What are the Benefits of Turmeric for Strokes?

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia tested turmeric as a treatment for strokes. Turmeric is a plant related to the ginger family and is used widely in traditional herbal medicines.Turmeric shows promise in treating hemorrhagic strokes by reducing the size of blood clots, thus preventing some surgeries.

Effects

• Turmeric works for hemorrhagic strokes when a blood clot cuts blood supply to the brain. Usually, the patient has surgery to remove the clot.

Features

• Curcumin is the main ingredient of turmeric. In addition to stroke benefits, curcumin is an anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory antioxidant that works as an antibiotic and antiviral, as well as seeming to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease. University of Michigan researchers found that curcumin infixes in cell membranes, increasing resistance to infections and malignancies.

Research

• Jay McCracken, Georgia medical student, tested turmeric in animals and found their blood clots were significantly smaller. The animals were given stomach injections of turmeric with positive research results.

Prevention/Solution

• Turmeric may eventually be marketed for stroke use. Intravenous injections for strokes in humans and preventative stroke turmeric tablets are possibilities in the future as more conclusive research is done on the benefits of turmeric for strokes. Presently turmeric is not approved in stroke use and is still in research.

Treatment

• Early studies reveal promising results on exactly how turmeric may be helpful in treating or even preventing strokes. Not only does it appear to lower cholesterol levels, but it also seems to reduce the buildup of platelets on blood vessel walls. Groups of platelets are what causes blood clots to form.