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What Are The Amazing Health Benefits of Turmeric & Curcumin?

April 15, 2019

What Are The Amazing Health Benefits of Turmeric & Curcumin?

What is turmeric?

Turmeric is part of the ginger family. Because it loves a warm and humid environment, turmeric is widely grown in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is a perennial herb with a long history of cultivation. It often has a bitter and spicy taste and commonly features a complex and rich woody aroma, reminiscent of the oriental style.

What is the value of turmeric?

Edible Value

The root of turmeric can be ground into a powder to make turmeric powder. Turmeric powder has a mild and mellow taste, and a bright orange color. It is the main ingredient in curry powder and is often used in Indian cuisine. You can also add some turmeric powder to your favorite pasta or vegetable soup to adjust the taste. People commonly drink milk and coffee with turmeric powder every morning as well. These sort of "golden drinks" can improve your appetite and confer certain health benefits.

Dye Value

The curcumin of turmeric can be refined to become a natural dye. The color is bright and has always been an excellent natural vegetable dye. The dyeing effect is firm, and once something is colored, it will not easily fade away. You can also match different colors to meet different needs. The dyeing process is simple in operation and often low cost. The fabric dyed by turmeric is often used to make maternity clothing, young children's outfits, and silk for ancient paintings.

Rich Medicinal Value

Turmeric is a traditional Chinese medicine that has clinical research behind it. In recent years, studies have shown that the effective active ingredients in turmeric are mainly concentrated in the curcumin fraction of the rhizome. Turmeric extract is a chemical component extracted from the rhizome of plants in the family Zingiberaceae and Araceae. Curcumin is a mixture of three compounds that are the alcohol-soluble diphenylheptane compounds curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin.

 

Curcumin has the following medicinal effects:

  1. Turmeric gradually increases antioxidants in the body* 

This may be one of the biggest benefits of turmeric to the body. Oxidative damage is one of the mechanisms that causes aging and various diseases. The free radicals involved react strongly with organic matter in the body and may cause harm. Turmeric contains curcumin, a powerful antioxidant that protects the body from free radical damage because of its chemical structure that neutralizes free radicals.* Curcumin not only blocks free radicals, but it also stimulates your body's antioxidant mechanisms.* 

  1. Turmeric can help treat diabetes**

Turmeric promotes the control of glucose and enhances the action of drugs used to treat diabetes. This is why this powerful herb can be used as a supplement to diabetes treatment because it can help control insulin levels. Turmeric also can reduce the body's resistance to insulin, thereby helping to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.* However, it is best to consult your doctor before starting to use turmeric as a supplement or medication for diabetes treatment.

  1. Turmeric has the potential to help prevent cancer* 

As you know, there are many different types of cancer, but these different types do have some common characteristics that can be directly affected by curcumin. Numerous studies have shown that curcumin can be effective in affecting the growth, development and spread of cancer cells at the molecular level.* The studies showed that curcumin may potentially reduce the growth and metastasis of new blood vessels in existing tumors and may also help eliminate cancer cells.* 

  1. Turmeric helps lower cholesterol levels*

High cholesterol levels can be very detrimental to health, so people are always looking for ways to lower them. Studies have shown and demonstrated that adding turmeric to flavor foods can significantly lower blood cholesterol levels.* Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is essential for preventing cardiovascular disease and other serious health conditions, so taking this step may be very beneficial to you. 

  1. Turmeric can be used to help prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease*

Alzheimer's disease is a disease that no one wants. It is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the world and the main cause of dementia. Curcumin can help because it helps reduce inflammation and oxidative damage.* These factors play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Curcumin also helps to clear amyloid plaques, which is another key factor in Alzheimer's disease.*

  1. Turmeric can be used for skin care*

Turmeric has many benefits for the skin, including speeding up the healing process of wounds and calming the pores on the face to reduce acne.* Curcumin also prevents acne scars and helps control psoriasis.* These benefits occur because turmeric has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.* However, it may also cause staining and some forms of allergic reactions, so it is recommended that you consult a dermatologist to discuss the benefits of turmeric first.

