Turmeric – Do You Know Its Secret Health Benefits?
Unless you have been under a rock for the past year (although being in lockdown is kind of like being under a rock!), you’ve most likely seen some posts and articles surrounding turmeric.
The excitement over this special spice is seriously ‘hotting’ up and we’re not talking about what it can do for your cooking, but how it can help improve your health. With over 90,500 turmeric-related searches a month online, it’s clear it’s no longer the best kept secret in the health and wellbeing world. The interest in this powerful, natural ingredient and how we can add it to our daily routine is gaining real traction by all walks of life – and fast.
But, why? What are the health benefits of this wonder spice? The Turmeric Co. reveals all.
Turmeric Health Benefits
The first thing to note is that the interest in turmeric is due to its main active ingredient; curcumin. But the level of curcumin in standard turmeric is not that high, as well as it being pretty poor when it comes to being absorbed into the bloodstream. As a result of this, turmeric supplements have been born as they have higher amounts of curcumin and also contain substances like piperine (an extract of black pepper) which helps the absorption into the body.
The most confusing thing about turmeric is that it seems to be a panacea and it’s therefore difficult to understand the exact reasons why people take it daily and what the specific rewards are for doing so.
The truth is, there are so many health advantages associated with turmeric and so many proven trials from cancer prevention to alleviating depression that it is a large scale multi-faceted conversation. From assisting with recovery, calming the mind and bolstering your immune system, The Turmeric Co. is focusing on the top three benefits to further help your decision when it comes to adding a daily turmeric shot to your diet.
1 Linked to Reduced Inflammation
Inflammation is a very important natural response that the human body needs to function, however too much inflammation can cause a host of issues and diseases such as Arthritis and even Alzheimer’s. Curcumin, and its antioxidant effects, suppresses the molecules and pathways that are responsible for triggering the inflammation surge. In simple terms, curcumin helps to curb the effects of inflammation by regulating the compounds that are involved.
Pic: Shutterstock
Once only used by the health and fitness crowd to assist with daily recovery and performance, this is now widely taken for joint pain and a host of other inflammation related conditions.
2 Helps Lower Blood Pressure
Pic: Shutterstock
Curcumin assists with the function of blood vessels and heart-lining known as the endothelium. The endothelium is a membrane that is critical in regulating blood pressure and studies have shown that the presence of curcumin can help widen and relax blood vessels, which in turn lowers blood pressure.
Issues with the function of the endothelium can be a major contributing factor of heart disease. Therefore, curcumin can help protect against age-related loss of function and reduce likelihood of developing heart disease.
3 Potent Antioxidant
Ever wondered why you need antioxidants? Well in short, they help you deal with free radicals (which is just a type of atom that reacts quickly because it wants to bond with another atom to complete its atomic destiny!). Free radicals can be useful to the body but an imbalance of them creates something called oxidative stress. In layman terms, extended oxidative stress leads to symptoms such as fatigue, memory loss and wrinkles!
Long term oxidative stress is also linked to chronic inflammation-related issues like Arthritis and several neurodegenerative diseases too such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. So, in short, taking antioxidants is not only a good idea for general health but can also help prevent more serious issues.
There is also a fair bit of noise online around curcumin boosting brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This is an exciting discovery because depression is linked to reduced levels of BDNF and studies have shown curcumin to be giving antidepressants a run for their money in terms of efficacy.
How to take Turmeric
To get the best possible boost, we need to harness the power of this raw ingredient without sacrificing any nutritional value.
Turmeric consumed in the form of capsule supplements (dried powder), is significantly depleted of its nutritional properties due to its poor bioavailability and will therefore not deliver the same benefits as raw turmeric.
Taking raw turmeric in its purest form such as in a drink or liquid shot will preserve its superfood qualities. And adding black pepper to the recipe will also increase the absorption of curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, by 2000%.
What’s more, a functional turmeric shot-format drink, for daily consumption, is also a more convenient way to enjoy this powerful and potent ingredient.
So, the talk is true – turmeric really does have a whole host of health-related benefits, when taken the right way. All in all, ‘it’s worth a shot’!
For more information on The Tumeric Co. and its turmeric shot product range visit here.
Moira Chisholm
I'm the Health Editor on My Weekly and am always interested to hear what's new in this fascinating field. I also deal with the gardening, shopping pages, general features, our website content and the Ask Helen problem page. I have a special interest in Christmas content because I'm on the team for Your Best Ever Christmas Magazine, too!
