- Series:Humans, Transcript English
1 Chronicles 9:30
“And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices.”
Many ancient peoples made various ointments from spices, including ancient Israel. In India, they have been using a spice called turmeric for medicinal purposes for 3,000 years.
Turmeric is made from the roots of a broad-leafed plant that grows well in the warm, moist climate of southern Asia. Ancient healers in India used turmeric to treat skin wounds, jaundice, indigestion and several other ailments. Turmeric is found in most curry dishes. Modern medical science has now begun to study the spice. Preliminary research shows that turmeric lowers total blood cholesterol by 11 percent and increases good cholesterol by 29 percent. But the most hopeful and dramatic medical use of the spice may be in treating, even reversing, Alzheimer’s disease. The active ingredient in the spice is curcumin. In lab tests, curcumin has been shown to aid the body in ridding itself of the amyloid-beta plaques that result in Alzheimer’s. These results are supported by a population study done in India. A study of people over 65 in that country who ate turmeric showed an incidence of Alzheimer’s that was a quarter what it is in the West.
In His foreknowledge, God knew that man would sin and bring death and disease on himself. In His mercy, He stocked the creation with natural medicines to help us.
Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for providing for our needs in this life. Prosper all useful science. Amen.
Notes:
Science News, 9/15/07, pp. 167-168, Patrick Barry, “Curry Power.” Photo: Turmeric field in an Indian village.
