A very interesting and informative article from the Michigan Live blog called Spices, herbs make move to medicine cabinet contained this quote about tumeric:
"Turmeric, the spice that gives curry powder its yellow color, has an
active ingredient called curcumin, which appears to inhibit enzymes
that lead to diseases such as arthritis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's
disease. UCLA researchers also found that mice fed curcumin had 80
percent fewer of the protein plaques associated with Alzheimer's
disease than did mice on a normal diet."
Here is a link they also provide in the artlice to the US National Library of Medicine's MedLine Plus site.� Interestingly, while the site can't claim any proof that the ingredient in Tumeric does have anti-inflamitory properties, there does seem to be some evidence.� However they do note that it can be irritating to the stomach in large doses.�
I would imagine that for a Crohn's patient the trick would be to try cooking Tumeric in a smaller amount into some nice bland rice and see how it effects your digestion.� It is not a particularly "spicy" spice, in and of itself but is typically combined with other spices in curries and spice blends.
Here is a nice Aromatic Yellow Rice recipe from India Snack that might be a nice way to try the benefits of turmeric and its active ingredient curcumin.
Turmeric Root
photo - Wikipedia
