Turmeric

Turmeric also known as curcumin

On Turmeric

The many medicinal applications of turmeric are pretty well documented these days. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19594223

However, it is not the most bioavailable substance so to maximize its absorption, ingestion with black pepper is useful. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19594223

Additionally, fresh turmeric root is superior to dried turmeric powder. Turmeric extracts are being researched as sources for either chemical precursors to effective anti-infection drugs or just used “as is.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6509173/

The range and scope of what infectious agents turmeric can fight is considerable https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4022204        

Incorporating medicinal levels of turmeric into cooking is not the easiest as it tends to overpower the flavour of the rest of the food into which it is incorporated. Daals and many other Indian dishes are a good way to upkeep a maintenance level of curcumin in you. However, if you want to get therapeutic doses of turmeric into you, the most palatable way I know is to do so in a juice.

You’re gonna need a juicer to do this and I would recommend a twin gear juicer, but those are expensive.

A normal juicer that has high rotational speeds and utilizes centripetal force to separate juice and pulp are seriously inefficient. A high torque screw grinding your material against a mesh is far more effective for yield as well as breaking down cell walls more completely – which allows larger, more complex molecules through the ruptures more easily. A gear juicer can also make you chilli pastes, noodles, pasta and all sorts. It’s quite a good investment if you’re up for it.

I’ll give 2 juice ideas but honestly, the best way to make a juice is to see what decent fresh produce is going cheap locally and tailor a recipe to availability.                 

Roman’s juicing tips

I have found through practice a few rules with juicing:                  

a.) start with the softest, pulpiest items first


b.) put really soft items through more than once – secondary passes along with firmer items.


c) do NOT put hard items like hemp seed through in one go, alternate it with other items.        

d) finish with either beets or carrots, they tend to move everything through your juicer effectively rather than stuff staying marooned in there unjuiced.

A couple of ‘health’ juices

An anecdote about turmeric – traditional medicine in action