What is turmeric good for?
As the buzzword of the moment, turmeric is being touted as the superfood spice that may potentially be helpful in the fight against all kinds of diseases.
It’s seemingly endless potential may make you want to rush out to the nearest health food store to stock up on these “must have” supplements.
But, you should wait before you spend your money. And, be aware that these supplements are not all created equal. The old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ is particularly true here.
After some pretty extensive research, I have discovered the top 9 curcumin benefits. And, probably at least one or two of them would apply to most people.
Common problems such as obesity, heart disease, depression, and degenerative disease affect many of us at some point in our lives. And, they may all at least be helped to some extent with this wonder spice according to many studies.
About Turmeric
Turmeric (botanical name curcuma longa) is a a plant that is part of the ginger family and is native to Southeast Asia.
It has been used medicinally for over 4,500 years, and has long served as part of Ayurvedic medicine (an Indian system of healing still widely used all over the world to this day).
What’s the difference between the powdered root and supplements?
Turmeric supplements can come in all kinds of strengths and forms. And it’s the extracted extracted compound curcumin that gives it its bright yellow colour of which is where its magic lies.
How to use turmeric
The ordinary turmeric powder that we all know and cook with is literally the ground down dried root, with nothing added and nothing taken away.
This kind of turmeric is used in curries and other Indian and Asian type spicy food dishes. It is also great in sweets, deserts, hot milks and homemade turmeric paste (which is pretty strong and can be used medicinally).
This turmeric powder in itself only contains 2% of the active compound curcumin. This is why supplementation of higher dose extracted curcumin is often recommended for therapeutic effect by practitioners.
But, dosage also highly depends on your reasons for using it in the first place. For example, preventative supplementation usually only requires a much lower dose than the amount needed to actually ease a problem once you already have it.
What Is Turmeric Good For? – Top 9 Curcumin Benefits
1. ANTI INFLAMMATORY
Inflammation plays an important part in fighting invading pathogens and repairing damage in the body. But, inflammation is only beneficial in the short term, and long term chronic inflammation can be a big problem.
There is now lots of evidence coming to light that this kind of inflammation may play a big role in a myriad of chronic Western diseases. These include, Alzheimer’s, some cancers, heart disease, metabolic syndrome and degenerative conditions.
Therefore, eating a highly plant based diet with lots of anti inflammatory and antioxidant rich foods is crucial in helping keep this destructive kind of inflammation to a minimum.
Check out this Beginner’s Guide to the Plant Based Diet here if you need some inspiration.
Foods that aggravate chronic inflammation:-
- Junk foods
- Sugar
- Trans fats
- Dairy products
- Processed meats
- Gluten
- White bread
- White pasta
- vegetable oil
- Soybean oil
The curcumin in turmeric is a powerful bioactive, anti inflammatory able to fight inflammation at the molecular level. And respected studies have shown its potency matches that of anti inflammatory drugs, but without the nasty side effects.
2. ANTI AGING, BOTH INSIDE AND OUT
Dermatologists agree that eating antioxidant rich foods are good for inflammation and anti aging. Along with not smoking, avoiding high stress levels, staying out of the sun, always using an SPF cream, and helping your body detoxify.
This is where turmeric can help, being as curcuim is a POWERFUL antioxidant. And, due to its chemical structure has the power to neutralise free radicals, thus stopping them from doing damage in the body.
It may also has the power to boost the body’s own natural antioxidant mechanisms.
Antioxidants fight oxidative damage
Oxidative damage is one of the main mechanisms behind most diseases and the aging process in general. Therefore, supplementing with a powerful antioxidant such as curcumin could potentially help counteract this.
The antioxidants in curcumin are comparable to those of vitamin E and C for scavenging the free radicals responsible for oxidative stress. This, whilst at the same time raising the levels of antioxidant enzyme.
3. TURMERIC FOR MUSCLES AND BONES
All of these weaken with age and as tissues in the joints alter. This prevents the surface of the joints from sliding together easily. This is not only painful, but can cause damage and affect motion. Osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and sarcopenia are the main diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system of older people.
A study of the anti-arthritic potential of curcumin on bone cells suggest that the anti inflammatory effects of curcumin make taking a supplement well worth while. Especially for the long-term management of these conditions.
4. TURMERIC FOR VISION
Your vision is affected in many ways as you age. This can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, dry eye, and retinal detachment to name just a few.
Due to turmeric’s strong antioxidant properties, supplementation can help act as a preventative. This is due to the fact that oxidative stress is a direct cause of most eye conditions.
5. BRAIN AGING
With age, parts of the brain begin to shrink, which can cause memory loss and a decline in cognitive performance. The changes in blood vessels can cause dementia, Alzheimer’s, or even bring on a stroke.
The curcumins in turmeric that serve as a powerful anti inflammatory AND antioxidant. This means they can potentially act as a neuroprotective agent on the brain.
