Turmeric has many interesting uses apart from giving your curries that have a deep orangey and yellowy sunset color. It is also used for: flavoring; in certain spiritual rituals; as a preservative; a good pesticide as well as in beauty products. It truly is one diverse plant and that is why so many people love it!
It comes from the ginger family and its binomial name is Curcuma longa. It is native to Indonesia and India and was originally used as dye however
people soon after realized that it had some impressive health benefits. Because of its deep color, it was traditionally called “Indian saffron”. It is also rich in potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium, iron as well as in dietary fiber. It almost has no cholesterol nor calories. As the calorie watchers
celebrate!
In a nutshell Turmeric could possibly be one of the most useful and significant nutritional supplements that is available right now! Let’s look at some of the amazing 8 Health Benefits of Turmeric (they are definitely plenty more but we just wanted to highlight a few otherwise this would be a never ending article because turmeric is THAT amazing!):
A super effective and safe Anti-Inflammatory
The chief active ingredient in Turmeric is Curcumin
which acts as a very powerful antioxidant and is a strong anti-inflammatory. A lot of reference will be made towards curcumin throughout this entire article. Curcumins potent effects have been revealed to be as powerful as drugs such as Phenylbutazone and Hydrocortisone as well as Motrin which can be purchased over the counter. But here is the kicker, these drugs tend to have momentous harmful byproducts such as intestinal bleeding and ulcer formation to name a few. However super turmeric creates no such toxicity in the system.
Even though small amounts of inflammation are useful for the body, chronic inflammation is a whole other story which contributes to a number of common diseases. Curcumin fights inflammation at the molecular level and it is a bioactive substance.
Rheumatoid Arthritis reliever
In arthritis the painful joint inflammation and ultimate damaged joints are caused by free radicals. Free radicals are one thing you don’t want free that’s for sure. These chemicals journey through the body and cause great destruction to cell membranes and healthy cells. Curcumin plays a fundamental role by
defusing the free radicals. As mentioned earlier turmeric’s grouping of anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant makes it appealing for those who suffer with any joint discomforts because of how relieving it is. It improves the reduction of swelling joints, morning stiffness as well as increasing the amount
of walking time.
Can prevent cancer 
Colon cells replicate really quickly, around every three days. Because of this, the colon is at risk of higher mutations of the DNA in the colon cells. Because of their frequent replication, mutations in the DNA of colon cells can result in the formation of cancerous cells more quickly, which therefore
creates a breeding ground for cancerous cells to form much faster. So the antioxidants in curcumin shield the colon cells from free radicals that would impair cellular DNA.
Curcumin can also assist the body in terminating the mutated cancer cells, intern this stops the cells from causing more impairment and spreading to the rest of the body. The main way that curcumin does this is by boosting the function of the liver. Other ways it can shield against cancer expansion is by
constraining the mixture of a protein that is seen as key in tumor formation. It will also prevent the unnecessary progression of extra blood supply which aids in growth of cell cancer.
Diabetes Type 2 can be prevented
A Thai study published in the Diabetes Care journal showed that people who took capsules with curcumin in them, who had prediabetes had a smaller chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes in comparison to those who didn’t consume the capsules. The results came out like that because turmeric reduces insulin resistance and therefore this inhibits type2 diabetes from developing. However it still makes sense for everyone to take curcumin even if they are not prediabetic because of all the benefits associated with it.
It plays a role in fighting depression
Curcumin has come across as a useful antidepressant. A controlled trial was conducted where some people were given Prozac, others curcumin and others both. After a couple of weeks it was realized that the similar results were derived from people taking Prozac as well as those who were only taking curcumin. Depression is associated to the reduction of the hippocampus (this is an area in the brain that deals with memory and learning) and is also associated with the reduction of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Amazing curcumin increases BNDF levels, which intern can possibly antithesis the changes. Some evidence has also shown that brain neurotransmitters serotonin as well as dopamine can be enhanced by taking curcumin.
Guards and protects yours cardiovascular
Blood vessels are damaged by oxidized cholesterol which form up in the panels that could also lead towards a stroke or a heart attack. This is where curcumin steps in, it has the potential to prevent the oxidization of cholesterol in the body and by doing so this could help lessen the development of
diabetic heart disease and atherosclerosis. Vitamin B6 keeps homocysteine levels from peaking and turmeric is a great source of this. Homocysteine at a high level is seen as a real risk factor for damaging blood vessel walls, heart disease as well as atherosclerotic plaque formation. Vitamins B6 is
connected with reducing the peril of heart disease.
Research was done once on a couple of healthy individuals where they had to consume about 500mg of curcumin daily per week. This dropped the amount of oxidized cholesterol in their blood levels. This also dropped their total cholesterol and increased their HDL (good cholesterol). Read the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology for more details.
May prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease
They aren’t any really good treatments available for Alzheimer’s yet. And meanwhile Alzheimer’s is a primary source of dementia which is the greatest widespread neurodegenerative disease worldwide. Because of this, it absolutely key and essential to work towards preventing it more than anything.
Oxidative damage as well as inflammation play a major part when it comes to Alzheimer’s and curcumin has valuable effects on each of them. An accumulation of protein tangles that are called Amyloid plaques causes Alzheimer’s diseases and studies have shown as mentioned above that curcumin can assist
by clearing the said plaques. This is really exciting because it shows that curcumin can possibly bridge the blood-brain barrier and that it can instigate several progressions in the pathological process of the disease. It still needs to be further researched whether curcumin can possibly reverse or at least
slow down the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Aging may be slowed down 
So if you add it all up, if curcumin is able to prevent the likes of Alzheimer’s diseases; prevent cancers and heart diseases; even assist with weightless (even though we didn’t touch on it here); and many more benefits. So this will most certainly have a positive ripple effect on the quality of your life. As a byproduct your healthy life should then be extended because you should be a healthier being. So because of this, curcumin has become a very sort after and widespread anti-aging supplement. Looking at the fact that inflammation as well as oxidation are thought to play a pivotal role in aging, curcumin’s effects will be highly beneficial.
Just be a little cautious
Turmeric is safe and has little side effects. However some people may be sensitive to it and their stomach can be slightly upset. So just keep that at the back of your mind. Use it with a little bit more caution when you are expecting a baby. It can also slow down blood clotting which may possibly cause a
little more bleeding than usual whilst and after your surgery. Depending on your body it can make your Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD) a little worse. It can possibly give you gall bladder problems. However the pros outweigh the cons any day!
Now what?
Well it’s time to add turmeric to your diet! Cook with it or purchase good turmeric or curcumin supplements. Find one that has piperine in it (also known as bioperine), this ingredient increases absorption of curcumin by a whopping 2000%. Otherwise without piperine, a great amount if not the majority of the curcumin will simply woosh past your digestive tract and that isn’t much use to you.
