Keep Calm and Curry On.

Sophomore year, whenever the school cafeteria would serve chicken curry, I would run towards the lunch lines (the only running I ever did) while screaming like a toddler. My Indian friends would grin at each other as I engulfed my fourth helping of "buttered chicken."

“Patrick” they would say, “stop eating that trash”. Later I would learn that the school’s buttered chicken was an inferior imitation of authentic Indian buttered chicken, which is orange to yellow in color, compared to the sickly pale color of my school’s buttered chicken. Buttered chicken takes its color from turmeric, a spice native to Indian. Because of its vibrant color and tendency to stain, turmeric has been used historically as a dye. The compound Curcumin, shown below is responsible for its color.

Keto form of Curcumin

My good friend, Vivek Nair, further said that turmeric had disinfecting properties and has been used as a folk medicine in India for quite a while now. He gave an anecdote about how his grandmother would boil water, then sprinkle a dash of turmeric in it further help disinfect it. How does turmeric kill bacterial and viral infections? This remains unknown. Researchers are not certain if turmeric is even capable of disinfecting wounds. Perhaps Vivek is just a big, fat liar. Perhaps this is something worth investigating myself. It’s a shame that I’ll have to resort to self-testing as no one seems keen to me sprinkling orange power into their open wounds.

I did not discover until later while writing this blog that while turmeric may be incapable of disinfecting wounds, it has been found to inhibit the growth of V. parahaemolyticus, a bacterium found to cause gastrointestinal illness when ingested. Turmeric is also the most effective at inhibiting the growth of Helicobacter pylori, a similar bacterium that causes stomach illnesses.

While its disinfectant properties are uncertain, turmeric boasts a myriad of other medicinal properties. With its ability to reduce inflammation, treat digestive problems and hinder some cancers, I am tempted to label it as a wonder spice. However, the University of Maryland Medical center warns that some of these effects have not been tested in humans and that only cucurmin extracted from turmeric, not turmeric as a whole, has been used in these tests.  

In 2007, a group of researchers demonstrated that turmeric inhibits the growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus mirabilis all of which are histamine-producing bacteria. (Histamine is responsible for inflammation). However, I was disappointed to find out that cinnamon and clover are more effective at inhibiting the growth of such bacteria.

What about turmeric’s ability to combat cancer? Turmeric has been shown to decrease uncontrolled cell reproduction and to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in tumor cells. Mice injected with cancer cells were then treated with turmeric (10-40 grams). Researchers found that mice treated with turmeric experienced up to 80% less tumor formation than untreated mice.

 Cinnamon Turmeric Challenge

Hold on, hold on, you may say to yourself. “Self, is this turmeric substance really as good as this Patrick fellow says it is? If it’s so good, how comes it isn’t more popular?” The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that long-termed consumption of turmeric may cause stomach upset. Turmeric also acts as a blood thinner and may lower blood sugar count. Before rushing off to the nearest supermarket to hoard turmeric, you should be advised that the turmeric from the store may contain some impurities.

Remember, when you’re eating butter chicken, you’re not getting fatter, you’re building immunity to cancer. 

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I'm Patrick. I'm young, and I have dreams and passions.