curcuminoids have been shown to kill melanoma cells.

Evidence from Swansea University now suggests that turmeric may be effective at blocking NF-kappaB, a protein linked with several cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.





Cumin

Cumin is the seed of a small plant related to parsley but found in hot climates, especially North Africa, India and the Americas. The seeds are boat-shaped and resemble caraway seeds, but are lighter in colour and have tiny bristles. They should be roasted before being ground, but can then be used to spice up a whole range of dishes including curries, stews and grills. Cumin is very commonly used in Mexican, Spanish, Indian or Middle Eastern cooking. A word of warning, however: go easy on the cumin - half a teaspoon is ample for a family of four!

Cumin has long been believed to help people suffering from disorders of the digestive tract including heartburn, nausea and diarrhoea, probably due to it stimulating the production of pancreatic enzymes. Cumin is also believed to have important anti-cancer properties, due firstly because of its ability to neutralise cancer-causing "free-radicals", and, secondly, by enhancing the liver's detoxification

Here is an article you might find helpful



Friday, June 05, 2009

[link to supplementspot.com]

Cutting-Edge Natural Health & Anti-Aging Products.
Curcumin: A Cancer Healing Spice

A Cancer Healing Spice: Turmeric SupplementSpot Nutrients, June 2004 <h3Imagine an herb that is so smart it can tell the difference between a cancer cell and a normal cell - and attack the cancer cell, but not the normal cell. And, is also so protective, that it can neutralize common chemicals we are exposed to better than almost anything else.

The herb is curcumin (actually an extract from the herb turmeric) and it is getting close attention from scientists the world over. Dr. Ralph Moss, the well-known cancer expert, recently gave his opinion that the low cancer rate in Sri Lanka (27.5/100,000) compared to the U.S. (173/100,000) could be due in a significant part to their consumption of curry containing significant amounts of curcumin.

Turmeric is a plant (Curcuma longa), native to South India and Indonesia. Its tuberous rhizomes have been used from antiquity as a condiment, as a textile dye, and medically as an aromatic stimulant. Turmeric is a common ingredient in Indian food and yellow mustard.

Curcumin, the substance that gives the spice turmeric its yellow color may help fight cancer, preliminary evidence suggests. Researchers have found in the lab that the active ingredient in turmeric, called curcumin, can enhance the cancer-fighting power of treatment with TRAIL, a naturally occurring molecule that helps kill cancer cells. TRAIL stands for tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand. In an experiment with human prostate cancer cells in a laboratory dish, the combination treatment killed off two to three times more cells than either treatment alone. Curcumin may block the progression of multiple sclerosis.

Turmeric may also help suppress multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, early lab research shows–suggesting yet another health benefit from this long-heralded substance. Adding curcumin to human cells with the blood cancer multiple myeloma, Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and his colleagues found, stopped the cells from replicating. And the cells that were left died. Although the study did not test the benefits of curcumin in patients, previous research has shown the substance may fight other types of cancers. SupplementSpot has compiled many research papers that can be acessed through its library on the many ways curcumin can stop cancer in the early stages, literally in its tracks:

a. By blocking cancer causing chemicals, curcumin can stop 62% of cancers caused by such chemicals. In test animals, the number of total tumors caused by introduction of these chemicals was reduced by 81%.

b. Curcumin blocks the chemical which allows cancer cells to develop new blood supplies; in other words, it is anti-angiogenic!

c. Curcumin is a great COX-2 inhibitor, a natural enzyme that promotes cancer growth.

d. Curcumin stimulates the p53 gene, a defense mechanism of the body which causes tumor cell death.

e. Curcumin inhibits the epidermal growth factor receptor site which is necessary for cancer cell growth.

Based on these factors, coupled with its relative affordability; it makes very good sense for all cancer patients to consider using curcumin on a regular daily basis. Other Known Benefoits You Can Read About in The SupplementSpot Library Glutathione & Curcumin

Glutathione is an important component of many systems in the body. At our hospitals, it has proven invaluable in the treatment of Parkinson’s patients and others tout its benefits in multiple sclerosis. Glutathione is often reduced by destructive chemicals which enter the body; one of the most common being alcohol. Curcumin protects glutathione from destruction in the presence of destructive chemicals, including alcohol. Liver Protection Think of liver protection and you think of silymarin. Curcumin has proven to be equal to or even superior to silymarin in liver protection and detoxification. Anti-Inflammatory

Well-researched, and almost as well hidden, is the fact that curcumin as an anti-inflammatory is equal to cortisone - without any of the side effects! These anti-inflammatory actions are believed to be due to anti-histamine activity associated with inflammation. Curcumin and Cataracts

A little known, but extremely important, use of curcumin is for the prevention of cataracts or the prevention of the progression of cataracts once they are discovered. The benefits of curcumin in these cases were considered to be due to its sparing action on glutathione, another cataract inhibiting substance. As A Digestive Aid

As mentioned before, curcumin is a liver protector, but it also increases bile secretion which enhances the digestion of fats and helps prevent gall stones from forming. With the high amount of gall bladder surgeries in this country, protection of this kind could be important.

SupplementSpot produces potent, pharmaceutical grade curcumin in affordable amounts designed for long-term use. Given the meny benefits it should be added to the daily regimen of all SupplementSpot clients.

Last Edited by Angel Girl on Cloud 9™ on 06/05/2009 09:09 PM

Curcumin is the concentrate. It's a natural N SAID. I can't take it, tried. I am sensitive to N SAIDS.

thankyou

Is the 'black pepper' you need to aid in absorbtion the same type of pepper in your salt & pepper shaker ? Can you just buy some black pepper corns & smash them up ?

