Dear friends,

Curcumin, the natural pigment that gives the spice turmeric its yellow color, appears to be a winning supplement for postmenopausal women who are concerned with cardiovascular health.

Researchers from Japan, reporting in the journalNutrition Research, found that curcumin may work as well as exercise when it comes to supporting cardio health in older women. And that's important.

"A fair amount of research has connected menopause with cardiovascular disease, including risk factors such as rising LDL (bad cholesterol) and decreasing HDL (good cholesterol)," according to Dr. Pamela Ouyang, director of the Women's Cardiovascular Health Center at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, MD.

Dr. Ouyang, who was not connected with the current study, has written in the past about cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women. She added that "studies that have followed women over a stretch of time have found that those women with early menopause (45 and younger) have more cardiovascular health issues later on than those who have menopause closer to the normal age (around 50)."

For details about the new Japanese study and how it may relate to you, check out my first report today.

In other news, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports thatPicea abies, an extract derived from the spruce tree, may help boost the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. See my second report for more information about this intriguing study.

As always, I wish you the very best of health.