TURMERIC AND INFLAMMATION-NEW FINDINGS

Turmeric has a unique dietary role under the Indian cooking system and there is practically no curry preparation without the presence of this ubiquitous natural condiment. With almost all artificial colors being weeded out of human diet because of the health risks associated with them, Turmeric emerged as a rich source of natural yellow color which is available to day across the world for food industry to use in hundreds of processed food products. More than the color, Turmeric is recognized as a food component with medicinal effects. Besides its antibacterial credentials, the Curcumin that is present in it is considered as an anti inflammatory substance possessing properties to combat a number of human diseases linked to inflammation. Here is the latest findings on Curcumin which seem to be opening new avenues for its effective use in counteracting human diseases among population across the world.. 

"Turmeric has been used widely in Indian cooking for thousands of years, and, in the past two decades, hundreds of studies have determined curcumin helps fight arthritic inflammation, reduces cancer risk and slows the onset of diabetes, said Sukumar, co-director of the breast cancer programme at Johns Hopkins. Curcumin is a potent inhibitor of inflammation, which can exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis and spur cancerous growths, according to Sukumar. The compound inhibits a molecule called NF-kB that plays a key role in initiating inflammation. "What curcumin does is blunt this pathway. That's how it is able to mediate its effect," Sukumar said. Consuming curcumin also has been shown to repair skin damage caused by radiation therapy for cancer, she said. Maitra, Sukumar's colleague, began working a few years ago on a water-soluble form of curcumin that can be taken in pill form. That formulation is still in the experimental stages. The body doesn't readily absorb curcumin so a person has to consume several grams of curcumin a day to get the health benefits, Sukumar said. Pills containing unaltered curcumin are on the market. "The other way, the preferable way, is to add (turmeric) to everything you cook," Sukumar said. To get the full benefits, dissolve turmeric in warm oil and add it to foods, she said".

It is true that Curcumin is not water soluble and most of it, consumed through oral route, does not get absorbed across the intestine having only limited effect on flora associated with the gut. The attempt to increase absorption through its solubilization and creating ready to take preparations like tablets or pills is a welcome effort. Since Indian culinary preparations contain high levels of Turmeric even the limited solubility does help getting adequate quantity into the blood stream to derive the benefits attributed to this food adjunct. It is for those population which do not like the typical flavor of Turmeric in the food, camouflaged preparations are necessary to deliver sufficient dosage to confer the benefit. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

NEW TOOL TO MEASURE INFLAMMATION DUE TO FOOD

Vast information about foods of various kind, especially the health benefits as being claimed by the manufacturers, can put any consumer, even if highly educated, into a state of confusion, hardly helpful in selecting right foods from the aisles of the supermarket. Government agencies have limitations in controlling or policing the industry and ultimately it falls on the shoulders of the consumer to decide which food is beat for him. Recent action by the EU in enforcing some order in health claims is a welcome move and rejecting more than 99% of the claims routinely printed on the labels generates some confidence among consumers that industry does not have unbridled freedom to mislead them. Development of a new analytical tool recently to test the healthiness or otherwise of foods developed for the market may go a long way to routinely assess the effect of any food on the inflammation will be a valuable tool for the industry as well as developmental scientists in the field of new product design. Here is a take on this new optical based test protocol which may become a common gadget in the coming years.

"The human body is complex, and designing a miniature artificial gastrointestinal system proved to be extremely exacting. The solution provided by researchers at EPFL ultimately took the shape of a two-level chip, whose levels are connected via a porous membrane. The upper level, which represents the intestinal wall, is made of a homogeneous layer of cultured epithelial cells. The lower level represents the circulatory system and is made up of immune system cells, and in particular macrophages. The macrophages' job within the human body is to keep it clean: when they encounter any potentially dangerous agents they release molecules such as cytokines that activate other immune-system cells. The NutriChip platform uses CMOS high-resolution optical sensors developed by Sandro Carrara's team in the EPFL's Integrated Sytems Lab in order to precisely detect and measure cytokine production by the immune cells that are on the other side of the layer of intestinal wall cells. These measurements, which are performed using fluorescence, show exactly how much inflammation is caused by a given food".

How far such tools become popular depends on the sincerity of the industry in ensuring the well being of the consumers because of the prevalent trust deficit that exists in the minds of consumers regarding the true intentions of industry in making products that are healthy in stead of being tasty. But a time may come when safety agencies can insist on al foods being non-inflammatory as tested by the nutriChip system as being developed now. Whether the industry will concur with such tight regulations remains to be seen. But if consumer pressure is mounted in an organized way, there is no reason as to how the industry can continue its resistance to measures like this in the interests of the consumer.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

CURRY FOR BETTER HEALTH?-THE SCIENTIFIC ANGLE!

Curry dishes of India have often been ridiculed and reviled because of their strong smell and pungency not tolerated by people in the West. Traditionally Curry preparation is a blend of different spices, the major one being Turmeric which imparts its characteristic yellow color and mild aroma. Turmeric shot into prominence some years ago as a source of natural color after synthetic colors were weeded out by the food industry due to their toxicity to humans. The Curcumin fraction in Turmeric is responsible for the yellow color and it can be extracted in relatively concentrated form through oleoresin route. India is the major country which supplies Curcumin to the world market for use by the food and pharmaceutical industries. It was known that Turmeric has health protecting properties which were exploited by the traditional Ayurvedic medicinal system in India. Now comes the news that Curcumin from Turmeric plays an important role in boosting human immune system and reducing systemic inflammation in the body when taken regularly and can protect the regular consumers from many infections. Here are more details about these findings. 

"Any natural compound that can influence or raise CAMP levels is of significance to human health, as it helps boost immunity and provides a barrier against a host of chronic conditions and pathogenic invaders. In recent years, vitamin D has been studied extensively and has been found to be a potent stimulator of CAMP activity. New research has found that curcumin and vitamin D work synergistically to fight infection and systemic inflammation as they both exhibit disease-fighting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The lead study author from the Linus Pauling Institute, Dr. Adrian Gombart commented about the study,"This research points to a new avenue for regulating CAMP gene expression... it's possible that sustained consumption over time may be healthy and help protect against infection, especially in the stomach and intestinal tract."Researchers compared the CAMP-stimulating activity of curcumin to omega-3 fatty acids and found that curcumin caused levels of CAMP to almost triple. Vitamin D and curcumin have both been the subject of intense research over the past decade, because of the many potential therapeutic benefits in treating infection, cancer, psoriasis, and other diseases. New studies will be designed to fully examine the ability of these natural nutrients to enhance the genetic expression of the CAMP peptide to protect against a broad range of bacteria, including those that cause tuberculosis and protect against the development of sepsis. Experts suggest 2000 to 5000 IU of vitamin D and 500 mg of a standardized curcumin supplement daily to yield optimal protection from bacterial and viral pathogens and chronic diseases".

The synergy between Curcumin and Vitamin D is another discovery with far reaching implications. Those living in Tropical countries like India are exposed to Sun more than others in other parts of the world which helps them to generate plenty of Vitamin D in the process and interestingly the same people also consume lot of curry preparations containing Turmeric. Probably this may explain the relatively high immunity enjoyed by Indians against many pathogens that are prevalent here under conditions which are conducive to their proliferation while food poisoning episodes in highly "sanitized" countries like the US are frequent and serious. More studies planned to elucidate the full impact of Curcumin+Vitamin D combination preparations may herald a new era of food based palliative products that can fight a plethora of diseases that bother the world to day.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com