They have 95% curcumin at walgreens for like $7, then they have it with the black pepper for $19.99.

Here is an interesting site, although don't know if they are still in business; doesn't seem to have been updated for a few years:

Black Cumin
[link to www.kitchendoctor.com]

their 4 thieves page
[link to www.kitchendoctor.com]

wait...so to stop a cytokine storm just buy tumeric?

Dried whole turmeric rhizome is hard as rock and keeps for many years, use a fine sharp grater to turn it into powder.

I used to keep live rhizomes as part of the seed bank but stopped recently because it's such a pain whilst moving around.

Yes, the black pepper is the same.

It's up to you if you want to get that curcumin supplement that has black pepper in it.

The thing is that what you get in those supplements is only a tiny amount. I buy turmeric (which is the spice that contains curcumin) by the quarter pound. It's a lot cheaper than the supplements. Then I just use the spice for teas and foods.

The black pepper helps the intestines absorb curcumin.

If you take curcumin by eating the spice turmeric, you can also absorb curcumin better if you cook it briefly. I make a tea where I boil the turmeric and some black pepper for a minute or two until the yellow curcumin turns a deep orange color, then I let it cool and make the rest of my tea.

Hey rachel!

Yes! But don't wait until your lungs start to get congested... with the avian flu scares now I'd start taking it as soon as I realized I had a flu, not a cold.

Here's a recipe for really killer turmeric tea that I've been using for my arm inflammation problem. It works great for my injuries, like magic.

2 cups water
1 tsp ground turmeric
a good pinch ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
large pinch of ground ginger or 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
maple syrup to sweeten & flavor

Bring water, turmeric and black pepper to a boil and simmer briefly. Tea should turn a deep orange color. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Add lemon juice, ginger and maple syrup to taste.

I also steep some white tea in this, but that's just something extra.

The spice Tumeric itself is very good for you and yes very healthy read all the above I posted. But the Curcumin 95 has the percent extracted that is needed the actual spice doesn't have that high of a concentration. But yes will work for you.

One of the problem with certain brands is that it has some additives that aren't good for you in there and some have binders in them that make it hard for you to absorb minerals or some nutrients.

Curcumin is wonderful and lowers triglycerides like crazy. Take as capsules for your heart.

Hi Ossie Bloke you sound like me with the seed bank . All my years of doing it now being a MH has finally paid off.

MH = master horticulturist?

Master Herbalist.

Sorry...lol

After I completed my other degrees that has been my fun goal I guess.

I beg to differ. Yes Turmeric is good for you and cheap no question about it as I said. Yes many many health benefits. But the question is asked:So to the question of whether someone can take amounts of turmeric to
equal the suggested doses of curcumin, the answer is, “probably not. As I stated above but found this synopsis interesting when doing research on before and thought you would all too as you were asking.

As curcumin is an extract of the spice root turmeric, people often ask
me whether they can just eat the spice turmeric instead of the
extract. I took a few minutes over lunch today to figure this out.

Back in 2006 Tayyem et al, reported on the curcumin content of 28
curry blends and tumeric powders they had tested.

“ Pure turmeric powder had the highest curcumin concentration,
averaging 3.14% by weight.”

Commercial extracts are usually somewhere between 80-95% curcumin by
weight. Let’s see if we can do the math.

If you want to eat an equivalent of 3,000 mg per day of curcumin
extract, say 4 750 mg capsules, how much turmeric does that equal? At
90% concentration that equals 2,700 mg of pure curcumin. Assuming you
have bought the strongest turmeric available and it is 3% curcumin, an
equivalent dose would be about 90,000 mg or 90 grams. There are 28
something grams per ounce so that equals about 3 ounces. A little
less than a quarter of a pound.

So to the question of whether someone can take amounts of turmeric to
equal the suggested doses of curcumin, the answer is, “probably not.

Here was my source:
Abstracts:

Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Jul 15;14(14):4491-9.Click here to read Links
Phase II trial of curcumin in patients with advanced pancreatic
cancer.
Dhillon N, Aggarwal BB, Newman RA, Wolff RA, Kunnumakkara AB,
Abbruzzese JL, Ng CS, Badmaev V, Kurzrock R

Last Edited by Angel Girl on Cloud 9™ on 06/05/2009 10:57 PM

I did think I should add in case others with conditions are reading:

As always any of the above posts or below of mine are not representing medical advice or making claims of cures. Use at your own risk and seek the advice or your medical Dr. or advisor.

Do not use Curcumin if you suffer from gallstones or a blocked bile duct, as it increases the production of bile acid.
If you are taking Warfarin or other blood thinning medication, consult your doctor before taking Curcumin.

lol thanks for all the info

Your welcome I owe you a big thank you you brought some research to my attention on the burdock leave that I was very interested in. SO thank you very much. I appreciate all your knowledge of herbs and things you are learning that you are willing to share as well as questions. It is fun to learn something new or share something new everyday.:)

Have a great weekend hon

Last Edited by Angel Girl on Cloud 9™ on 06/05/2009 11:08 PM

[link to cgi.ebay.com] is this it?

[link to cgi.ebay.com]

im just gonna get this.

burdock leaf will probably work too

Yep that's it exactly.

hi rach

Great info, Angel Girl! Thanks!!

Hey Snark hon!! Thanks . Hope you have a great weekend.

Hi Phenn hope you are feeling better.

hey phenn,

[link to www.vitacost.com]

This is what I just ordered. And I found out, it's great for my pain and inflammation! Plus, it's a great price.