Top 10 Benefits of Incorporating Turmeric into Your Diet
Disease Nutrition Supplements
Turmeric has been cherished for thousands of years, known for its vibrant color and powerful health benefits. This ancient spice, used for culinary and medicinal purposes, contains curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory compound. In recent years, turmeric has gained significant attention for its potential to support health and wellness, particularly in the fight against chronic diseases. This post will explore the top ten benefits of adding turmeric to your diet and why this golden spice deserves a place in your daily routine.
Top 10 Benefits of Incorporating Turmeric into Your Diet
Disease Nutrition Supplements
Turmeric has been cherished for thousands of years, known for its vibrant color and powerful health benefits. This ancient spice, used for culinary and medicinal purposes, contains curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory compound. In recent years, turmeric has gained significant attention for its potential to support health and wellness, particularly in the fight against chronic diseases. This post will explore the top ten benefits of adding turmeric to your diet and why this golden spice deserves a place in your daily routine.
Turmeric has been used by humans for thousands of years, with the oldest known use dating back to Indian Vedic culture almost 4000 years ago.1
A member of the ginger family, this plant is native to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The part of the plant used for culinary, medicinal, and spiritual purposes is rhizomes.
Containing a natural anti-inflammatory compound known as curcumin, there have been promising studies displaying the potential efficacy of turmeric concerning a long list of health conditions.
Let's look at ten benefits of incorporating turmeric into your diet.
1. It's Anti-Inflammatory
Inflammation is your body's natural response to metabolic, microbial, autoimmune, or physical transgressions. This means it can be a pivotal aspect of your body's healing ability. When inflammation becomes chronic rather than acute, it can lead to a long list of diseases.
Low-level, chronic inflammation plays a role in conditions like heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, and depression. Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis occur because chronic inflammation can destroy the body rather than heal.
Curcumin, the anti-inflammatory chemical compound in turmeric, has been found to be just as effective as other anti-inflammatory medicines but without the same side effects.2 Known to suppress many molecules that are understood to play a vital role in inflammation, curcumin is believed to have the potential to help prevent a long list of chronic Western diseases.
2. It Might Protect Against Heart Disease
The number one cause of death in the world is heart disease.
It is believed that curcumin could potentially reverse steps in developing heart disease. One of the most promising benefits of curcumin concerning heart disease is its ability to improve endothelium function. Since endothelium dysfunction is one of the major drivers of cardiac disease, taking curcumin could be a step towards avoiding heart disease.3. It Might Support Cancer
There are many different types of cancer, but generally, it is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells. Curcumin might be able to help treat and prevent cancer.
One study found that curcumin impacts the growth, development, and spread of cancer at the molecular level.3 Others have found that it can help kill cancerous cells and reduce the spread of cancer and the appearance of new blood vessels in tumors.
4. It Might Prevent and Help to Treat Diabetes
Research on the effect of curcumin on diabetes is incomplete. Many studies on curcumin's impact on diabetes have only been done on animal subjects and not human subjects.4
That being said, the studies that have been done have been promising. Curcumin appears to be able to improve many of the contributing factors to diabetes, including high blood sugar, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance.
5. It Might Help to Delay or Reverse Alzheimer's Disease
Another benefit of incorporating turmeric into your diet is that it could potentially delay or reverse Alzheimer's disease. Some studies have shown that turmeric can increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels. BDNF is a protein located in both the spinal cord and brain that plays an important part in the health of nerve cells.
Many studies on the relationship between turmeric and Alzheimer's disease have been done in mice. Researchers believe that more studies need to be done to confirm the efficacy of turmeric for this particular purpose.
6. It May Help to Treat Depression
Depression is associated with lower BDNF levels, just like Alzheimer's disease. Researchers believe that turmeric displays promise as an anti-depressant because of its ability to raise BDNF levels.
One human study found that patients had comparable results after six weeks when given curcumin or fluoxetine (the common brand name for which is Prozac).5 More studies need to be done to understand the potential for turmeric to treat depression, but it's promising for people who are looking for natural health solutions to mental health and mood disorders.
7. It Might Help Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder. It most commonly affects an individual's joints, but it sometimes will spread to other parts of the body such as the heart, skin, lungs, eyes, and blood vessels. People with rheumatoid arthritis experience painful joint swelling, which can lead to bone erosion, deformities, and physical disabilities.
