Dr. JB Lim On Turmeric, Chromium, Lead & Related Issues
The blogger recently received
from a friend Dr. Victor Hoe a video about the benefits of daily drinking of
TURMERIC warm water. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SbyY4lva8w) The said benefits include:
1.
Promotes heart health
2.
Reverses Type 2 diabetes
3.
Alkalizes body
4.
Protects brain
5.
Fights against inflammation
6.
Anti-cancer properties
7.
Relieves arthritis symptoms
8.
Improves digestion
9.
Liver protection
10. Decelerates aging and promote longevity
Dr. Hoe subsequently sent the
blogger a news report by United Daily News Taiwan regarding the test detection
of heavy metals such as lead and chromium in samples of turmeric power (refer https://udn.com/news/story/9/2149580).
This prompted the blogger to seek
the expert advice of his most-learned e-buddy Dr. Lim Ju Boo who graciously
replied as follows:
From: ju boo lim
Date: Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 12:09 AM
Dear Ir Lau
Thank you for your enquiry
Excessive Chromium in Foods
First of all, the news report
you sent me about the presence of excessive lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) found
in turmeric powder came from India
and not from Malaysia
So these findings on
adulteration may not apply in Malaysia
where we produce our own turmeric powder unless the packaging label there says
"Made in India " or
“From Bangladesh” where a similar report on lead contamination in turmeric in Bangladesh
However you can check this with
our local manufacturer of turmeric and curry powder on the levels of these two
elements in their products.
As far as lead is concerned, I
have no knowledge of any contamination of this heavy metal in turmeric sold in Malaysia
But if you are unsure, then the
safest turmeric is the fresh ones you bought in sundry shops, groceries and in
vegetable markets.
The presence of lead in any
foodstuff in Malaysia
But I have no information on
lead adulteration in turmeric in Malaysia
However if you suspect the
presence of any heavy metals you may send a sample to the Food Safety and Food
Quality Control Division of the Ministry of Health Malaysia for analysis and
for their action..
There was a published report on
poor rural communities in Bangladesh
Lead poisoning is exacerbated
by the already poor nutrition and micronutrient deficiency in some areas of Bangladesh
But these studies were done in Bangladesh , not in Malaysia
The second thing I need to tell
you is that, if the manufacture of turmeric powder in India
This is because turmeric is
already naturally quite yellow by itself, and I do not see the need of making
them more yellow.
Even if they wanted, there are
a few safer natural and compounds that have brighter yellow colour they could
have used.
Examples are Indian saffron
which of course is the most expensive spice, and vitamin B2 or riboflavin which
is not only extremely yellow, but extremely safe.
These are natural yellow food
colours they could have selected instead of adultering it with a chromium salt.
Chromium in Foods
Even if turmeric was
accidentally contaminated with chromium salt or deliberately added, most foods
already have a significant of chromium in them.
The soils on which all plants
foods are grown contain chromium in them. The plant absorbs them in small
quantities and all plant foods have trace amounts of chromium in them.
Foods such as cereal grains,
wheat germ, whole grains, brewer yeast in particular, bran of cereals,
broccoli, onion, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, mushrooms, or black pepper,
potatoes, eggs, dairy products like milk, cheese, brown rice, sea foods...etc
are all rich in chromium.
Cr. is also present in human
milk.
Human Absorption
However, the absorption of Cr
from the human intestinal tract is poor.
The absorption rate is as low
as 0.4 - 2.5 percent of the total amount consumed in the food, and the excess
Cr is excreted in the faeces.
Role of Chromium in the Body
Chromium also plays an
important role in glucose tolerance factor.
Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF)
is a good compound that enhances better tolerance of sugar in the body. One
compound that can do this is Cr.
Chromium acts as a
physiological enhancer for insulin activity by binding it to insulin and
potentiating its action by about three-fold. The rest are excreted out into the
faeces
That implies that the chances
of Cr toxicity is low since its absorption is poor, and any excess is easily
thrown out.
However the absorption can be
enhanced by the intake of vitamin C from citrus fruits such as oranges and
lemons, as well as in many other tropical fruits such as guava and rambutan.
Even niacin (vitamin B3) from
meat, fish, eggs, poultry and cereal grains promotes the absorption of chromium
into the body.
The excess Cr if not excreted
are then stored in the liver, spleen, soft tissues and bones.
Excessive Cr. is also excreted
under some other conditions such as a diet high in refined sugars, or during an
infection, severe exercise, or under stressful conditions.
Chromium is a very trace
element requirement hardly classified as a micro nutrient in human nutrition.
Its requirement in human
nutrition is hardly studied. Its requirement in males is about 30 mcg and for
females about 20 mcg per day.
1 microgram or 1 mcg = 0.001
milligram
Although Cr requirement is
exceedingly low, nevertheless Cr deficiency has been linked to type 2 maturity
onset diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Refined foods such as refined
sugars not only just increase Cr insufficiency, but in fact enhances its loses.
In contrast, increased intake
of chromium improves glucose uptake tolerance.
Besides, it also showed improvement
in serum lipid profile such as increasing the levels of high density
lipoprotein cholesterol as well as a significant improvement in glucose
tolerance.
In other words, chromium
normalizes blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of maturity-onset diabetes
as well as cardiovascular diseases.
A study of 155 diabetic
subjects in China
Three trials reported data on
Hb A1c, one study on persons with type 2 diabetes, the other on persons with
impaired glucose tolerance, and on healthy subjects.
