A Danish friend sent me this article from Jyllands-Posten through Facebook. It is not new research (the article is from September, 2014), but I thought that there are probably many who have not heard about it yet. So, I wanted to post it here. Du kan også læse dette indlæg på dansk ved at klikke her.

After an injury as carer here in Denmark, I have had many back problems since 2007. I take turmeric and ginger for inflammation regularly, and find that it has helped me. An easy to start adding turmeric to your diet is sprinkle it on your eggs in the morning (you can use it generously, it has a very mild taste) or add it to soups and hot dishes you are making. Handling inflammation is not only good for the treatment of pain, but inflammation plays a major role in the development of chronic diseases and the development of dementia.

Information about inflammation from Danish website SundhedsLex.dk:

The body can also react with inflammation when its own immune system attacks the body’s tissues. This happens, for example. in rheumatic diseases, some forms of anemia and some types of goiters. There are also diseases in which the cause of the inflammation is unknown; for example. muscular rheumatism and multiple sclerosis.

Be proactive about your health! Talk to your doctor about being tested for inflammation or about taking supplements like turmeric and ginger as part of your health plan.

Information in Danish from Videnskab.dk which also speaks of CRP test for inflammation:

Inflammation in the body provides two to three fold increased risk of depression. It presents a comprehensive Danish study involving 73,000 Danes.

CRP levels increase by disease
CRP is a protein that is increased by unhealthy lifestyles such as obesity, lack of exercise and smoking. However, the level also rises due to cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer. The body – liver – uses protein to combat undesirable conditions or bacteria in the body.

If a patient talks with their doctor about diffused symptoms, the doctor may do a blood test and measure CRP levels. Is the patient sick, one can usually see it in the form of an elevated CRP levels. For example, the level increases dramatically after a heart attack.

Spices can help in the fight against Alzheimer’s

Tumeric is often used in curry dishes. Research also suggests that it has beneficial effects on a number of diseases. Photo credit: Laurence Mouton/6PA/MAXPPP

09/27/2014 pm. 16:54 HENRIK Hindby KOSZYCZAREK

Studies in rats show that a curry spice can help the brain to repair itself.

It may be that the spice turmeric – often used in curries – in the future to help patients with brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

A new German study shows that a compound in turmeric may increase the growth of nerve cells in the brain – cells, which they believe is part of the brain’s own “repair kits”.

The results are published online in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy.

“It is interesting to note that it may be possible to increase the efficiency of the stem cells by means of aromatic turmerone (a substance in turmeric), and it is possible that it can help to enhance brain repair process,” Dr. Maria Adele Rueger, part of the research team at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Julich, according to the BBC.

In one of the experiments the researchers sprayed tumeric’s aromatic substance turmerone into rats, after which their brains were scanned.

It turned out that the parts of the brain, which is thought to affect the growth of nerve cells, became more active after the injection.

In another study, the researchers substance with neural stem cells from rodents, and here it was found that the higher the dose of the substance, the greater was the growth of the neural stem cells.

Furthermore, the study found that the neural stem cells was faster than normal to develop into specific brain cells.

It is significant because scientists believe that just the neural stem cells have a role to play in regenerating brain after injury.

On a related note, you can also read this thorough article on inflammation, questioning if Alzheimer’s is in fact an autoimmune disorder.