  1. Turmeric is beneficial to people with depression* 

A large number of studies have shown that turmeric has promising results in the treatment of depression. Depression is associated with decreased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factors and atrophy of the hippocampus (the brain region responsible for learning and memory). Curcumin can help minimize these effects because it increases the level of BNDF.* In addition, there is some evidence that curcumin can also increase brain neurotransmitters that produce dopamine and serotonin.*

  1. Turmeric can be used for gastrointestinal issues*

Most of the time, people with stomach and digestive diseases are intolerant to medical intervention because the endometrium has been damaged, so drug intervention may eventually further damage the mucosal lining. According to some studies, curcumin can help control inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis and even Crohn's disease.*  

  1. Turmeric may help joint health* 

People with arthritis, whether rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, can benefit from turmeric because of the anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidant properties of turmeric.* Many people with some form of arthritis claim that their mild to moderate joint pain is greatly relieved and joint inflammation is alleviated with frequent consumption of curcumin.*

  1. Turmeric can help you manage your weight*

Turmeric powder is very helpful in maintaining the ideal weight.* The ingredients in turmeric help to promote the flow of bile, a crucial component  in the process of dietary fat breakdown. People who want to lose weight or treat obesity can consider taking one teaspoon of turmeric powder per meal.

The Medical Research Value of Curcumin

With the deepening of research on turmeric by modern medicine, this mysterious plant from the East is slowly showing more and more potential. The curcuminoid substance isolated from the rhizome of turmeric is mainly curcumin, which is the most important pharmacological active ingredient of turmeric. The other two main active substances are bis-demethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin.

Curcumin can have a great impact on human health. It has antioxidant effects, can protect cell tissue, can delay aging, and also has a regulating effect on fat cells.*

For a long time, the efficacy and mechanism of curcumin in liver protection, anti-inflammatory, stomach protection, anti-oxidation, anti-tumor, anti-depression and prevention of Alzheimer's disease were the main direction of academic research.*

In recent years, the research on the efficacy of curcumin in anti-aging, hyperlipidemia, obesity and metabolic syndrome have become academic hotspots.* With the increase in research, curcumin may have new applications soon.

In a paper published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, researchers reported that curcumin has anti-inflammatory effects and can significantly reduce protein accumulation in the brain, memory, and emotion-related areas of the brain, thereby improving memory and promoting mental health.*

VITY Vitamins reported in the United States: "The main pharmacological effects of curcumin are anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulation, lipid-lowering, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-aging, free radical elimination and tumor growth inhibition."

The Daily Mail quoted research project host Gary Smol as saying: "Our findings show that long-term intake of curcumin in a safe manner can form a substantial cognitive improvement."

 

Is Turmeric Safe?

 

Curcumin can have a major drawback: the bioavailability is extremely low and it is difficult to be absorbed by the body.

Researchers have pointed out though that not all oral curcumin are poorly absorbed; lipids and piperines can help the body absorb curcumin.

High dose (12g per day) intake of curcumin can induce diarrhea. There is no evidence to support the health benefits of high-dose oral curcumin or intravenous curcumin. In fact, at high doses, the main activity of curcumin tends to shift from antioxidant properties to pro-oxidative properties. This means that high doses of curcumin do not inhibit cell damage, but rather stimulate cell damage.*

 

 

Ways To Consume Turmeric

1. Eat raw Turmeric roots


Turmeric is the root of a perennial herb of the family Zingiberaceae; ginger is a close relative of it. If you aren't afraid of the strong taste, you can eat raw turmeric root directly.

2. Add turmeric powder to food and liquid.

The most common form of turmeric is powder. When taking the powder, it is appropriate to use 400 to 600 mg three times a day. You can add turmeric powder to drinks such as sauces, soups, milk and tea.

One recipe is to boil 1 cup of water, add 2g of turmeric powder. If you feel that it is not delicious enough, you can add some lemon, honey or ginger. If you don't like tea, try adding a teaspoon of turmeric powder to milk so that the cup of milk has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

3. Take a turmeric tincture.

The entire efficacy of turmeric is concentrated in the extract. This method of administration is very simple, as you only need to squeeze two to three drops of tincture in water, tea, soup or any other beverage.


4. Making a turmeric powder paste.

If you are accidentally cut, burned or burnt, apply a little turmeric powder on the wound – this is one traditional way to use turmeric. Mix turmeric powder, ginger powder and water. When applying the paste, use a clean and sterile rubber spatula or brush to draw the turmeric powder paste around the wound. If you apply it directly by hand, be sure to wash your hands before touching the paste. After applying, keep it on for a few hours and then wash it off. If the burn is not very serious, you can combine turmeric powder with aloe vera cream. Mix equal parts turmeric powder and aloe vera cream.

5. Take turmeric powder capsules!

You can purchase turmeric powder capsules like ours at FarmHaven. We recommend 3 capsules a day for the optimal dosage of curcuminoids.