The “Smarter CURCUMIN (Turmeric)” Deception

The following article was translated from “Smarter Curcumin for dummer consumers?”, published online on July 23, 2019, by Professor Edzard Ernst, a leading international figure in the field of “traditional, complementary, and alternative treatments.”

Claims About Turmeric (Curcumin)

Supports Comfort and Flexibility

Studies have shown that curcumin(the biologically active substance that makes up 2% of the turmeric plant) may reduce certain key enzymes that increase inflammation in the body. Some studies have also viewed curcumin as a natural supplement alternative that plays a role in enhancing comfort and flexibility. Even athletes use it to improve muscle and joint health.

Supports Healthy Joints

Antioxidants play a role in keeping our joints healthy. Your body uses antioxidants to fight free radicals. Free radicals are unstable particles formed as a result of millions of chemical reactions in the body. They can cause oxidative stress and damage at the cellular level. Scientists have observed increased joint activity and reduced antioxidant levels. Since curcumin is rich in antioxidants, it may contribute to your health.

Anti-Aging

Curcumin plays a role in reducing and neutralizing free radicals that damage and destroy your DNAand cause premature aging. This makes curcumin a very important daily supplement for older adults.

A Healthy Immune System

Your immune system is a network in which various organs, tissues, and cells work together to protect your body. Curcumin not only helps enhance the responses of certain antibodies and cells within the immune system, but also helps reduce the activity of some pro-inflammatory substances.

Promotes Heart Health

A healthy heart is achieved particularly through factors such as healthy eating and regular exercise. Adding curcumin to your diet as part of healthy eating may help protect your heart. Oxidized LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or bad cholesterol) particles can cause inflammation in the cardiovascular system . Research suggests that curcumin’s antioxidant effects may help fight these free radicals.

Improves the Digestive System

Curcumin has been shown to soothe the digestive system and help relieve gas, bloating, and other gastrointestinal problems. Probioticsand enzymes work differently from it. It naturally soothes the intestines and reduces excessive acid production.

Supports Liver Health

The liver plays an important role in keeping your body in balance. The health of your liver may be directly related to oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory substances. Curcumin may help reduce liver toxicity and restore the liver’s balance.

Supports Brain Health

The link between inflammation and cognitive health is undeniable. Neurons are particularly sensitive to inflammation, and the release of inflammatory compounds in the body can have neurotoxic effects. Curcumin may help protect these valuable brain cells.

The Facts About Turmeric (Curcumin)

Professor Edzard ERNST says: What fascinates me here goes beyond the abundance of therapeutic claims about curcumin. As far as I can see, most of these claims have no scientific evidence of the kind I recognize to support them; there are plenty of claims backed by elaborate, pseudoscientific arguments, but no strong scientific evidence. False claims have become so commonplace!

There is an extraordinary image in this article designed to catch our attention immediately (the image above). Many people may have no idea what it is supposed to depict beyond a leopard running inside a blood vessel. Others will recognize the setting as an artery and assume that the running leopard represents increased blood flow through the vessel.

But why? There is no evidence that curcumin has this effect, and the therapeutic claims above are largely unrelated to improvements in blood circulation.

The vessel is filled with disc-shaped erythrocytes (red blood cells). However, when red blood cells flow through the blood, they tend to adopt a parachute-like shape rather than a disc shape.

Red cells form a disc shape only when they are stationary. Is the image therefore suggesting that curcumin causes blood flow to stagnate? No, that does not fit reality either; in stagnant blood, red cells aggregate and look like this:

So now you can see how this image is being used in a surprising way. You might think it depicts something medical. Yet people without the medical knowledge to understand it may fall for this deception , while the reality is different.

So why would someone design such an image? Could naive people who believe the fairy tales presented in this text be trying to give those tales meaning through this picture?

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