22 Amazing Health Benefits Of Turmeric

It’s a pleasant day to learn about the many health benefits of turmeric.

Turmeric or Curcuma Longa is a spice used as a flavoring and coloring agent in many cultures. Botanically, it originates from another spice family, the ginger family that also seems to have many of the same health benefits as turmeric.

It is derived from the rhizome part of the herbal plant and has a characteristic yellow color.

You can learn more about ginger health benefits here.

The lifestyles many of us lead in this day and age, chock-full of salt, sugar, fat, and processed ingredients place us all at heightened risk of certain lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, obesity, and more.

We often forget that nature has its natural products that can help us alleviate or completely erase the negative impacts of these unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits.

One of the superstar spices in this broad category of veggies, herbs, and fruits is the amazing turmeric.

Turmeric health benefits are as varied as they are well-proven. This isn’t an exercise in conjecture we’re about to get into here, but a dive into some well-researched and proven turmeric benefits.

They should give you more than enough reason to make turmeric a part of you and your family’s diet. You need to know some of these turmeric health benefits. Let’s get right to it.

Here is my list of the health benefits of turmeric.

1. Turmeric Contains Curcumin

Turmeric contains a chemical called curcumin.

It’s said that most of the health benefits of this herb came from this particular substance.

Curcumin has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants.

However, some research identified that curcumin is poorly absorbed by the body. This is why it’s combined or consumed with black pepper which enhances its absorption.

2. Helps Reduce Inflammation

The most potent ingredient of turmeric is known as curcumin, and it is a well-known anti-inflammatory agent.

While short-term inflammation in the body is important in repairing damage and fighting foreign bodies, chronic inflammation is almost always a problem.

Inflammation usually causes all kinds of difficulties for people who mainly suffer from arthritis. Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory property generally aids to reduce the pain of the people enduring arthritis.

You’ll know more about how turmeric can help with arthritis issues below.

Some studies indicate that it might even be more effective in this regard than some popular over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen and aspirin.

Curcumin in turmeric may be the better choice really, as it has no side effects those pharmaceutical drugs might have.

3. Turmeric Contains Powerful Antioxidants

Not only does turmeric contain antioxidants, but it also stimulates antioxidant activity in your body.

You can check more about it in this study ( Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin).

Antioxidants are important in the body as it can prevent or protect your body from oxidative damage that can cause early aging and different kinds of chronic diseases.

4. Improves Joint Health And Fights Arthritis Attacks

Mobility and overall joint health might be easily overlooked aspects of our general health, especially while we still enjoy the vitality of our youth, but they become increasingly more important as we age.

Studies conducted on patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic condition caused by the inflammation of the joints, showed that turmeric was as effective in the management of the condition as some of the prescription drugs given for the same such as Diclofenac.

With sufficient concentrations, curcumin which is present in turmeric is just as good as aspirin and ibuprofen in pain and inflammation relief. If anything, it could be even better.

Curcumin reduces the production of histamine, prostaglandins, and inflammatory cytokines.

Turmeric is also a Cox-2 Inhibitor. Osteoarthritis patients have used it successfully to treat knee pain. It may be as useful as a cortisone shot.

One study showed patients who received the “best possible care” plus 200mg of curcumin showed significantly lowered inflammation. Curcumin is an active ingredient found in turmeric.

Some doctors are hoping it can phase out the use of NSAIDs for mild to moderate cases of osteoarthritis.

5. Turmeric May Help Maintain Eye Health

Turmeric can help keep your eyes healthy.

Curcumin in this herb may be useful in treating eye diseases, including glaucoma.

You can check this study ( Topical Curcumin Nanocarriers are Neuroprotective in Eye Disease) to get more details of what we’ve mentioned above.

6. Can Help Relieve Pain

Turmeric contains curcuminoid which is the actual ingredient that has pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties. The yellow hue of the rhizome is due to the curcuminoid present in the plant.

These curcuminoids have beneficial properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and even anti-carcinogenic properties.

As an anti-inflammatory and also anti-bacterial agent, turmeric essentially works to cure or heal cuts, wounds, and also other critical skin injuries.

You can mix turmeric with coconut oil in a saucepan. You then apply the mixture to the wound using a cotton pad.

