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CHAPTER 2
Curcumin and
Heart Disease
S
ince heart disease is the #1 killer in the Western world, any
nutrient, like curcumin, that helps protect your heart and arter-
ies and even reverses heart disease should be most welcome.
Curcumin’s heart-protective effects become even more impor-
tant when we add diabetes to the mix. Heart disease is the most
common complication of diabetes, and the number of newly diag-
nosed diabetics is increasing dramatically every year, with nearly
2 million new cases reported among U.S. adults in 2010.
KEEP ARTERIES CLEAR
Clogged arteries raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. Fatty
deposits (called plaque) cause arteries to narrow, reduce blood flow,
make your heart work harder to move blood through the circula-
tory system and harden the arteries. In time, cholesterol buildup
can completely block an artery and cause a heart attack or stroke.
Curcumin raises the levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol that
helps move fats out of the cells, including the cells in the arteries.
It also reduces the stickiness of blood cells, preventing clots.
With curcumin, cholesterol improvement can happen fast: An
Indian study showed that human volunteers who took 500 mil-
ligrams a day for just a week increased their good (HDL) choles-
terol by 29%.
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