Popular Asian Spice’s Heart Health Benefits Proved
Turmeric has long been known by Chinese and Indian healers for its curative properties. Canadian researchers have shown how it can prevent or reverse cardiac problems.
Turmeric, a golden yellow spice derived from a root similar to ginger and galangal, is a major ingredient in spice mixes for cooking curry dishes throughout India, China and Southeast Asia.
Healing Properties of Turmeric
As well as its digestive properties, the healing properties of turmeric have been well known in eastern cultures. It is used in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine to reduce scar formation, and is a common home remedy to apply to a cut or bruise to prevent ugly scarring.
Now Canadian researchers have shown that eating curcumin, a natural ingredient in turmeric, may dramatically reduce the chance of developing heart failure.
Researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the Toronto General Hospital found when the herb was given orally to a variety of mouse models with enlarged hearts (hypertrophy), turmeric can prevent and reverse hypertrophy, restore heart function and reduce scar formation.
Curcumin Works in the Cell Nucleus
The researchers were able to show that, unlike many natural compounds whose effects are minimal, curcumin works directly in the cell nucleus by preventing abnormal unraveling of the chromosome under stress, and preventing excessive abnormal protein production.
“Curcumin’s ability to shut off one of the major switches right at the chromosome source where the enlargement and scarring genes are being turned on is impressive,” says Dr. Peter Liu, cardiologist in the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and Scientific Director at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health.
He is also the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Polo Chair Professor in Medicine and Physiology at the University of Toronto,
Dr Liu described the research and its implications for people with heart problems in a media briefing on the paper, Curcumin prevents and reverses murine cardiac hypertrophy, which was published in the February edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Curcumin’s action is good news for the many fans of Indian and Asian food, and people with concerns about developing heart attacks or heart failure.
However, Dr Liu cautions about going overboard on eating curries or other turmeric-based dishes. “The beneficial effects of curcumin are not strengthened by eating more of it,” he says
Safe and Effective Means of Preventing Heart Failure
Since curcumin is a naturally occurring compound that is readily available at a low cost, it might be a safe and effective means of avoiding heart failure in the future by preventing enlargement of the heart.
“Whether you are young or old, male or female, the larger your heart is, the higher your risk is for developing heart attacks or heart failure in the future,“ Dr Liu says.
Clinical Trials of Curcumin
However, it’s too soon for curcumin-based medications to be on the market, as they have not yet undergone clinical trials.
There are some curcumin-based treatments currently in clinical trials; these are for patients with pancreatic and colorectal cancer and are showing promising results.
If clinical trials of curcumin support initial findings of preventing heart enlargement, Dr Liu predicts it may offer hope for millions of patients with heart enlargement in a relatively safe and inexpensive manner.
In the meantime, he recommends common sense approaches to maintaining a healthy heart: “lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, exercising and healthy eating.”
And if that healthy diet also includes a golden yellow curry dish once in a while, so much the better!
