Monitoringclub.org – Turmeric (curcuma longa/domestica) is a spice plant that belongs to the ginger group. Turmeric has a distinctive color, which is orange, but when used in cooking, it gives a yellow color.
Meanwhile, the plant from the turmeric spice itself has a long and unbranched shape. The root is in the form of a rhizome and from the segment can grow new shoots. Turmeric rhizome tends to have a slightly bitter, slightly spicy, and chelate taste with a strong aroma.
Turmeric is usually used as a spice in the kitchen as well as herbal medicine and food coloring. The part of turmeric that is usually used in herbal medicine is the rhizome.
History of Turmeric
The turmeric plant originally came from Southeast Asia, which has spread to other areas such as Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and even to Africa. This plant is thought to have existed since 77-78 BC.
The word turmeric itself actually comes from Arabic, namely Kurkum which means yellow and Greek, namely Karkom.
Turmeric Description
Turmeric spice comes from shrubs with a plant height of around 70 centimeters. Physically, this plant has pseudo stems, upright, round, forming rhizomes and the color is yellowish green.
The turmeric plant has compound flowers that are hairy and scaly, with stalks 16-40 centimeters long. The flower crown of turmeric is cylindrical in shape, yellow in color, about 3 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. While the roots include the fibrous roots that join the turmeric rhizome itself.
Types And Spread Of Turmeric
There are 2 types of turmeric namely yellow turmeric and white turmeric. White turmeric in Latin that is Curcuma mango which is useful as an antidote to toxins, a source of antioxidants, fever-reducing, and various other properties.
Meanwhile, yellow turmeric has a Latin name Curcuma longa, which also has many benefits, especially for digestion. In fact, according to research in China, yellow turmeric can be used as an anti-cancer such as cervical cancer.
What is a good dose of turmeric to take daily?
The correct dosage for consuming turmeric, especially for herbal medicines that support health, will be more easily known if it is grounded in powder form. Turmeric powder can be purchased online through trusted spice vendors.
The dose of turmeric for women and men is more or less the same, the standard dose is about one teaspoon or 1.5 grams. However, doses of around 2 to 3 grams can also help cure various diseases.
What is turmeric used for?
The most important part in the use of turmeric is the rhizome. Even so, turmeric leaves are also widely used for various types of cuisine. In traditional cooking, turmeric rhizome is often used as a seasoning for rendang, tamarind, pickled pomfret, and so on.
In addition, for generations, turmeric is often used as a food coloring agent and textiles.
Turmeric Content
Turmeric rhizome contains compounds that play an important role as natural medicines. The content of turmeric is called curcuminoids which consist of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and bisdemethoxycurcumin, and other beneficial substances.
The curcumin content is one of the reasons why turmeric can turn yellow
Meanwhile, other ingredients also consist of essential oils including sesquiterpene ketones, turmerone, tumeon 60%, zingiberene 25%, felandren, sabinene, borneol and sineil.
Furthermore, the nutritional content of turmeric rhizome is no less interesting. This spice consists of 1-3% fat, 3% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 8% starch, 45-55% vitamin C, and various minerals such as iron, phosphorus and calcium.
Turmeric Benefits
Benefits of turmeric, which mainly is as a cooking spice as well as herbal medicine.
The health benefits of turmeric include: as an anti-inflammatory/inflammation, preventing cancer, improving liver function, a source of antioxidants, preventing Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular protection, reducing the risk of leukemia/blood cancer, overcoming ulcers, constipation, headaches, difficult bowel movements, increasing appetite eating, dysentery, canker sores, motion sickness, and many more.
In addition to the benefits of turmeric above, this plant also has turmeric for beauty, namely getting rid of acne scars, disguising wrinkles, making the skin smoother, moisturizing dry skin, treating acne, making skin look firmer, or youthful, and various other beauty benefits. .
Fresh Turmeric Substitute
If you don’t have fresh turmeric, you can replace it with powdered turmeric. Regarding the dosage itself, to replace 1 tablespoon of fresh turmeric water, you can use ½ teaspoon of powdered turmeric.
How to take turmeric
A common way to use turmeric is to grind it into a fine powder. Turmeric powder can be obtained from turmeric which has been dried and ground. Turmeric powder can be mixed with cooking and drinks.
For information, the human body does not easily absorb turmeric, so to use turmeric as a drink, it is better to mix it with other spices, to facilitate absorption. Turmeric powder can be mixed with black pepper or other spices.
Another way of processing turmeric is to make turmeric as an herbal medicine by grating the turmeric. Grated turmeric can be squeezed to produce water, then mixed with other spices.
Turmeric herbs can also be added to honey or brown sugar as a sweetener. But remember that before drinking it, make sure the remaining turmeric dregs have settled at the bottom of the container and are not drunk.
Turmeric Side Effects
The benefits of turmeric have been widely known for hundreds of years. However, when used in high doses, apparently there are side effects of turmeric that are bad for health. Experts are of the opinion that turmeric is still safe to use/consume or apply to the skin for 8 months in a row. However, if you overdo it, it can bring side effects such as:
- Itchy rash
- Worsening stomach acid
- Inhibits the absorption of iron by the body
- Aggravating kidney stones
- The skin turns yellow
- May trigger allergies
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pimple
- Interfere with the performance of other drugs
- Abnormal heartbeat, and so on.
