A bright yellow spice I would never have looked twice at in the supermarket isle has recently popped up in my coffee.

My health-conscious sister handed me a turmeric latte, otherwise known as ‘’golden milk’’ –  instead of the long black I had requested.

Once she was done extolling the virtues of this peppery, warm and slightly bitter powder, I decided to drink the drink and do some research.

Apparently turmeric, once seen only in curries of the Indian variety, has a wealth of health benefits. It tastes unusual at first but surprisingly more-ish as well.

People take turmeric supplements I’m told. And it pops up in smoothies and treats of the healthy variety.

So what are these health benefits my sister speaks of? The research is mounting, she says. Over 1500 articles have been published on Pubmed, the well-known health data base.

The yellow powder can reduce inflammation and relieve joint pain and swelling. Compared to a main stream anti inflammatory medication, turmeric doesn’t ‘’produce the toxic affect that synthetic drugs sometimes do,’’ she says.

It’s good for digestion and It can improve skin conditions such as eczema.

The big one that got my interest though is cancer prevention. On the list of its possible health benefits, I read it can inhibit cancer cell growth. Breast, colon, prostate and lung cancers get a mention.

So I guess I will think twice about my long black next time. Can’t see myself making the complete switch – cause I’m sure I can find the positives of caffeine if I search the web hard enough.

But if even one of those ‘’facts’’ is true, then I certainly will consider replacing one of my three long blacks a day and jumping on the trendy golden latte bandwagon. Nothing to lose I’d say.