Turmeric has moved to the top of the healthy food chain. The 4,000-year-old staple of Southeast Asian cooking is showing up everywhere, including ballpark snacks and Starbucks lattes. It’s easy to understand why; turmeric’s most active component, curcumin, is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that may help treat or prevent diseases ranging from arthritis to ulcerative colitis and cancer. But does adding turmeric to your latte or plate of chicken masala do these things?
Not likely, says Randy Horowitz, MD, medical director of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson.
“Turmeric only contains about 2 to 6 percent curcumin, so you’re not getting much [of the anti-inflammatory effect],” he says.
地面姜黄还有其他的缺点。圣地亚哥植物学研究专家埃兹拉·贝贾尔博士警告说，随着姜黄越来越受欢迎，不择手段的制造商正在把合成的姜黄添加到真正的产品中。一些添加剂是有毒的，比如亮黄色的铬酸铅。In the last few years,13 brands of turmerichave been recalled for lead contamination.
Continue readingTurmeric Probably Won’t Help Your Arthritis (But Curcumin Might)
