SAN FRANCISCO, California,  (ENS) – Turmeric, a common Asian spice that gives curries their bright yellow color, has a long history of use in reducing inflammation, healing wounds and relieving pain. This week at a medical conference in San Francisco, participants heard that tumeric also is effective at combating two health problems that many Americans suffer – diabetes and obesity.

Since inflammation plays a big role in many diseases and is believed to be involved in onset of both obesity and Type 2 diabetes, Drew Tortoriello, MD, an endocrinologist and research scientist at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and his colleagues were curious what effect tumeric might have on diabetic mice.

The scientists discovered that turmeric-treated mice were less susceptible to developing Type 2 diabetes, based on their blood glucose levels, and glucose and insulin tolerance tests.

They also discovered that turmeric-fed obese mice showed significantly reduced inflammation in fat tissue and liver compared to controls.

They speculate that curcumin, the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant ingredient in turmeric, lessens insulin resistance and prevents Type 2 diabetes in these mouse models by dampening the inflammatory response provoked by obesity.

Full Story: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2008/2008-06-20-091.asp