What information does the general lipid panel really offer?; Curcumin vs cumin.
A doctor has this to say about the lipid panel
Cumin versus Curcumin. They are NOT the same.
If you are making a curry dish, the curry powder ingredients include cumin and curcumin, but they are not interchangeable.
I was recently listening to a podcast in which a doctor was discussing the benefits of turmeric compounds for cancer prevention. He may have done it accidentally but used the terms curcumin and cumin, stating both are compounds found in turmeric.
This is incorrect.
Curcumin is a compound found in and extracted from turmeric roots. Tumeric is a spice in the ginger family. Curcumin is just one of over 100 different compounds found in turmeric, but curcumin may have the greatest medicinal benefits of all the turmeric compounds.
Cumin is a seed from the Apiaceae plant family that includes carrots, coriander, caraway, and fennel.
Both substances have anti-inflammatory properties and are considered to be antioxidants, but curcumin has more research behind it and maybe more potent in terms of medicinal benefits.
Research has indicated that curcumin may be beneficial for a wide range of health issues, from reducing pain and inflammation to blood sugar and lipid balance to its use in Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and cancer.
Curcumin is widely available as a supplement. Cumin is not and is primarily used in recipes. There is also less literature on the benefits of cumin, but it may also be useful in cancer prevention and for digestive, skin, liver, and lung conditions.
Bottom Line: Cook more, order take-out less, and use a wide array of spices when you cook. Some people may benefit from taking a curcumin supplement. I personally like and use EuroMedica’s CuraPro.
Sign up for my Fullscript apothecary to order any professional-grade supplements at https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/kbrennan/store-start
Lipid Panel. Does it have any value?
I was listening to one of the speakers in episode 6 of Jonathan Otto’s Healing Genesis documentary, and it was interesting what he said.
You can view all the episodes for free still today at https://healingsecrets.com/replays/
He said he does not even order a lipid panel as it holds no value nor accuracy for a cardiovascular event. I agree that a basic panel tells you very little and, in my opinion, is only there so a doctor can say, “Look, your cholesterol is too high; you need a statin.”
However, he went on to say that he does not see value in the advanced lipid panel either. An advanced panel will look at particle size. For instance, if your LDL is elevated outside of allopathic ranges, this panel can indicate the particle size from small to large. If you have a high LDL, but most of the particle size falls into the large range, this can be beneficial versus having small and dense (oxidized) LDL, which can be inflammatory.
This speaker (I did not get his name) said the hs-CRP is a better marker. The hs-CRP test can be useful, but since it does not tell where the inflammation is in the body, I prefer to see the hs-CRP in conjunction with an advanced lipid panel.
Have you had an advanced lipid panel done? Was it useful?