Turmeric
Turmeric is one of the easiest plants to grow that we have in the farm. These orange roots, which look like ginger, can just be stuck into the ground just about anywhere and they’ll grow. It’s so easy in fact that one of the world’s largest herb companies, Gaia Herbs, has 2 hectares of organic turmeric growing on a farm behind Cobano.
Turmeric is possibly the healthiest and most important of all superfoods. Countless scientific studies have shown how good it is for the brain. Apparently, Alzheimer’s disease is nearly unheard of in India, and that’s attributed to the large quantities of turmeric consumed there.To get the benefits of Turmeric, you really have to eat a lot of it… not just sprinkle a bit of dried powder occasionally. Preliminary research done online by our volunteers indicated that the most health benefits from turmeric are from cooked/boiled, contrary to the widespread belief in the healthy foods world that everything is better for you raw. I’m sure there could be endless debates whether raw or cooked turmeric is more “bio-available” but regardless, it’s probably great for you either way.
It’s also a very good dye/pigment, and stains nearly anything it touches bright yellow/orange, including your fingers, and some say, your teeth too!
At Rancho Delicioso, the volunteers have been producing turmeric powder in both raw and boiled types, and also Joy has been making a really great raw turmeric, ginger, and vinegar sauce that’s good on just about everything, especially potatoes, rice, and even scrambled eggs. We’ve been selling it at the organic market. A sauce like this is a great way to get a good daily dose of turmeric.
So, grow your own turmeric, and eat lots of it, to prevent dementia, alzheimer’s disease, and other brain ailments that plague people in their later years in western countries.