The anti-inflammatory agent and also anti-bacterial agent of turmeric usually help in curing the injury or the wound completely.

7. Turmeric May Have Antibacterial Properties

Turmeric is known to have antibacterial properties.

It’s useful in the healing of wounds.

It’s also good for removing harmful bacteria in your gut which can then promote better digestive health.

8. Improves Heart Health And Cholesterol Control

Heart diseases such as heart attacks and stroke can be reduced by adding turmeric to your diet. The herb also helps to reduce arterial plaque from building up. This is because it helps in the better circulation of the blood.

High blood sugar and chronic bodily inflammation are precursors of oxidative stress in a person’s body, and oxidative stress, in turn, leads up to heightened cholesterol levels.

Turmeric comes in handy here, as we’ve seen that it reduces inflammation in the body, thus helping us keep our bad cholesterol levels in check. Research indicates that you could reduce your cholesterol levels by up to 11.63% within just 7 days of taking a daily 500mg dose of turmeric.

Turmeric can also enhance endothelial function.

The endothelium is the lining of blood vessels. Dysfunction of the endothelium often leads to heart failure or heart disease due to factors like blood clots and an inability to regulate blood pressure.

Curcumin improves endothelial function, lowering your risk of heart disease, and may even reverse would-be heart disease.

9. Turmeric Improves Wound Healing

Turmeric has natural antibacterial and antiseptic properties which help speed up the process of healing of wounds.

It’s been used for generations as a traditional home remedy for curing burned or cut skin.

10. Boosts Stress Tolerance

Turmeric is placed in a category of substances known as adaptogens, whose function in the human body is to help combat the negative effects of everyday stress.

Adaptogens are more commonly referred to in herbal medicine circles, but their beneficial effects are undeniable.

What they do is help the adrenal glands regulate their rate of stress hormone release, meaning your body won’t react too strongly to stress factors, whether internal or external.

11. Turmeric Is Good For Your Hair

Turmeric has many beneficial effects to keep your hair healthy.

This herb has an active compound that can block the effect of TGF Beta 1. This can prevent hair loss.

It’s also observed to help relieve dandruff and improve your scalp’s condition.

12. May Help Reduce Cancer Risk

Cancer is a horrible disease. However, some studies show turmeric can be an effective component in the treatment of cancer. This means it can be used in the prevention and possible treatment of cancer.

The curcumin component of turmeric is credited with decreased instances of cancer in those who take it regularly. To be specific, curcumin helps slow the growth and development of cancer in the bodily system.

Animal research trials have shown that curcumin might kill tumor cells outright in addition to inhibiting their proliferation.

Prevention is better than cure. Another impressive turmeric health benefit is its ability to prevent cancer’s occurrence before it even begins to take a hold of a patient’s body, especially in certain vulnerable organs such as the stomach, breasts, intestines, prostate, and skin.

13. Turmeric Supports Mood Improvement And Regulation

In addition to the brain-building protein BDNF, the curcumin content of turmeric also goes a long way in preventing the onset of depression by instigating the production of the brain’s “feel-good” hormones — serotonin and dopamine.

Turmeric may provide an entirely healthy, all-natural alternative to some of the most popular anti-depressants on the market today such as Prozac.

14. Gives A More Radiant Skin

By making turmeric a regular part of your diet, you could greatly improve the health of your skin, as turmeric is a powerful anti-aging element.

It works in our bodies as an anti-oxidant, which is any substance that works to reverse the aging effects of oxidation on body cells and tissues, such as the skin.

It can lighten skin pigmentation, improve the skin’s elasticity, reduce wrinkles, acne, and pimples.

To make things even better, the anti-oxidant turmeric uses can be enjoyed whether turmeric is taken with our food or applied directly onto the skin as a lotion or ointment.

Turmeric is used by Indian women for centuries for beautiful skin. Some say that it rids your skin of troublesome acne and keeps skin looking great. You can make a paste from turmeric and yogurt and apply it topically.

You can learn more about turmeric health benefits for the skin here.

15. Turmeric Gives Weight Loss Assistance

Overweight people are at increased risk of multiple life-threatening conditions, and one of its numerous causative factors is elevated stress levels.

Cortisol, which is the hormone our body releases in times of stress, encourages the accumulation of fatty cells in a person’s stomach region.

