Feb. 26, 2008

Curry Spice May Thwart Heart Failure

Tumeric Found To Aid In Heart Disease

  •  (CBS/AP)

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(WebMD)  Curcumin, an ingredient in the curry spice turmeric, may help prevent heart failure.

That's according to two new studies done on rats, not people.

In both studies, researchers gave curcumin to rats. The rats then got surgery or drugs designed to put them at risk of heart failure.

The rats that got curcumin showed more resistance to heart failure and inflammation than comparison groups of rats that didn't get curcumin.

Also, in one of the studies, the researchers saw signs that curcumin treatment reversed heart enlargement. The other study didn't include that experiment.

Together, the studies suggest that curcumin short-circuited the heart enlargement process, though it's not clear how it did that.

Both studies showed no sign of side effects from curcumin.

The researchers included Tatsuya Morimoto, MD, PhD, of the National Hospital Organization in Kyoto, Japan, and Hong-Liang Li, MD, PhD, of the University of Toronto's cardiology division.

The studies "came to nearly identical conclusions," says an editorial published with the studies in February's edition of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

But editorialist Jonathan Epstein, MD, cautions against counting on curcumin to prevent heart failure in people, since the findings in rodents may not apply to people.

Epstein works at University of Pennsylvania's cell and developmental biology department, Cardiovascular Institute, and Institute for Regenerative Medicine.


By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2008 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
Add a Comment See all 11 Comments
by kennergirl February 28, 2008 6:45 PM EST
Iceman...I think thats Ginger Spice''s sister.
Reply to this comment
by sandsofchlai February 28, 2008 6:05 PM EST
Also don''''t forget that special aroma that stays with you and announces your presence wherever you go.


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Posted by mediapreachr at 12:56 PM : Feb 28, 2008


ROFLMFAO!! Ever been in a VA Hospital, all the Dot

Head Doctors really stink those places up!!!
Reply to this comment
by peacedreamer-2009 February 28, 2008 6:02 PM EST
And if you are already taking heart medication, don''t take curry, as there can be serious and even fatal interactions between your medicine and curcumin.
Reply to this comment
by peacedreamer-2009 February 28, 2008 4:57 PM EST
BUT, too much curcumin can be toxic, and the difference between a theraputic amount and a tozic amount is tiny, so don''t run off and start chowing down on curry thinking that you are doing something healthy.
Reply to this comment
by mediapreachr February 28, 2008 3:56 PM EST
Also don''t forget that special aroma that stays with you and announces your presence wherever you go.
Reply to this comment
by iceman_1960 February 28, 2008 11:52 AM EST
If Bill Buckley had eaten more curry he might be alive today.
Reply to this comment
by February 28, 2008 8:55 AM EST
Yes it is well known the effects of curcumin. What surprise me was that CBS publish this because it''s largest advertiser "Big Pharma" would be furious.
Reply to this comment
by mrcim February 28, 2008 6:01 AM EST
The anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin in the huuman body are well established. It is effective against essentially all of the inflammation factors including cytokines like Interlukin-6 which is a major precursor to C-Reactive Protein (CRP). CRP has been shown to have very high correlation with heart disease and inflammation is a bigger risk factor for heart disease than high cholesterol.
Reply to this comment
by mrcim February 28, 2008 5:59 AM EST
The anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin in the huuman body are well established. It is effective against essentially all of the inflammation factors including cytokines like Interlukin-6 which is a major precursor to C-Reactive Protein (CRP). CRP has been shown to have very high correlation with heart disease and inflammation is a bigger risk factor for heart disease than high cholesterol.
Reply to this comment
by iceman_1960 February 28, 2008 3:57 AM EST
"Curry Spice May Thwart Heart Failure"
------------------

Which one is she ?

I thought I knew all the Spice Girls.
Reply to this comment
by geerish2 February 28, 2008 3:27 AM EST
Extensive research is required on spices.Unfortunately the spices are represented by food writers for improvement of taste of food whereas they are really very ancient curative substances consumed with food.They give agreeable taste to the foods is a side benefit and there are no side effects.
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