Turmeric compounds improve heart health as much as exercise

Turmeric compounds improve heart health as much as exercise

(NaturalNews) A chemical that naturally occurs in turmeric root appears
to improve heart health as much as moderate aerobic exercise, according
to a trio of studies conducted by researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan.

Turmeric
root has been an important component of traditional Asian medicinal
systems for hundreds of years. In recent decades, scientific studies
have confirmed the potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties
of the trio of turmeric chemicals known as "curcuminoids," which give
the root its distinctive yellow-orange color. Although only one of these
chemicals is properly known as "curcumin," the name is commonly used to
refer to all of them collectively.

The three new studies all
compared the effects of exercise and curcumin on heart health and
postmenopausal women over an eight-week period. All the studies were
randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Curcumin was delivered
by means of colloidal nanoparticles.

Can turmeric prevent heart disease?

In
the first study, researchers assigned 32 women to either take a
curcumin supplement, engage in moderate aerobic exercise training, or
undergo no intervention at all. The researchers measured participants'
vascular endothelial function - the responsiveness of the layer of cells
that line the blood vessels, a key indicator of overall cardiovascular
health - both at the beginning and end of the study. They found that
while there was no improvement in the control group, endothelial
function significantly increased in both the exercise and curcumin groups. Most surprisingly, the improvement in the two experimental groups was identical.

The
second study examined curcumin's effects on the responsiveness of
arteries to changes in blood pressure ("arterial compliance"), another
key measure of cardiovascular health. In this study, 32 women were
randomly assigned to receive either a curcumin supplement or a placebo
pill, or to undergo an exercise routine plus either a curcumin or
placebo pill. The researchers found no significant improvement in the
control group, significant (and equivalent) improvements in both the
exercise-only and curcumin-only groups, and the greatest improvement
among participants who exercised and also took the supplements.

In
the final study, researchers examined the effects of exercise and
curcumin on the rate of age-related degeneration of the heart's left
ventricle. 45 participants were randomly assigned into one of the same
four groups used in the second study.

The researchers once again found that both exercise and curcumin produced significant increases in heart health.
In this study, however, curcumin alone did not appear to provide any
benefit. Specifically, brachial systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased
among participants who exercised, whether or not they took curcumin. In
addition, heart-rate-corrected aortic augmentation index (AIx) and
aortic SBP both decreased significantly only among participants who both
exercised and took curcumin.

"Regular ingestion of curcumin
could be a preventive measure against cardiovascular disease in
postmenopausal women," the authors of the first study wrote.
"Furthermore, our results suggest that curcumin may be a potential
alternative ... for patients who are unable to exercise."

Curcumin is best absorbed from turmeric root, rather than from supplements.

Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/040330_turmeric_heart_health_curcumin.html