Κουρκουμάς: Οφέλη για την Υγεία

Hi! I'm Stelios Pantazis. I'm a doctor and I specialize in medical nutrition and metabolic disorders. Today, I'm talking about turmeric, which is really beneficial to our health. As the health benefits of turmeric are too many and its possible uses are quite a lot, I'll dedicate two videos to it. In the first one, which you're watching now, I'm presenting its health benefits, focusing on the studies showing that it helps in some diseases, while in the second one, which will be released next week, I'll present the ways in which you can introduce turmeric in your life. First of all, I'd like to explain that what we buy as turmeric is a yellow powder which comes from the plant's root, which has been dried and ground, in the same way wheat becomes flour, namely by grinding in a mill. Turmeric has been used as a spice in Asian cuisine for thousands of years, therefore we can be sure about the safety of its daily and extended use. It has been estimated that in Asia, the average person consumes approximately 2.5 gr of turmeric a day, practically for all their life, without this use causing any health problems. However, there are diseases or drugs that prohibit or limit the use of turmeric that you should know of. We'll talk about these later. Turmeric has been extensively studied in the last decades, because is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, which is largely attributed to the active ingredient it contains, which is called curcumin. Turmeric and curcumin have been tested in clinical studies and they seem to help in the treatment of many diseases and the reduction of their symptoms. Let's see what these are. Osteoarthritis. This is the use for which I most often recommend the introduction of turmeric and curcumin in the daily life of my patients. First of all, let me remind you that this is a chronic disease and it drastically affects the patient's quality of life and mobility, while the conventional solutions for its treatment are very few and often dangerous. The long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs poses risks for the liver and kidneys, while the supplements with chondroitin and glucosamine, which really help, are expensive, if they are administered in the right dosage. On the other hand, the effectiveness of turmeric is extraordinary, because it immediately relieves, from its first use, and it's also affordable, because it costs 7 euro/kg. Finally, its long-term use has been proven exceptionally safe, as we saw in the introduction. Seasonal allergy. I use turmeric in seasonal allergy too, because its anti-inflammatory effect helps here too. In the next video, after the health benefits, which we'll see today, I'll present you the way and doses of its use. Mood disorders. Turmeric has impressive data on the improvement of mood. Studies have been published showing that it helps reduce the symptoms of depression. It can be administered on its own or combined with antidepressants. If you take antidepressants and you decide to introduce turmeric in your diet, you must inform your doctor. Stress. In this case too, there are some noteworthy scientific data that encourage you to try turmeric. Reduction of triglycerides. One of the really useful benefits of turmeric is the reduction of triglycerides. Some studies claim that it can reduce cholesterol too, but this hasn't been confirmed by wide and trustworthy studies on humans yet. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Many studies have been published in medical bibliography showing that curcumin prevents the progress of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, namely the accumulation of fat in the liver that isn't caused by alcohol abuse. Inflammatory bowel diseases. The potent anti-inflammatory curcumin, as expected, also reduces the symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. In international bibliography, rather noteworthy data have been published on Crohn's disease, where it has been proven that turmeric on its one or combined with conventional drugs helps reduce symptoms, while more and more positive studies are being published on ulcerative colitis too. Diabetes. Another use is for people with predisposition to diabetes, namely suffering from prediabetes or hyperinsulinemia. Turmeric reduces the chances of these developing into diabetes. Data here are relatively preliminary, but taking account of the safety and price of turmeric, you should introduce it in your daily life. Autoimmune diseases. Turmeric has been tested in medical studies on the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, with quite noteworthy success. Muscle pain due to intense exercise. If you've ever exercised intensely and felt intense stiffness in your muscles one or two days later, you should know that a few grams of turmeric will relieve you immediately. These are the proven and recommended