In the past 10 years, there have been more than 6,000 studies referencing curcumin, the main component of turmeric. A rootstock that is part of the ginger family, turmeric is known to be one of the healthiest spices in the world.
The most common use for turmeric is in Asian cuisine, where the spice is part of traditional curry dishes and mustards.
Turmeric is also available in supplements at healthy food shops.
The spice has been part of Ayurvedic medicine for years as an alternative for treating colds, depression, stomach bloating, diarrhea, and much more. And with the Western World catching up, the magical spice is now considered a better option than medicine since it carries no side effects.
Let’s take a look at some of the turmeric benefits.
1. Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Turmeric, thanks to the amount of curcumin it contains is a natural anti-inflammatory compound.
Chronic inflammation is one of the major factors contributing to almost all chronic western diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and heart disease.
Turmeric helps prevent and fight chronic inflammation, and the best part is that turmeric actually targets several steps in the inflammatory pathway.
2. Increases Antioxidant Capacity
In the world of healthy food, antioxidants are the rare diamonds everyone is looking for.
One of the biggest turmeric benefits is that the spice increases the capacity of antioxidants in your body, supplying you with enough assets to fight off free radicals.
Turmeric and curcumin for that purpose can neutralize free radicals and boost your antioxidants enzymes.
3. Improves Brain Function and Lowers Risk of Brain Disease
Without going deep into the process of explaining, let me just say that one of the main drivers of the process for forming new connections between neurons is the hormone Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or shortly BDNF.
Studies have shown that the hormone is linked with almost every brain disorder.
But the good news is that one of the benefits of consuming turmeric is the spice can increase the levels of the hormone in the brain.
4. Prevent and Treat Alzheimer’s disease
Going further into the subject of improving brain function, studies have also shown that turmeric can help prevent Alzheimer, but also treat it.
There is no official treatment for the disorder yet, so prevention is utterly important.
Turmeric helps to prevent Alzheimer’s by clearing Amyloid plaques.
To clarify things up, Amyloid plaques are actually protein tangles, and their buildup contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s.
5. Battle Depression
One study has shown that turmeric and its curcumin compound can actually treat depression.
In the study of 60 patients, the results showed that curcumin is as effective as some traditional medicines such as Prozac.
In the study, patients were divided into three groups, with one group taking Prozac, the second curcumin, and the third both.
Six weeks later, the results showed that curcumin showed the same benefits and improvements as Prozac.
6. Lower Risk of Heart Disease
Cardiovascular diseases are the “silent” killer that most of us fear each and every day.
Chances are if you are not suffering from cardiovascular disease (low blood pressure, tachycardia, hypertension), one of your friends is.
There are so many factors contributing to cardiovascular diseases, but turmeric, again mostly because of the curcumin compound, can reverse many steps in the heart diseases process.
One of the biggest turmeric benefits for cardiovascular and heart diseases is that it improves the function of the endothelium.
For those of you who do not know, the endothelium is the lining of your blood vessels.
Dysfunction to the endothelium is one of the major reasons for the development of heart disease.
7. Help with Diabetes
Supplementing patients with turmeric has shown great benefits of reversing the process of diabetes.
Some studies have shown that turmeric is actually 400% more potent than common diabetes drugs.
And the benefits do not stop there.
Turmeric not only prevents and reverses the causes of diabetes, but it also reverses many other issues that are related to insulin resistance.
8. Regulate Cholesterol
Pre-diabetes is one of the biggest problems in the modern world we live in.
Pre-diabetes is actually excessive blood sugar.
Some of the medical drugs show side effects in treating this issue, as they harm the liver and the kidneys.
And unlike traditional medicine, turmeric brings cholesterol levels down but also addresses the cause which in this case is oxidative stress.
Thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric can effectively reduce oxidative stress.
9. Pain Killer and Arthritis
A study in 2012 showed that curcumin can be effectively used as a painkiller, and help with arthritis management.
The study was conducted in 2012. Patients were split into three groups, one with curcumin treatment, the second with traditional drugs, and the last with both.
Patients going through curcumin treatment showed the best improvement.
10. Prevent Cancer
For years, studies have tried to find a link between cancer cells and turmeric.
And in the last few years, there have been several studies that show great benefits for cancer treatment and prevention by consuming turmeric.
Curcumin, the main compound of turmeric can reduce angiogenesis, metastasis, and also contribute to the death of cancerous cells.
