Turmeric May Not Be A Wonder Spice After All

Can the 'it' super-ingredient of the moment turn out to be not so super?The mustard-colored spice [...]

By PopCulture.com Staff

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(Photo: iStock)

Can the "it" super-ingredient of the moment turn out to be not so super?

The mustard-colored spice has been touted as an "Anti-inflammatory molecule in the turmeric root, a relative of ginger," according to a publication by The UCLA Neurology Center. The publication goes on to read, "The polyphenols share in common anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties with associated health benefits."

These benefits are tough to prove, thanks to a group of researchers at the University of Minnesota Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development. Kathy Nelson, a research associate at the University, along with her team, found that, "Not a single double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of curcumin, the active chemical in turmeric, has shown the spice to have an impact on human health. A recent meta-analysis of more than 120 clinical trials and 5,000 published studies casts serious doubts on whether there are any significant health benefits to the spice," according to their research.

"There may be something beneficial about turmeric," Nelson told The Huffington Post. There is anecdotal evidence proving that there could be minor benefits of the spice including: fighting a cold or topical treatment for bug bites. "Not all curcumin studies evaluated met best practices for a controlled study," explained Nelson, "In instances where the outcomes appear to have worked in beneficial way, it could have been false activity."

While you are whipping up a turmeric tea, latte or smoothie - just be sure to manage your expectations that it will be your cure-all.

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