Because of turmeric's anti-inflammatory properties, it is believed that it might help improve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. One study showed that a group of patients given curcumin showed significant improvements in swelling and tenderness of the joints compared to a group taking a prescription anti-inflammatory.6
8. It Might Help Alleviate Osteoarthritis Symptoms
Some studies have shown that curcumin might be an effective and safe long-term treatment for osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis affects millions worldwide and is the most common form of arthritis. It's caused by the cartilage around the ends of your bones wearing down and can cause damage to any joint.9. It May Help Make Your Skin Healthier
Since turmeric has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties, it might help treat skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, and photoaging. There has yet to be enough research on this topic, but one study has suggested that it could be effective in treating psoriasis.710. It Might Help Prevent Eye Degeneration
One of the leading causes of blindness in people over 60 years old is glaucoma. Some preliminary research suggests that curcumin might help prevent eye degeneration when applied topically.8
How to Incorporate Turmeric Into Your Diet
Tumeric is a vital ingredient in many dishes from Asia. It's also used regularly across the Middle East and South Asia.
There are many delicious and healthy ways to incorporate turmeric into your diet. Some of those include:
Adding Turmeric to Rice
The bright yellow color of turmeric can add a splash of color to a boring pot of rice. This is commonly done in South Africa and served alongside a spiced minced meat and egg dish called bobotie.
Adding it to Roasted Vegetables
Turmeric has a peppery and warm flavor that generally compliments vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, and root vegetables. Mix turmeric with olive oil, cumin, ginger, and black pepper. You can then pour this mixture over vegetables before roasting at 400 degrees.
Adding it to Frittatas and Egg Scrambles
If you want to incorporate turmeric without being overpowered by the flavor, try adding it to an egg dish. The color and the flavor will be subtle, so your kids might be okay with it.
Sauteeing it With Greens
Eating dark leafy greens is essential to a healthy diet. Add turmeric to braised or sauteed greens like collards, kale, swiss chard, or cabbage.
Throwing Some into Smoothies
You can use the fresh root or the ground spice in smoothies. This is another great way to mask the taste if you or your family find it too strong.
Using it in Soups
Turmeric can add a wonderfully comforting and warm flavor to soups. Consider adding some to chicken soup or vegetable soup. You can also make a delicious carrot, ginger, and turmeric soup, which is perfect for a cold winter night.
Making Tea
One common way of ingesting turmeric is by making golden tea. You can make golden tea by heating milk on your stove and stirring in turmeric, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and honey. If you're eating a dairy-free diet, you can use a dairy-free milk substitute.
Remember, whenever you're incorporating turmeric into your diet to gain health benefits, you should add some black pepper. This is because the bioactive compound known as piperine in black pepper enhances your body's absorption of curcumin by up to 2000%.9
Turmeric is also fat-soluble. This means ingesting turmeric and fats makes curcumin more bioavailable.
Incorporating Turmeric Into Your Diet May Support Your Health
There is still a lot of research to be conducted regarding the efficacy of curcumin in treating various long-term health conditions. However, evidence suggests that incorporating turmeric into your diet is good for your overall health. The absence of negative turmeric side effects makes it a promising natural remedy.
Citations:
1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92752/2 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3
3 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18462866/
4 https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/diet/scientific-health-benefits-turmeric-curcumin/
5 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23832433/
6 https://www.rheumaterx.com/assets/pdfs/cs-curcumin.pdf
7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5816303/
8 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-29393-8#Sec1
9 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535097/
Jay Todtenbier is one of the founders of SupplementRelief.com in 2010 and has operated the business ever since. He is also a tennis instructor and gospel musician. Formerly, he spent 25 years in business development, technology, and marketing with startups and major corporations, having gone through the tech boom in Silicon Valley in the 90s. He became passionate about and began studying and practicing Wellness as a Lifestyle after experiencing chronic, personal health challenges, including depression, auto-immune disorders, and being overweight, which impacted his ability to live a healthy, vibrant life. Since then, he has advocated for healthier living, encouraging others to live better by making small, gradual changes to lifestyle behaviors relating to whole-food nutrition, stress management, reasonable exercise, proper sleep, and targeted high-quality supplements.
Learn more about Jay Todtenbier.
I add turmeric in morning protein shake along with colostrum. Wonderful !! At 68 they have made quite the difference in overall wellbeing. Thank you.
Comments are displayed in order of the last one posted so the most recent one is at the top and the oldest one at the bottom.
Replies within a Comment are displayed in reverse order with the oldest one at the top and the most recent one at the bottom.
Each post identifies who made the post and the date and time the post was made.
Mouse over the icons for tooltips that explain what they mean.
If you see this icon you can attach an Audio file to your post.
If you see this icon you can attach a Document file to your post.
If you see this icon you can attach an Image file to your post.
If you see this icon you can attach a Video file to your post.
You will see the Ban icon (Report Post as SPAM) immediately following the Timestamp of the post. Click this icon if you feel strongly that the content posted is not appropriate and should be reviewed by the Forum Moderator. You will be provided with a confirmation dialog to be sure you wish to submit this post for review. If submitted, the Forum Moderator will be notified to review the post and will determine what type of action to take.
Click in the upper right corner of this Help modal or anywhere on the web page outside of the modal to exit Help.