Curcumin may help lower inflammation in metabolic syndrome

[QuotaMan]

I use this brand.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/curcumin-may-help-lower-inflammation-metabolic-syndrome-215657283.html

 

 

 

Adding spice – in the form of curcumin supplements – to the daily diets of people with risk factors for heart disease may lower inflammation, a new study suggests.

Inflammation is implicated in a wide range of illnesses, from heart disease to cancer and joint pain. In the eight-week trial, researchers found significant reductions in signs of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein and other blood markers.

“Curcumin is the active ingredient of the famous spice turmeric and has a long history of culinary and medicinal use in the Asian countries,” said the study’s senior author Amirhossein Sahebkar.

“Two key effects of curcumin that account for most of the therapeutic effects of this compound are its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties,” said Sahebkar researcher at the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran, in an email.

 

Having a large waistline, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and high levels of triglycerides, are among the factors that make up metabolic syndrome. People with three or more of these classic traits are at higher than average risk of developing heart disease or diabetes or both.

Inflammation is also emerging as a feature of metabolic syndrome, Sahebkar’s team writes in the journal Clinical Nutrition. They set out to see if curcumin supplements could at least roll back that risk factor by enrolling 117 participants who had been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome for their study.

 

At the beginning of the study and again at the end, the researchers measured levels of three blood markers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein (CRP), which even on its own has been linked with heart disease risk.

They found that the people who took curcumin had improved blood levels of all three biomarkers as well as reduced fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c, a measure of long-term blood sugar levels. The comparison group had higher glucose and levels of one of the inflammation markers, and no changes in the other markers.

The study team also analyzed data from eight previous studies and confirmed that curcumin had shown a significant reduction of CRP concentrations in a total of 281 patients.

“The findings of our studies, along with clinical findings reported by other groups, indicate the usefulness of daily use of curcumin supplement for the prevention and treatment of several diseases,” Sahebkar said.