This region is more sensitive to the action of cortisol as well because fat is a very efficient energy-storage medium.

Turmeric can forestall the entire process by helping you keep your cortisol production levels at a healthy level.

A good amount of turmeric consumption may help reduce your chances of being obese. Needless to say, you still need to have a good diet and regular exercise.

16. Improves Brain Health

Healthy working memory and strong cognitive functions are two prime indicators of your brain’s health. Our brain’s health is something none of us can afford to take for granted, especially as we get older.

Turmeric can elevate the enzymes responsible for the secretion of Omega 3 fatty acids. And as you may also know, Omega three is a fatty constituent of our brains.

Turmeric has also been shown to play a role in the production of a protein known as brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor (BDNF) that helps in the development of neural connections within the brain.

This serves to delay and/or reverse cognitive decline usually brought about by age. It also promotes the growth of new cells in areas of the brain.

Low BDNF levels are a precursor for the development of depression and Alzheimer’s, especially in older generations.

17. Turmeric Assists With Diabetes Conditions

Another turmeric health benefit is helping in restraining insulin levels. Generally, having blood sugar fluctuations usually causes several strains on the body.

One of these abnormal body issues is diabetes which turmeric may be able to treat. Turmeric can stimulate the release of insulin. This will assist in the storage of glucose and help ease diabetic symptoms.

By stabilizing the levels of glucose in a person’s body (as a healthy metabolism should), research has shown that turmeric can mitigate one of the most hard-hitting complications that come with diabetes.

Aside from helping those with diabetic symptoms already, turmeric also shows promising indications of being able to ward off the onset of the condition entirely.

18. May Help Treat Cystic Fibrosis

Turmeric also helps in treating cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder associated with proteins, and curcumin found in turmeric usually correct such a problem.

On the whole, curcumin helps in enhancing the function of the liver by aiding the body in filtering out waste materials much more efficiently.

19. Turmeric Is Very Good For Your Liver

Turmeric is a blood purifier and helps the liver to release toxins quicker.

It’s so effective, some doctors say it may be able to reverse the effects of cirrhosis of the liver.

It’s also observed to stimulate the production of bile and the release of it from the gallbladder.

This helps eliminate and remove waste from the body.

20. Has Gastro-Intestinal Benefits

Turmeric can assist you to restore gastrointestinal digestion. Curcumin stimulates the gallbladder to release the bile. This will assist in effective fat and lipid digestion.

It also has benefits against ulcers. It inhibits the secretion of stomach acids significantly. It also inhibits the secretion of the pepsin enzyme which aggravates symptoms of ulcers.

So next time you have ulcers, consider asking your doctor about taking turmeric.

21. Turmeric Increases Longevity

With all the other specific health benefits we’ve listed above, this will lead you to have a longer and healthier life. Now, depending on your circumstance, I think that most people would like to live longer.

Living longer should also mean that you’re living with a sound mind and body.

22. Is A Home Remedy For Tooth Abscess

A tooth abscess is a buildup of pus within the tooth. It is caused by a bacterial infection.

This kind of infection on the tooth is usually painful. It can spread from the roots of your tooth up to the bones that support it.

You can use turmeric to fight bacteria, decrease inflammation, and reduce toothache.

You can make a paste out of turmeric by mixing it with water. Apply the paste to the affected tooth and leave it for about 25 minutes.

Conclusion

Turmeric has shown itself to be one of the world’s true superfoods, and the great thing about it is that we can get it in more than one form.

Add turmeric to your diet to start taking advantage of the many health benefits it can bring.

Whether it’s as fresh turmeric root, ground turmeric powder, or as a supplement, we can all get our daily share of turmeric health benefits. I have a bottle of turmeric supplements just in case I do not have time to prepare meals or turmeric tea.

Unless grossly over-indulged in, there are practically zero negative turmeric side effects, so you may consider it safe for all the family to enjoy.

With all these health benefits that turmeric can offer, which one are you most interested in?

I’m interested in the anti-inflammatory properties in the list of the health benefits of turmeric.

Although turmeric is used worldwide, you should still first check with your doctor or medical professional if it’s safe for you to consume it.

Please do share this article if you find value in it.

Thank you!

Originally published at https://pangbenta.com on December 19, 2018.