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| SPICES : TURMERIC |
Nine species of Curcuma appear in India. C. amada (white turmeric ) is eaten fresh in season as a blood purifier, and is applied to the skin over contusions, sprains, skin blemishes and acne, while C. angusti folia and C. Zeoldaria are used as substitutes for arrowroot. The most used and most familiar of this family is C. longa, the turmeric that makes American-prepared mustard yellow. A native rhizome of India, turmeric is bitter, astringent and pungent, hot, and pungent after digestion. It balances the doshas, though in excess it can aggravate vata and pitta. Turmeric is used externally and internally to purify both blood and mind; in this regard it is the poor man's saffron. Every dish of dal (split legumes) cooked in India has turmeric added to it to protect the blood.
Turmeric's antiseptic actions have been scientifically confirmed. Applied to wounds, it slows bleeding. Its paste is used on bruises, bites, stings, open wounds, boils and breast disorders, an, with sandalwood, to purify and beautify the skin (brides and grooms are anointed with this mixture before they are wed). It is used in eye drops for conjunctivitis, and its smoke is employed to treat fainting., hiccups and asthma. As a natural antibiotic, it protects rather than destroys the intestinal flora, and it promotes the production of bile. It is effective, in combination, in the control of diabetes and several varieties of skin disease.
Turmeric is also said to have the power to dispel evil influences, and so it is an essential ingredient in many forms of ritual worship.
References:
Ayurveda Life Health and Longevity by Robert E. Svoboda - Penguin Books.
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