Turmeric, also known as Curcuma longa is native to India and very common in Ayurvedic medicine, or the medicinal tradition of continental India. Turmeric is one of the most common spices found, gracing most dishes and has powerful anti-inflammatory and healing properties that can help fight bacterial infection.
Turmeric is easy to grow if you live somewhere where it never freezes, like I do in Costa Rica. I did grow it indoors in Philadelphia in my bathroom, where the humidity was higher.
Medicinally, turmeric is what we call a warming bitter, meaning it stimulates peptic or digestive juices, while not harming the “stomach fire”, remember, our stomachs are the “hottest” place in our body, with HLC that helps to kill pathogens and break down our food.
Turmeric, while being energetically warm, is also a systemic anti-inflammatory, which helps reduce pain, while also fighting bacterial infection and soothing irritated tissues. Internally turmeric benefits the digestive system and is recommended for most people, especially for those with IBS, IBD, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis or a familial history of colon cancer.
Standardized extracts of turmeric are indicated for those suffering from joint and tendon inflammation. You will commonly see people saying that you must have Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) with turmeric for it to be bioavailable. This is not exactly true; turmeric is bioavailable any way you take it, but in traditional Ayurvedic formulas black pepper, pipli long pepper (Piper longum), and ginger (Zinziber officinalis) are used as catalysts, meaning, they increase circulation to help get the plants to where they need to go.
You can also use things like wasabi, mustard, horseradish, cayenne or garlic. One of my favorite fresh tea formulas for minor digestive upset and colds is a hot brew of turmeric, lemongrass and ginger. Topically turmeric is one of my favorite first aid remedies. Being anti-inflammatory and antiseptic, it is useful in wound treatment as a poultice.
I use it for bug bites, infected cuts and scrapes. It is effective along with other antibacterial herbs for early staph infections internally and externally. Turmeric is also traditionally used to clear the skin (because it kills bacteria), whiten teeth (not sure how this works because it definitely stains them yellow when you eat it fresh) and in modern studies has shown to reduce the formation of the neuritic plaques that form in the brain in the case of Alzheimers patients.
When purchasing turmeric, try to get organic fresh roots, they will last for quite some time outside of the refrigerator and even longer in the fridge.
If you can only buy ground turmeric, remember that it will not be as potent, as the powering process exposes more surface area to oxygen and light, which degrades the active constituents much faster.
So make sure it smells strong and keep it in a dark, cool and dry place… this is the rule for all plant storage.
This has been an extract from the author’s blog @The Village Witch and is used with permission.
A representative for Mother Nature as a writer and teacher of Deep Ecology, Therapeutic Ecology and whole systems design through the lens of Herbalism and Permaculture. Sarah Wu has 20 years studying the science, art and craft of Planetary Eclectic Herbal Medicine, with a foundation in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Wise Woman Tradition.