Benefits of Turmeric
Ever wondered what gave curry its characteristic yellow color? Well, wonder no longer, because it’s turmeric. The nutritional supplement has been used for decades by Indian households as a medicinal and spice herb.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at some of turmeric’s most significant benefits – as well as those you can enjoy from consuming curcumin in its natural form.
Turmeric Has Bioactive Compounds with health Benefits
Recently, a lot of studies have gone into what these Indians have known for a long time. Turmeric contains chemical compounds known as curcuminoids. The most important of these is called curcumin.
Curcumin is actually the main active ingredient in turmeric. It provides several strong anti-inflammatory effects, and it functions as a reliable antioxidant. While the curcumin content in turmeric isn’t high, it does a great deal to protect the health of anyone who takes it.
The fact that the curcumin content in turmeric isn’t so high means that you will want to take it as a drug supplement. This way, you can access a content of curcumin that is high enough to function and give you its full health benefits.
It is also recommended that you consume black pepper with curcumin. This is because curcumin doesn’t have the best absorption rate in the bloodstream. With black pepper, you get piperine – a natural substance that improves your absorption of curcumin by about 2,000 percent.
Some of the best curcumin supplements already contain piperine. So, they make it easy for your body to absorb it. Curcumin is also fat soluble, so you might want to take it with a meal rich in fats.
Turmeric Improves Anti-Inflammatory Functions
In the human body, inflammation is pretty critical. It allows your body to fight against foreign toxins, and it can also repair damage done by these toxins.
Without inflammation, bacteria and other pathogens will be able to easily take over the body. While it might be acute, your body will benefit a great deal from short-term inflammation.
However, there comes a problem when inflammation becomes chronic and starts to affect your body’s tissues.
Some studies believe that chronic inflammation is a driving cause of many chronic diseases. These include metabolic syndrommes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and more. Therefore, anything that can help to fight against chronic inflammation will go a long way in preventing and treating these diseases.
Thanks to its content of curcumin, turmeric can help to provide anti-inflammatory effects. In fact, curcumin is such a strong anti-inflammatory drug that it matches the effects of some specific anti-inflammatory drugs. The fact that it doesn’t provide any of their side effects makes it a much better, natural source for the body.
For instance, curcumin blocks NF-kB – a molecule that travels into the cells and activates inflammation-related genes. The molecule is also believed to play a role in several chronic ailments.
Although inflammation is pretty complicated, the most critical thing to remember is that curcumin is a great fix for chronic inflammation. It is an ideal component of any treatment regime that is prescribed.
Turmeric is a Strong Antioxidant
Many believe oxidative damage to be one of the popular mechanisms behind several diseases and aging-related ailments. Oxidative damage involves the action of free radicals, reactive molecules, and some unpaired electrons.
The free radicals react with some essential organic substances, including DNA and fatty acids. With antioxidants, however, the body is able to repel the action of these free radicals.
Turmeric is a strong antioxidant that can help to counteract the effects of these free radicals. Its chemical structure, as well as an ability to boost he body’s antioxidant enzymes, are potent tools that will go a long way in bolstering your health
Turmeric is able to deliver a critical one-two punch against free radicals. It blocks them, then boosts the body’s in-built ability to do so.
Curcumin is Linked to Improved Brain Health and Functionality
Decades back, many believed that the brain’s neurons weren’t able to multiply and divide once a person reaches maturity. However, we now know that this isn’t the case. Neurons can form new connections and in some areas of the brain, they can even multiply and boost their numbers.
One of the primary drivers of this boosting and multiplication ability is the neurotropic factor. This is a form of growth hormone that works particularly in the brain. Some of the common brain disorders – including but not limited to Alzheimer’s disease – have been linked to low levels of this hormone.
This is where curcumin comes in. The component can increase the level of brain-derived neurotropic factor, thus playing an effective role in delaying many brain diseases. In some cases, it can even delay age-related brain deficiencies and preserve the sharpness of the brain.
Given the increased levels of the brain-derived neurotropic factor, curcumin is also linked with improved memory retention and optimized brain performance. However, there is still a need to perform more conclusive studies on this hypothesis.
Curcumin Can Help Reduce the Onset of Heart Disease
Currently, heart disease is thought to be the leading cause of death in the world. researchers have dedicated decades to this disease and studying why it happens. Interestingly, it has bene found that heart disease is complicated, with several things contributing to it alone.
However, curcumin has demonstrated an ability to reverse several steps that lead to heart disease.
When it comes to preventing heart disease, one of the primary functions of curcumin is its ability to optimize the endothelium – the lining of your body’s blood vessels. A dysfunction in the endothelium is a primary cause of heart disease. It involves your endothelium being unable to regulate the blood pressure, clotting of wounds, and several other factors.
Studies have shown that curcumin can improve the endothelium and its functionality. One such study found that curcumin works just like exercise in improving heart functionality, while the other compared it to several to heart drugs.
In addition, it’s also worth noting that curcumin can reduce issues like oxidation and inflammation. Given that these two problems have been linked with heart disease, its ability to get them on the lower side is undoubtedly an asset.
Turmeric Can Help to Prevent Cancer
Everyone is familiar with cancer. The disease comes after a sporadic growth of cancerous cells, and it has different forms.
However, all the forms of cancer have some things in common. One of them is that turmeric supplements can help alleviate their conditions. Turmeric has been studied and is found to be a beneficial tool in cancer reduction. It affects the growth, development, and movement of cancerous cells – especially on aa molecular level.
Turmeric can also contribute to the death of cancer cells and a reduction on angiogenesis – the condition given to a growth of new tumors. It affects metastasis (the growth of cancer) as well.
However, there are still some inclusions. For instance, it’s unknown if a high-dose level of turmeric (especially with an absorption enhancer like the piperine discussed above) can help to treat cancer. Still, there is extensive evidence that it can help to prevent the growth of cancerous cells.
Conclusion
All in all, turmeric is a reliable supplement that has a wide array of benefits. Thanks in no small part to its composition of curcumin, the supplement goes a long way in bolstering your health and can help to treat several ailments.
From preventing heart disease to retarding the progress of Alzheimer’s disease and a host of other ailments, turmeric is undoubtedly a great thing to consume. The potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties will also go a long way in alleviating the symptoms of arthritis and depression.
You can consume turmeric in several ways, whether you’ll like to have it naturally or in drug supplements.
*DISCLAIMER*
Turmeric may interfere with certain medications. Talk to your doctor before consuming large doses alongside medication.