Turmeric Health Benefits

Turmeric has been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory in Chinese and Indian medicine for millennia. Curcumin, the primary pharmacological agent in this spice, contains proven effects in this area that are comparable to over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agents as well as some prescription medications. But curcumin doesn't produce the toxic effect that synthetic drugs sometimes do, such as ulcer formation, internal bleeding, and even a lowered white blood cell count.

Turmeric is also a ginger but the color is orange, turmeric has been used in East India and the Middle East for thousands of years, and is now one of the most highly-prized spices in the world. Ancient medicinal uses for turmeric began when it was noted as an anti-inflammatory agent, and then to treat a wide variety of conditions, such as jaundice, menstrual problems, blood in the urine, hemorrhaging, toothaches, bruises, chest pain, flatulence, and colic.

The basic nutritional aspects of turmeric include a 26% daily value in manganese and 16% in iron. It's also an excellent source of fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, and healthy amounts of vitamin C and magnesium.

The health benefits of turmeric  include an improved ability to digest fats, reducing gas and bloating, decreased congestion, and improved skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne.

More reported health benefits of turmeric include relief from joint pain, such as rheumatoid arthritis, reduced joint swelling, and greater range of motion when used regularly. It's another case of the spice alone having similar effects to that of a prescription medication, but with fewer symptomatic downsides.

Turmeric Tea Benefits

Turmeric tea is one popular form of consuming turmeric. It has a unique but subtle flavor. The tea is also great way to reap the following health benefits of turmeric.

1. Eases arthritis symptoms
2. Helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease
3. Helps prevent cancer
4. Maintains ulcerative colitis remission
5. Boosts the immune system
6. Lowers cholesterol
7. Can help treat uveitis

Preparing Turmeric Tea:

1. Boil 3 to 4 cups of water on the stove.
2. Add 2 teaspoons of turmeric and stir. 
3. Simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Strain the tea into another container.
5. Add in honey, fresh squeezed lemon or orange juice, and milk to taste.

Turmeric Benefits For Skin

Turmeric has been used as a beauty product for centuries. It is an inexpensive and natural way of treating several skin problems and getting a flawless skin. It comes with a range of benefits for the skin.

1.) Treatment Of Acne
You can prepare a face pack by mixing turmeric powder and sandalwood powder and adding lemon juice to the mixture. Apply it on your face for 10 minutes and rinse off with lukewarm water. For acne scars, apply a mixture of turmeric and plain water on the marks for 15 minutes.

2.) Facial Mask For Oily Skin

For oily skin, make a paste by mixing 1 ½ tablespoons of sandalwood powder and a pinch of ground turmeric with 3 tablespoons of orange juice and apply it on your face. Leave it for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse off with lukewarm water.

3.) Treatment Of Wrinkles

Turmeric, in combination with other ingredients, is effective in reducing fine lines and wrinkles. You can prepare a face pack by mixing turmeric powder and rice powder with raw milk and tomato juice and apply it on your face and neck for 30 minutes. Rinse off with lukewarm water. This will reduce wrinkles as well as brighten your skin. If you have dark circles, you can add a pinch of turmeric to 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and apply it around your eyes for 20 minutes. Rinse off with cool water. This is effective in eliminating wrinkles as well as dark circles.

4.) Signs Of Aging

Being an excellent exfoliating agent, turmeric can help eliminate the signs of aging. You can make a paste by mixing besan (gram flour) and turmeric powder in equal proportions with water. This paste can also be prepared in raw milk or even yogurt. Apply it evenly on your body and allow it to dry. Rinse off with lukewarm water and scrub your face gently in a circular motion.

5.) Treatment Of Stretch Marks

Turmeric can help lighten stretch marks. For this purpose, apply a mixture of besan (gram flour) and turmeric with yogurt/raw milk/ water on the stretch marks.

6.) Treatment Of Skin Conditions

Being a natural antiseptic, turmeric with milk is effective in treating skin conditions like poison ivy, eczema and psoriasis. Eczema is quite itchy and a painful disease characterized by red, scaly patches on the skin. Topical application of a mixture of kasturi turmeric with milk can soothe the skin and reduce the redness and inflammation.

Dosage

At any given time, the dosage of turmeric should not exceed over 4 doses of 500 mg ingested orally. The turmeric dosage for inflammation caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is two doses of 500 mg.

Calabash Miracle Fruit

There’s a strange fruit in the Philippines that never fails to catch the attention of whoever sees it. It is common in Mindanao areas. Although not very popular yet, it looks like a young coconut in appearance and watermelon in size. In the science world, it is called Crescentia cujete.

Filipinos call it miracle fruit.  The reasons, it cures some diseases and even cancer. In General Santos City, a group of students from the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University found that “calabash extracts have the ability to prevent blood vessel growth and development.”  As such, it “could be used to help prevent the cancer cells in the human body.” 

The students have analyzed the effects of fruit and leaf extracts of calabash to duck eggs.  In their study, they found that the “extracts have successfully halted toe formation of new blood vessels as shown by the lower number of branching points in ducks embryo compared to the controlled samples.”

According to the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), a line agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the students’ analysis showed that the tree’s “fruit and leaf extracts contain flavonoids such as quercetin and anthraquinone, the important phytochemicals for antiangiogenic activities, a process that inhibits the growth and development of new blood vessels in the body.”

Antiangiogenesis controls the spread of tumor cells in the body by disabling the transport of nutrients toward the cancerous cells, the PCHRD explained.  Tumor cells, as they normally do, start with a single cell, which then divides into more cells.  “The growth of malignant cells will depend on the availability of specific nutrients being transported by blood vessels,” it said.

In Davao City, the Davao Medical School Foundation has confirmed that calabash fruit has a blood sugar lowering effect to the tested animals.

In the web site of PCHRD, it was reported the researchers administered calabash fruit decoction (juice from boiled calabash fruit) to hyperglycemia-induced rabbits and compared effects to Metformin, a standard drug for the treatment of diabetics (positive control) and a mineral water treatment (negative control).

Analysis revealed that calabash fruit decoction and Metformin treated rabbits showed “a significant decreased in the amount of blood sugar in the body. While rabbits administered with mineral water solution have constant high blood sugar levels.”

According to the study, “the decrease of blood sugar level was attributed to the effects of phytochemicals found in calabash fruit responsible for the release of insulin that lowers blood sugar in the tested animals.”

It contains vitamin B1, vitamin C, calcium, iron, sodium and potassium.The pulp, for instance, is very efficient in dealing with respiratory problems such as asthma and cough.  The juice from the pulp is used along with cinnamon, anise and nutmeg to prepare a herbal syrup which, lessens chest disorders and treats gastrointestinal problems.

The decoction of the bark can be used to cure wounds.  The leaves have the ability to decrease blood pressure and headaches.  The leaves can also be crushed and applied to wound to stop bleeding.  If mixed with castor oil, it also acts as a purgative and laxative herb.

Calabash Fruit Juice Instruction

1. Cut the the miracle fruit in the middle, just like cutting a coconut but this time is in horizontal direction. Cutting is the difficult part where you need to use saw to cut perfectly. 
2. Get a spoon and scrape it, put in a large bowl. Turn on the stove and boil it for 30 minutes to 1 hour before draining the juice through a clean cloth. Please don't forget to NOT to put water for it will produce later when boiled. The color of the juice should be dark when done. 
3. Let it cool and transfer to a Wine Bottle and Refrigerate. 
4. Gradually drink it, start with small amount like half of the glass first.

Caution: 

Do not consume this fruit or gourd while pregnant, it is abortive and is used in traditionally to induce labor.