Turmeric Fights Kidney Damage Caused By Lupus
Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune disease where the immune system produces antibodies that attack healthy cells throughout the body. The most common form of lupus is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and it attacks blood vessels, the brain, heart, joints, kidneys, lungs, and skin.
Adult woman are nine times as likely to get lupus than men, and people usually develop the autoimmune disease between the ages of 15 to 44.
Lupus nephritisis is the condition where lupus attacks the kidneys, and this occurs in nearly 50% of people who have lupus. The attack on the kidneys can be a direct result of the disease, or the attack on the kidneys can be triggered in response to immunosuppressive drug toxicity.[1]
Lupus nephritisis is one of the more serious manifestations of lupus and is associated with increased rates of death.
Luckily the commonly used turmeric spice has been shown to be extremely helpful in treating lupus nephritisis. Kidney damage resulting from lupus nephritisis presents with proteinuria (abnormal amounts of protein in the urine), hematuria (blood in the urine), and high systolic blood pressure.
Oral supplementation of the anti-inflammatory turmeric spice, not curcumin which is the concentrated form of turmeric, was shown to greatly reduce proteinuria, hematuria, and systolic blood pressure.[2]
This was accomplished by consuming just a quarter teaspoon of turmeric with each meal for three months, and great thing is a quarter teaspoon of turmeric costs about a nickel.
[1] A T Borchers, N Leibushor, S M Naguwa, G S Cheema, Y Shoenfeld, M E Gershwin. Lupus nephritis: a critical review. Autoimmun Rev. 2012 Dec;12(2):174-94.
[2] P Khajehdehi, B Zanjaninejad, E Aflaki, M Nazarinia, F Azad, L Malekmakan, G R Dehghanzadeh. Oral supplementation of turmeric decreases proteinuria, hematuria, and systolic blood pressure in patients suffering from relapsing or refractory lupus nephritis: a randomized and placebo-controlled study. J Ren Nutr. 2012 Jan;22(1):50-7.