Herb of the Week: Turmeric

I've been making Total Tonic all morning and I took some pictures of the fresh Turmeric (dug in Hawaii last week) for you.
Much love, Bryan Shillington

The Herb of the Week: Turmeric

Blah: Most everyone knows ginger when they see it but I'm surprised to find that most folks and many herbalists haven't a clue about one of the greatest herbs known to man. Turmeric has been used for several thousand years in the East but it and Ginger came to White-people-land around 1200 AD where they were considered drugs of the highest potency (in this age, the word drug meant medicine). Turmeric & Ginger were used medicinally in the West and were very hard to come by but they became much more common after the Red Coats took over India. Now a days, one can buy fresh ginger in many stores but its brother Turmeric is very difficult to find fresh.


Latin Name: Curcuma longa


Other names: Indian Saffron, Tumeric, Yellow Ginger. French: curcuma, saffron des Indes German: Gelbwurz Italian; curcuma Spanish: curcuma Arabic: kharkoum Burmese: fa nwin. Chinese: wong geung fun. Indian: haldee, haldi, huldee, huldie. Indonesian: kunjit, kunyit. Malay: kunjit. Sinhalese: kaha. Tamil: munjal. Thai: kamin


Uses: Turmeric is one of the greatest tools we have. Just to name a few: It is good for colds, Arthritis, Alzheimer's, pain, inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, breast cancer, liver protection, intestinal gas reduction, digestive health, gallbladder health, infection treatment, anti fungal, athlete's foot, carpal tunnel, bronchitis, lung infections, fibromyalgia, leprosy, fever, menstrual problems, cataract prevention, stroke prevention, headache prevention, bursitis, tendinitis, ulcer and is one of the best anti-oxidants we know of. Turmeric is said to be the root of the God's and I think I understand why. It is the shield that protects the body, the sword that kills free radicals and the divine hand that rights the wrongs in the body. I am not exaggerating when I say "Just to name a few" I honestly believe I could fill the entire page with ailments that it helps. I'll leave you with "it's just really darn good for you!"    


Taste: Alright, I've got a piece right here and I'm going to describe it to you while I chew. Here goes: it's crisp and bursts in to a flavor that tastes like nothing else I've ever had. Delicious first taste kinda like dirt and fresh coconut and the middle tastes like sunshine, dirt and something else and then it finishes off with a mild bitterness that leaves my mouth tasting like sunshine and soap. Interesting to say the least and very bracing. It tastes like a serious shot of health and sunshine. lol.  Now I'm going to have people writing me asking what sunshine tastes like.    
  

Used in food: Many people use powdered Turmeric in food as a seasoning and for coloring dishes. It is Turmeric that gives Curry powder its color.  It is often used as a replacement for Saffron (the most expensive spice). Turmeric is used to color cheeses, butters and it is what makes Yellow Rice yellow.
       

India: Turmeric has been popular in India for more than 4,000 years where they have used it for food, medicine and for spiritual ceremonies. Also the holy men have always been the healers and they dress in a robe dyed with Turmeric. You can spot a holy man in India by his yellow stained hands and his golden robe. As you probably know, spirituality is big in India and religious tolerance is at an all time high but it is interesting to me how this civilization has flourished for thousands of years. It was for a long time the richest country in the world and its people are healthy.


Folk Lore:  Indian brides anoint their skin with Turmeric the night before their wedding to capture a natural glow. It was used to worship the sun in ancient India, its golden color most likely the inspiration and was also worn to ward off evil. Buddhist monks dyed robes with it. Hawaiian Kahuna and traditional Vedic homes sprinkle Turmeric mixed with seawater to purify the earth around them.

Flowers: Turmeric has orange-red blossoms resembling lilies.  Yay!

Hippie Lore: "Woh! it makes your hands turn yellow, far out!"


Magic: Planet: Mars Element: Fire Magical uses: passion, commanding, confidence, courage, exorcism, magic, sensuality, spell-breaking, strength.


Art: These colors are burnt husk of paddy (black), rice powder (white), dried and powdered leaves of `Vaaka'- Acacia (green), Turmeric powder (yellow) and a mixture of Turmeric powder and quick lime (red)



Free Radicals: This is the kind of word one expects to hear from Doc and people like me just blow by it thinking "sounds radical" but when drilling Doc extensively about the benefits of Turmeric, he kept talking about how Turmeric fixes Free Radicals in the body and how awesome this is. I'm like "Radical Dad, tell me what in the Sam dickens is a free radical?" This is what he told me, I hope I got it right. A Free Radical is an Oxygen, Hydrogen or carbon atom floating around in the body causing destruction by attaching itself to other molecules and changing the chemical structure, thus messing up the body. So Turmeric whacks and composts these little tweaked out atoms. Pretty cool.     

Doc's Use for Turmeric: Doc uses Turmeric in his Total Tonic Formula.  

The recipe for Total Tonic can be found in the archives and it is one of his greatest formulas. Total Tonic is made from the finest Organic Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic, Horseradish, Onion, Cayenne and Cilantro the planet has to offer. It looks like food doesn't it?  Well it is and it also happens to be one of the greatest herbal remedies we have ever used.  Many call it Nature's Antibiotic as it is anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitical which means it doesn't matter what you have it will attack and kill.  Wall to wall and tree top tall and that is all.

  ~B


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~B
Journeyman Herbalist
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