Turmeric, in all honesty is not a vitamin, but it can certainly help to boost your immune system. Of course Turmeric is a herb and in recent years has become quite popular in the Spice Rack of modern day kitchens.
The proper name for Turmeric is Zingiberaceae; it is a member of the Ginger family and is also known as Curcuma.
It has not been very widely researched in humans, however animal research has been conducted for many years and they have shown this herb to have a number of beneficial medical properties, such as an immune stimulant, a helpful treatment for arthritis, also may help in the prevention of some forms of cancer, heart disease, liver problems and the prevention of cataracts.
In the kitchen, Turmeric is used for giving curry the yellow coloring; it has been used for this purpose for thousands of years by Indians in the preparation of meals. It was also prescribed by Chinese physicians for various medical problems
Most of the research that has been done into the benefits of Turmeric has been done in India, because the scientists in the west had never shown much interest in the herb, until more recent times, this research has shown that it can help in the prevention of the following illnesses, Wounds, it does have some antibacterial properties, it has been effective against some strains of Salmonella, which causes food poisoning, it does have anti inflammatory effects which has helped with the pain associated with arthritis and because it contains antioxidants, it can help in the prevention of cancer and cataracts.
Turmeric, as I have said is part of the Ginger family, which does help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, studies with animals have shown Turmeric to have similar qualities.
Turmeric is listed as generally safe, and it should only be taken as medicine after consultation with a physician, because of its blood thinning qualities, it should not be taken with other types of blood thinning medications like Vitamin E or any prescribed anticoagulant.
It will not do any harm taken in small amounts such as you would put in curries or other savoury dishes, Large amounts taken could give stomach upsets. Normal small amounts would be excellent for health, but take caution and qualified advice for larger medicinal quantities.
