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["Lynda" <lurine AT com-pair.net>]

Herbal turmeric and "traditional" cooking powders aren't made the same way 
and that might also be the difference.  Herbal/therapeutic are boiled and 
made into powder.  "Traditional" powders are dehydrated roots and then 
powdered.  At least the folks we knew in SF when I was a kid did them that 
way.  You'd go down to the shops in Chinatown or the fringes and get the 
fresh or dried turmeric and ginger and tamarind and gur and spring curry 
leaves and all that other good stuff.  Oh, and strings of peppers and 
mustard seed and cumin and corriander.  Then go home and toast and grind.

I would think that would make a world of difference.  Plus, with 
"traditional" you would get more than just a "standardized" concoction that 
is mainly concerned with the curcuma and not all the other things that are 
in turmeric.

I'd think maybe James could tell us how much you loose in the translation 
from the traditionally dehydrated to the commercially processed???  So, I 
don't think you need as much.  Not nearly as much.

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
> sjc wrote:
>
> > If I just said "with fats", I offer my apologies, because what he
> > actually said was more along the line of 'heated with fats, as in the
> >  dietary usage'.
>
> I think you did say that, my bad, but I did get the right impression,
> that he was referring to the cooking spice, not some store-bought
> extract.  When I cook with curry/turmeric, I usually do use butter or
> olive oil, so that should cover it.  However, it would be difficult to
> cook up a 'therapeutic dose' of it...I can see that now, 1/2 cup rice, 1
> TBSP butter and 1/2 cup turmeric..lol
>
>
>  He also offered his opinion that it was on the order of
> > 10 times more effective used that way.  I haven't, of course, tried
> > it, but even if a portion were consumed that way, seems it would cut
> > down on the need for the encapsulated version.
>
> I can agree that incorporating more turmeric into one's diet is a good
> thing especially for those who need it for preventative reasons or who
> suffer from mild inflammatory processes, and it is good to know that it
> needs the fat for whatever reason, but I get a bit frustrated at times
> because it seems that no matter what I do, someone says "well, it didn't
> work for you because..."  I know you are not saying that, but I am
> touchy on that point because I am trying very hard to find something
> that will work for me.
>
> ...Although he didn't make the
> > comparison, he did go on some about its (turmeric) traditional Asian
> >  usage and the way it's used now in the West, as a 'straight' dose of
> >  herb.  He considers the use of the ground version as available here
> > to be of negligible benefit.
>
> Ok, so how would he be traditionally using it if not powdered, and is he
> talking about a prophylactic use just by adding it to the regular diet,
> or a therapeutic use to treat an illness?
> I know it was used topically as an antiseptic poultice, often mixed with
> other herbs. I know it is considered a condiment.   Would the poultice
> be used on inflamed joints?  If so, that would almost seem to be
> wasteful of it's systemic anti-inflammatory properties.  I wonder if they
> grate the fresh root into food-I believe that is done in SE Asia like in
> Thailand.  I'm not sure where I would be able to get a fresh turmeric
> rhizome, or a steady supply of it.
>
>
> > If, though, in all the research you did about it, that never showed
> > up, maybe not worth bothering with.....
>
> No no, I am always curious...this whole thread has been super
> enlightening for me.  I thought turmeric was just for arthritis but as
> it turns out, it treats a whole lot more.  I was reading some earlier
> this evening and it may be more responsible for my liver improvement
> than I am giving it credit for.   I can certain see it's anti-histamine
> like effects, and I read this evening it lowers cholesterol.  I talked
> it over with DH and I think I will definitely try to increase our
> turmeric intake.  As an experiment(that worked), I added 2 tablespoons
> to a half a jar of mayonnaise..anything to increase it in my diet...I
> add it to chicken soup, all rice, a shake or two in potatoes or anything
> with cheese, a shake or two on baked fish, etc.  So, while I may or may
> not attempt the mega dose regime again, I did make some lasting dietary
> changes.  Don't tell DH, but I added a few additional tablespoons to his
> mustard as well.  After all it is, according to many websites, the
> yellow in yellow mustard.
>
>
>
> > It would soon seem to be 'medicine', though, in either usage---a
> > little like garlic, which I like and use regularly but when I get too
> > much people start fussing at me....lucky I live by myself, maybe.  I
> > do cut back on it considerably when I know I'm going to be gone, and
> >  fortunately, it doesn't take too long to get rid of it, just a
> > couple of days.  Plus you can eat quite a bit of garlic before it
> > starts to work its way through.  And I remember my kids smelling like
> > walking vitamin tablets when they were little, from the extra B
> > trying to ward off marsh mosquitoes.
>
>
> To me, garlic smells wonderful.  I even like garlic breath. To each his
> own, I guess.  I am just glad that turmeric itself doesn't smell like I
> do when I take it.  But the worst part, for me, is the digestive upset.
>  It is supposed to treat irritable bowel and gas complaints, but in my
> case, it caused a lot of upset, especially after I went to 1000 mg a
> day.  It wasn't bad on the 500 mg dose.  Perhaps the lasting change of
> adding it to my diet in new ways will be enough to lower cholesterol and
> give me some antihistamine benefit as well as improved anti-inflammatory
> response.
> I really wish I could say that it helped the pain and stopped the
> disease process, but it did not.  That doesn't mean it is without merit,
> however.
>
> Bev
>
> --
> "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
> not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
> will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
> world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
> are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
> the problems of the human race"
>
> ~ Calvin Coolidge
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