TOLA DEHINDE FROM THE PUNCH
I wrote about herbal supplements last week and I was going to talk about something else this week, but to my surprise I had emails from people asking me for more information about herbal supplements that aid sleep, the immune system, upset stomach, and inflammation/pain for people living with Sickle Cell.
I have, as a result, decided to continue talking about herbal supplements as a series so I can write about the information I find. People, for centuries, have used herbs or spices to heal many conditions before medical science introduced us to tablets.
Today, I will start with herbal supplements that are good for inflammation. What is inflammation? It is the body’s way of fighting infection. All pain arises from inflammation and the inflammatory response. There is chronic inflammation and acute inflammation.
Five signs of inflammation are redness, swelling, heat, pain, and loss of function. Anyone living with Sickle Cell can relate to all or most of these signs. Irrespective of the characteristic of the pain, whether it is sharp, dull, aching, burning, stabbing, numbing or tingling, all pain arises from inflammation and the inflammation response.
One way you can help yourself not to constantly have a crisis, other than taking tablets, is to be cognisant of your diet; what you eat, including the herbs and spices used that could affect inflammation in the body.
I want to be intentional about what I eat, and I am sure that you do too. Let’s have a look at some of the common spices that are available to us:
Ginger is a spice that you can use in various ways, such as fresh, dried, or powdered. However, fresh is usually better. A lot of research has been done over the years and the summary has been that if one takes between 1000 and 3000mg of ginger daily for a period of 4 to 12 weeks, there are considerably reduced markers of inflammation compared to a placebo. A placebo is a substance with no chemical effects given to a patient instead of a drug.
Garlic is another spice that helps inflammation because of its anti-inflammatory properties. Again, this is a spice used over the years in traditional medicine to treat lots of ailments. Studies done over the years have also resulted in showing that people who take garlic supplements experience considerably reduced blood levels of the inflammatory marker. Garlic also helps to raise antioxidants in the body.
Turmeric is another supplement good for fighting inflammation. The main antioxidant compound in turmeric is called curcumin, which has powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
Studies have been done to its effect in reducing inflammation. Studies have also shown that anyone who has osteoarthritis and taken curcumin supplements found that it provided relief like anyone taking Ibuprofen or Diclofenac. The negative side effect is that turmeric only contains three per cent curcumin by weight and our bodies do not absorb it well. It is best to take a turmeric supplement that contains black pepper extract. Black pepper contains a compound called piperine that can increase curcumin absorption.
Cardamom is also a spice that can be taken as a supplement and may reduce inflammatory markers and this was observed in those who took cardamom supplements over a length of time. The spice is available in powder or capsule form.
