Here’s Why Turmeric is The Ultimate Spice
It has been used for thousands of years!
Turmeric is a spice that comes from the turmeric plant. This is a popular spice that is native to Southeast Asia where it has also been used for its medicinal properties for thousands of years.
The compounds that are found in turmeric are called curcuminoids. Curcumin is the main curcuminoid which also makes it the most active ingredient found in turmeric.
The majority of turmeric’s medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties are due to curcumin so this story will mainly help illustrate how curcumin is responsible for most of turmeric’s benefits.
The main benefits of turmeric powder are:
- Curcumin has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- It helps lower the risk of heart disease.
- It reduces the risk of cancer.
- It helps boost the immune system and protects the brain against neurodegenerative diseases.
Curcumin has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Inflammation is a process which your body’s immune system uses to help protect itself from pathogens and invaders. It is the immune system’s response and it generally involves the body’s white blood cells which help fight pathogens and infections.
Inflammation is useful for the body but chronic or long-term inflammation actually causes damage. This is because the body’s inflammatory response can start to damage healthy cells, organs, and tissues which over time can lead to tissue death and scarring.
Research has shown that chronic inflammation plays a role in almost every chronic disease such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Because of this, it’s necessary that inflammation be kept at a minimum.
Curcumin can help with this as it has anti-inflammatory properties. Research has shown that curcumin is able to decrease swelling and inflammation and because of this, it helps reduce the risk of many inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, asthma, autoimmune diseases, etc.
A study showed that taking 1000 mg of curcumin each day for 8–12 weeks can help reduce inflammation due to arthritis.
Curcumin also has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help neutralize and destroy free radicals which are unstable molecules that have unpaired electrons. To gain stability, these free radicals steal electrons from other cells which in the process causes cell damage and disease.
Getting enough antioxidants in the diet or through supplements can help prevent free radical damage and reduce the risk of many diseases such as heart disease, cancer, etc.
Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant that has the ability to neutralize these free radicals and can significantly help in boosting antioxidant levels.
It helps lower the risk of heart disease.
The number one cause of death in the world is heart disease and as such precautionary measures must be taken to avoid damaging the cardiovascular system.
Having a good diet, exercising, and staying well-informed about one’s vulnerability to heart disease are good measures to reduce the risk of heart disease. Curcumin also plays a role in improving the cardiovascular system where its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties help protect the heart and the circulatory system.
Curcumin has been shown to slow down the development of atherosclerosis which over the long run can help prevent the development of dangerous blood clots which if left untreated progress to a heart attack.
One study randomly assigned 121 people who were undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery either a placebo or 4 grams of curcumin per day. These people were assigned the placebo or curcumin a few days before and after the surgery.
At the end of the study, it was found that the curcumin group had a 65% decreased risk of getting a heart attack in the hospital.
It reduces the risk of cancer.
Cancer is a disease where uncontrolled and unregulated cell growth leads to the proliferation of abnormal cells that destroys normal cells and tissue.
One way curcumin is thought to work is by lowering the levels of inflammation in the body. As already stated before, inflammation is responsible for the pathogenesis of many diseases including cancer.
Curcumin has been studied as a possible cancer treatment and it has been shown to hinder cancer growth and development. In lab studies, curcumin was able to reduce and inhibit the growth of cancerous cells and tumors.
A study that ran for 30 days involving 44 men with lesions in the colon that had the potential to turn cancerous found that 4 grams of curcumin per day reduced the number of lesions by 40%.
Another study showed that curcumin can help inhibit enzymes such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) which are responsible for regulating the inflammatory responses in the body.
Because of its potential to treat cancer, curcumin has been used along with chemotherapy to judge its effectiveness and it was found that chemotherapy and curcumin together was better than chemotherapy alone.
It helps boost the immune system and protects the brain against neurodegenerative diseases.
Curcumin helps boost the immune system primarily through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Both of these properties when combined together help keep the immune system’s defenses strong and helps fight off pathogens/invaders.
Curcumin has been shown to suppress inflammatory molecules while also neutralizing free radicals which over the long run helps support the immune system.
Additionally, curcumin helps protect the brain against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. It does this by increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is a special protein found in the brain and spinal cord that plays an important role in keeping neurons healthy.
Alzheimer’s disease patients express lower levels of BDNF and so if these BDNF levels can be restored, then there is a possibility that the disease can be prevented or even reversed.
Final Note
Curcumin in turmeric is a very potent compound that is responsible for most of turmeric’s medicinal properties.
By intaking turmeric, people can prevent many diseases and improve their overall health.
If you enjoyed this story, feel free to clap.
To see more of my stories, please click here: Medium Stories
References:
You just read another post from In Fitness And In Health: a health and fitness community dedicated to sharing knowledge, lessons, and suggestions to living happier, healthier lives.
If you’d like to join our newsletter and receive more stories like this one, tap here.
