The Truth about Turmeric.
The Truth about Turmeric.
Turmeric may be the most effective nutritional supplement in existence.
Many high quality studies show that it has major benefits for your body and brain.
“Where Can I Buy Turmeric?”
Turmeric has Powerful Medicinal Properties
- Turmeric is the spice that gives curry its yellow color and it has been used in India for thousands of years as a spice and medicinal herb.
- Recently, science has started to back up what the Indians have known for a long time… it really does contain compounds with medicinal properties
- These compounds are called curcuminoids, the most important of which is curcumin.
- Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant.
- However, the curcumin content of turmeric is not that high… it’s around 3%, by weight
- Most of the studies on this herb are using turmeric extracts that contain mostly curcumin itself, with dosages usually exceeding 1 gram per day.
- It would be very difficult to reach these levels just using the turmeric spice in your foods.
Bottom Line: Turmeric contains curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Most studies used turmeric extracts that are standardized to include large amounts of curcumin.
Curcumin is a Natural Anti-Inflammatory Compound
- Inflammation is incredibly important as it helps the body fight foreign invaders and also has a role in repairing damage.
- It is now believed that chronic, low-level inflammation plays a major role in almost every chronic, Western disease.
- This includes heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer’s and various degenerative conditions
- It turns out that curcumin is strongly anti-inflammatory, it is so powerful that it matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs
- Curcumin actually targets multiple steps in the inflammatory pathway, at the molecular level.
Bottom Line: Chronic inflammation is known to be a contributor to many common Western diseases. Curcumin can inhibit many molecules known to play major roles in inflammation.
Turmeric Increases The Antioxidant Capacity of The Body
- Oxidative damage is believed to be one of the mechanisms behind ageing and many diseases.
- It involves free radicals, highly reactive molecules with unpaired electrons.
- Curcumin happens to be a potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals due to its chemical structure
- But curcumin also boosts the activity of the body’s own antioxidant enzymes
Bottom Line: Curcumin has powerful antioxidant effects. It neutralizes free radicals on its own, then stimulates the body’s own antioxidant enzymes.
The Various Health Benefits of Turmeric
- Heart Disease
- Curcumin has beneficial effects on several factors known to play a role in heart disease.
- It improves the function of the endothelium and is a potent anti-inflammatory agent and antioxidant.
- Cancer
- Cancer is a terrible disease, characterized by uncontrolled growth of cells.
- Curcumin leads to several changes on the molecular level that may help prevent and perhaps even treat cancer.
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease in the world and a leading cause of dementia
- But one key feature of Alzheimer’s disease is a buildup of protein tangles called Amyloid plaques. Studies show that curcumin can help clear these plaques
- Whether curcumin can really slow down or even reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s disease needs to be studied properly.
- Arthritis
- There are several different types, but most involve some sort of inflammation in the joints.
- Given that curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory, it makes sense that it could help with arthritis.
- In a study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, curcumin was even more effective than an anti-inflammatory drug
- Depression
- Depression is also linked to reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and a shrinking hippocampus, a brain area with a role in learning and memory.
- Curcumin boosts BNDF levels, potentially reversing some of these changes
- Age-Related Chronic Diseases
- Curcumin has become very popular as an anti-aging supplement
- But given that oxidation and inflammation are believed to play a role in ageing, curcumin may have effects that go way beyond just prevention of disease
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What Are The Health Effects of Turmeric? … What You Need to Know), fact sheets on a variety of specific supplement ingredients and products …