Curcumin is showing signs in some studies of also being able to control the oxidative stress of Parkinson’s disease by reducing neurotransmitter toxicity. They say even delayed cucumin supplementation may still give protection against stroke damage, so it’s never too late.
6. TURMERIC AND DIABETES
Curcumin may be therapeutic for those suffering from diabetes by helping to deal with the associated complications. This means cholesterol problems, nephropathy, retinopathy and neuropathy. This is all due to its amazing anti inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
7. WEIGHT CONTROL
Obesity causes chronic low grade inflammation in the body. This in turn heightens your risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and metabolic syndrome.
Curcumin, being such a powerful antioxidant, can help suppress the inflammatory messages in the fat, muscle and pancreas cells. All of which help with blood sugar levels, cholesterol, insulin resistance and other conditions associated with being overweight.
You cannot just use curcumin supplements alone to lose weight. If you do you may be disappointed.
Rather, use curcumin alongside regular exercise and a healthy diet that contains lots of foods to help burn fat. This way you will lose weight safely and naturally.
8. BOOSTED IMMUNE SYSTEM
The benefits of a strong immune system are obvious, and pretty much every illness, disease and virus requires a strong immune system to help fight it off.
Alongside a healthy lifestyle, turmeric can help stimulate the immune system to fight off foreign invaders AND control immune response to inflammation.
9. CURCUMIN MAY BENEFIT DEPRESSION
Is there nothing this super spice isn’t good for?
Recent trials are showing curcumin to be AS EFFECTIVE as an antidepressant drug, due to its ability to boost the neurotransmitters of the brain, dopamine and serotonin. But, remember that you should never come off any medication before consulting with your doctor that it is safe to do so. We are definitely not telling you to do this!
It’s worth noting here that turmeric is more greatly absorbed by the body when taken with a little black pepper and fat. Many supplement providers take this into account and add extra ingredients to help make the curcumin compounds more bio available in the body.
If you add this spice frequently to food, then you will naturally be having other compounds that up absorption along with it (such as the fats and pepper).
Best Turmeric Supplements To Buy
Whether you go for powder or supplements, always buy organic turmeric so you can e sure it’s high grade. This means it won’t be treated with any colours, fillers, or any other nasties that have no business being there.
Always buy tried and tested turmeric from trusted brands such as this one on Amazon:- SOLGAR Full Spectrum Curcumin
Important Information
Always consult with your doctor before taking any supplements. Especially whilst taking other medications, or during pregnancy or breast feeding due to possible interactions.
We do NOT recommend you use turmeric or any other supplements to treat any of the diseases we have talked about in this post.
You must consult your Doctor before you make any lifestyle changes or take turmeric supplements if you are using them to treat anything specific.
How much turmeric to take and possible side effects
Start with smaller doses, and build up depending on your gut tolerance. Sometimes stomach ache or diarrhea may be experienced if dosage is too high to begin with.
Turmeric has blood thinning qualities. It should therefore be avoided 2 weeks before an operation, OR if you are already on blood thinning medications.
If you would like to leave any comments or questions about the subject of turmeric, or share your own experiences whilst using it then I would love to hear from you. You can post in the comments box below.
Thanks for checking out this article today!
Wow! Tumeric really does sound like a super spice. I had no idea how diverse the benefits really were. I also did not know about curcumins supplementation. Thank you so much for your detailed guidance on this subject. Naturopathic medicine seems to have a lot of benefits.
Take Care, Heather
Hi Heather, thanks for reading my article about Turmeric and yes it really is a fantastic little spice. I take it every day and it has most definitely made a difference, especially to my skin. I love it!
I have a friend from India and he shared with me that tumeric is one spice often found in their diet. It is a natural health supplement, I guess. Thanks for the information in this article. It’s interesting and I learnt a lot more than I already knew.
Thanks Jude, turmeric is just fantastic hey? I make a hot turmeric drink before bed. Just warm up some coconut milk or milk of your preference and add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder (or more if you like), a pinch of cinnamon powder(another super spice) and maybe some honey or natural sweetener. It’s delicious!
No problem, I’m glad you enjoyed the article!
Stefanie,
I have been taking Turmeric for the last year. I broke my foot and was having some pain after I was starting to walk again. A Friend suggested Turmeric to help with the pain. I think it has helped as my Dr. states that I have a lot more mobility than others with the same injury. I did not know of the other good things that I could get from this product.
Thanks for the information and I will continue with my daily dose.
John
Hi John, thanks for letting me know about your amazing experience with turmeric. I really love to hear how this fantastic spice has helped others. It’s great isn’t it? The fact that it helped with the pain of your broken foot just goes to prove that it definitely works as an anti inflammatory just as its supposed to.
If I were you I would just carry on taking it for all its other benefits, and also its preventative benefits.
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