A study of diabetic subjects in
China
Turmeric
As far as turmeric is concerned,
literally thousands of papers have been published on its medicinal values and
on its preventive and curative properties.
However, it is not the turmeric
per se that its medicinal values lie.
It is an active principle in
it, a polyphenol in this yellow spice called curcumin that is capable of improving
the outcome of many diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Between 1998 - 2013, numerous
studies both in vitro (cell and tissue culture studies) as well as animal
studies (vivo studies) have shown the role of curcumin as a natural
anti-diabetic agent.
At least 5 out of 19 human
clinical trials have been conducted to study the mechanisms how turmeric works
as an anti-diabetic natural medicine.
Ten mechanisms have been
postulated, but we shall briefly mention only five here:
1. It acts by decreasing liver
glucose production
2. It increases glucose uptake
by gene expression of GLUT 4, GLUT
3 and GLUT 2
3. It enhances the production
of insulin by the pancreas
4. It enhances insulin receptors
beta and the reduction of insulin resistance
5. It stimulates AMP kinase
activity
Anxiety of Turmeric
It is often said that the
absorption of curcumin in turmeric by the body is very poor.
Actually this is not a
significant problem because the oils in turmeric itself will increase its
absorption and bioavailability of curcumin by 7 to 8 times.
About 5 percent of turmeric
consists of curcumin, and about 5 percent of black pepper by weight comprise of
a principle called pipeline, the substance that is said to tremendously
increase the absorption of curcumin.
But in actual fact, it is not
the black pepper that increases the absorption of curcumin per se.
The actual mechanism works this
way.
Piperine is a potent inhibitor
of drug metabolism in the liver, probably due to cytochrome P450 expression.
The liver gets rid of drugs and
foreign substances, including even natural drugs like curcumin by turning them
soluble in water so that it can be excreted through the bile.
What happens is that piperine in
black pepper blocks this mechanism.
Hence when turmeric curcumin is
given, it is actually absorbed even without black pepper.
But this is quickly excreted by
the liver and this brings the blood level of curcumin down.
But when piperine in black pepper
is given, it blocks the liver from excreting it rapidly, thus causing an
apparent very rapid rise in absorption shown by a rapid rise in curcumin blood
levels.
By blocking the excretion of
curcumin, it will cause a rise in its blood level as more and more curcumin is
eaten shortly after a turmeric rich meal such as curry lunch or dinner.
This rise in curcumin
bioavailability can be seen as much as 2000 - 4000 percent.
However, a curry meal normally
is already prepared with turmeric or turmeric powder added in together with
white or black pepper.
Another way to boost the
absorption of turmeric curcumin is to take turmeric in foods like curry which
contains oil.
The natural oil in turmeric
itself or in curry will increase the absorption and bioavailability of the
curcumin by 7 - 8 times even without the retention kinetics of piperine.
Turmeric and Black Pepper
In any case, black or white
pepper is normally already added in the preparation of curry and turmeric
powder mixtures, and any additional black or white peppers during cooking is
unnecessary. It will not enhance the absorption of curcumin any further.
Hence there is no rationale of
taking curry with additional black or white pepper plus turmeric which is
already present in large amount inside the curry powder mixtures.
Just be rational about this.
Practice nutrition in a knowledgeable and in a qualified manner. Consult a
well-trained nutritionist.
Do not go overboard by drinking
turmeric tea mixed with black pepper.
This to me as a former senior
medical research, a nutritionist and a doctor is not necessary.
Turmeric is known for its
numerous therapeutic values through several thousands of published papers in
scientific journals.
It looks like as if it is a panacea for almost all diseases
including cancers. It
is a wonderful spice, a herbal medicine, a nutritional adjunct, a prophylactic
and curative natural medicine no doubt.
One example on its effect on
cancer prevention is that, numerous studies have shown that the incidence of colorectal cancers (CRC) in India
It is also very low among
Indian and Pakistani communities living elsewhere in other countries including
Indians in Malaysia
The diet of Indians and
Pakistanis worldwide is that they consume curries almost every day. This may
explain their very low rate of CRC compared to other races.
The incidence of CRC among
Malays with a mixed diet is mid way between.
Nutritionists and medical
scientists attribute this to the presence of turmeric in curries of Indian
diets.
But this could also be
attributed to the combined effect of salicylates (aspirin) in curry powder
since studies have also shown that aspirin can also reduce the incidence of CRC.
In summary, if one is taking just one teaspoonful
of turmeric powder and similar amount of black pepper dissolved in hot water
every morning, it is hardly likely to confer any health benefit.
Nor would it cause poisoning
even if the turmeric power contains excessive amounts of chromium.
The amount of just one
teaspoonful is far too small either to benefit or to harm.
But I am unsure about lead
content as I do not have the data in the news report.
How did lead got into turmeric
powder I have no idea.
But I do not think the turmeric
powder manufactured here in Malaysia
The only way to find out is to
send a sample of the turmeric powder for chemical analysis.
But once again as I have
already recommended in the beginning of this answer, if you are not sure and to
be safe, than buy the fresh turmeric from the vegetable market or the grocery
stores and not the powder form.
I hope I have been of help in
your enquiry.
Lim Ju Boo
P/s: The blogger has been
drinking one teaspoon of turmeric powder, half teaspoon of black pepper and one
teaspoon of Flax Oil mixed with warm water every morning as suggested by the video since 12/10/2017. After reading Dr. Lim’s dissertation, the
blogger can only come up with the following expression:
Labels: The Thoughts of Dr JB Lim
posted by taionn @ 4:57 PM
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