Image courtesy Bames24
The spice turmeric may be the spice of life. Aarthi Narayanan (George Mason University) is studying the power of curcumin, a molecule found in turmeric, in stopping the spread of potentially deadly viruses. Narayanan grew up in India, where turmeric has long been used to treat illness and inflammation. Also: A new method of fighting melanoma using electric pulses is proving effective on cancer patients in a trial at the University of South Florida. Richard Heller (Old Dominion University) pioneered the cancer killing treatment. And: Sleep apnea can interfere with the rehabilitation of heart patients, but often the patients don’t realize they have sleep apnea. Adrian Aron (Radford University) has helped devise a simple diagnostic test.
Later in the show: In the 1970s, only 3% of patients with pancreatic cancer survived for five years. Today the fatality rates are still high. Todd Bauer and Kimberly Kelley (University of Virginia) hope to begin clinical trials that would allow earlier detection of the cancer, and increase survival rates. Also featured: Latinos share an increased incidence of diabetes. Some, like Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, have learned to live well with the disease. Exercise physiologist Sheri Colberg-Ochs (Old Dominion University) focuses on this unique segment of the population in her latest book on diabetes Diabetes? No Problema! A Latino’s Guide to Living Well with Diabetes.
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Thanks for the information on turmeric.
You’re welcome. Thanks for listening.
Thanks for the interesting story about Turmeric. Where can I get the recipe for Dr. Narayanan’s turmeric drink?
Hi Alison,
Her recipe is this:
“Warm milk, a spoon of honey, a pinch of turmeric, and a pinch of black pepper. Mix it up and drink it. That’s it.” If you click on the audio at the bottom of this page, you’ll also hear another version, which includes additional ingredients.
I tried the simple version at home and added fresh ginger to it as well. I heated up some milk in a little pot on the stove and added the ingredients. Stirred it up, and took it off the stove just before it could begin to boil. It’s delicious and comforting, especially on a cold night.
I hope you’ll try it and let us know what you think!
Cheers,
Kelley
I’ve been putting turmeric in all kinds of dishes and drinks since hearing the show…so far so good! …and with honey and warm milk it’s a nice change of pace from hot chocolate in our snowy South this winter.
I enjoyed this program. Thank you!