Spice up your food: Add some curry and stay healthy. One of the ingredients of curry is the “super spice” turmeric, which will protect you against several serious diseases as well as overweight. The reason is that turmeric contains curcumin, a natural phenol, which gives the turmeric its yellow color, and curcumin is rich in antioxidants. According to Professor Emeritus Stig Bengmark, who studies food’s influence on our health, curcumin is one of the better antioxidants out there, more effective than many. The majority of tests done on turmeric have been performed on animals, but some also on humans. Several studies show that turmeric can help lower cholesterol. Also curcumin has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years as a “cleanser of the body”, and many people in tribes that eat a traditional diet age without being affected by diseases like Alzheimer’s and prostate cancer. It may have to do with the fact that curcumin is also anti-inflammatory. Professor Bengmark recommends at least a Tablespoon of turmeric a day in order for it to have any real effect. Turmeric is not harmful, so go ahead and add as much as you’d like. Some of the diseases it is said to prevent: Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart diseases, arteriosclerosis, certain types of cancer, skin problems, infections, obesity and diseases in the liver.
Stig’s cocktail with turmeric (mix and drink once or twice a day): ½ a glass of fruit juice (for example apple or pineapple), 1 Tablespoon turmeric, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice.