Next time you are in a restaurant, consider ordering  a curry. Why? Because one of the  ingredients of the humble curry is Turmeric. The golden coloured spice which belongs to the Ginger family, Turmeric comes from a plant called the 'Curcuma Longa' and contains a substance called Curcumin.  Curcumin has been studied for the treatment of a number of diseases and disorders including Cancer, Hypertrophy, Skin Problems, Liver Disorders, Alzheimer's Disease, Stroke, Cystic Fibrosis, Aches, Pains, Pulmonary problems and many more. Curcumin has powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties and has been used in traditional Indian (Ayruvedic) and Chinese medicine for over three thousands of years.

Enlarged Heart (Hypertrophy): A study at the 'Peter Munk Cardiac Centre' at Toronto General Hospital has found that Curcumin could stop the development of hypertrophy and even reverse it in mice. Curcumin was also found to produce a reduction in scar formation and improve heart function.

Stroke: Other studies using mouse models include the research conducted at the Medical College of Georgia in the United States. In the study  Jay McCracken and colleagues were able to reduced the size of blood clots in mice which as a result would lessen the chances of hemorrhagic stroke. An hemorrhagic stroke is a type of stroke caused by the rupturing of blood vessels which then leak into the brain.

Ischemic stroke is caused by narrowing of the arteries in the head or the neck and is often as a result of cholesterol  deposits in the arteries (see www.policosanol.biz for natural cholesterol reduction). A blood clot can then block the narrowed artery. if the blockage is not cleared quickly (within a few minutes) it can cause cause the death of surrounding cells.