Free Republic

A natural compound found in the culinary spice turmeric may be as effective as omeprazole—a drug used to curb excess stomach acid—for treating indigestion symptoms, suggests the first study of its kind. The researchers randomly assigned 206 patients aged 18–70 with recurrent upset stomach (functional dyspepsia) of unknown cause to one of three treatment groups for a period of 28 days. These were: turmeric (two large 250 mg capsules of curcumin four times a day) and one small dummy capsule (69 patients); omeprazole (one small 20 mg capsule daily and two large dummy capsules four times a day (68 patients);...

A majority of French people believe the switch to the euro five years ago was bad for their country, according to a recent poll, which suggests the French blame the common European currency for damaging economic growth and causing price hikes. The TNS-Sofres survey published on Wednesday (27 December) by Le Pelerin magazine showed 52 percent of respondents said giving up the franc for the euro has been "quite bad" or "very bad" for France, up from 45 percent three years ago in a similar survey. Fifty-one percent of the 1000 participants in the telephone poll said the single currency...