Seasoning dishes with turmeric may improve resistance to infectious diseases, reports the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.
Aromatic turmeric is one of the basic kitchen spices in Asia and the Middle East – it is included in curry, for example. The ingredient in turmeric – curcumin is a polyphenol that has beneficial effects on human health. Many studies show that this anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound can protect nerve tissue in the brain, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. It is believed to lower the risk of cancer.
Now researchers at Oregon State University (USA) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) have found that curcumin can slightly but visibly raise cathelicidin (CAMP) levels – a peptide that helps prevent bacterial (including tuberculosis), viral and fungal infections . Cathelicidin works even against microorganisms that the body has never come into contact with before.
So far, it has been known that the level of CAMP increases under the influence of vitamin D (and also stimulating its production of sunlight). Curcumin works much weaker than vitamin D, but during the experiments the level of CAMP increased threefold under its influence.
Curcumin has been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine for 2500 years.