Curry to help with the runs?

Tweet I have to apologize for the heading of this article: I promise to "try harder" next time; but I was drawn to this latest "Curry based" research, especially after the young bride reported that she thought that she was getting tendinitis in her Achilles after a recent jog we did. 

Now, both of us are rather fond of curries, but we have always been wary of eating them if we have a long jog planned for the next morning, for obvious reasons: but perhaps we have been wrong, as according to the scientists, eating curry might reduce the risk of getting those inflamed tendons.

Nottingham researchers have suggested that Curcumin, the yellow ingredient in Tumeric, could help people with the inflammation associated with tendinitis and arthritis. Currently, such sufferers often depend on NSAID anti-inflammatory medications - and these are known to increase blood pressure and have adverse effects on the lining of the stomach.

However, Ali Mobasheri, DPhil, of the University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, one of the lead researchers, cautioned that, "Our research is not suggesting that curry, turmeric, or Curcumin are cures for inflammatory conditions such as tendinitis and arthritis. However, we believe that it could offer scientists an important new lead in the treatment of these painful conditions through nutrition." He and his colleagues investigated how Curcumin works in a series of laboratory experiments, and showed that it can block the effects of the chemical that lead to inflammation, confirming the role that it might play in helping to manage these conditions.

Curcumin has been used for centuries in traditional Indian medicine to help with irritable bowel disease and is currently being investigated for possible roles in the treatment of liver cirrhosis and some types of cancer.

Far from suggesting that we add Tumeric to all our meals; if adding a little "spice to life" helps ease those aching tendons and joints, it would certainly be an improvement on burning a hole in your stomach or giving yourself blood pressure!

source: Medscape news