Health Benefits of Turmeric
and Curcumin
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. Here are the top 10
evidence-based health benefits of turmeric.
1. Turmeric Contains Bioactive Compounds
With Powerful Medicinal Properties
Turmeric
is the spice that gives curry its yellow color. 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.
Therefore,
if you want to experience the full effects, then you need to take an extract
that contains significant amounts of curcumin.
Unfortunately,
curcumin is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream. It helps to consume black
pepper with it, which contains piperine… a natural substance that enhances
the absorption of curcumin by 2000%.
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.
2. Curcumin is
a Natural Anti-Inflammatory Compound
Inflammation is incredibly important. It helps
the body fight foreign invaders and also has a role in repairing damage. Without
inflammation, pathogens like bacteria could easily take over our bodies and
kill us.
Although acute (short-term) inflammation is beneficial, it can
become a major problem when it is chronic (long-term) and inappropriately
deployed against the body’s own tissues.
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.
Therefore, anything that can help fight chronic inflammation is
of potential importance in preventing and even treating these diseases.
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.
Curcumin blocks NF-kB, a molecule that travels into the nuclei of cells and
turns on genes related to inflammation. NF-kB is believed to play a major role
in many chronic diseases Without getting into the gory details (inflammation
is extremely complicated), the key takeaway here is that curcumin is
a bioactive substance that fights inflammation at the molecular level
In several studies, its potency has compared favorably to
anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical drugs… except without the side effects
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.
3. Turmeric
Dramatically 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.
Free radicals tend to react with important organic substances,
such as fatty acids, proteins or DNA.The main reason
antioxidants are so beneficial, is that they protect our bodies from free
radicals.
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 . In that way, curcumin delivers a one-two punch
against free radicals. It blocks them directly, then stimulates the body’s own
antioxidant mechanisms.
Bottom Line: Curcumin has powerful antioxidant effects. It
neutralizes free radicals on its own, then stimulates the body’s own
antioxidant enzymes.
4. Curcumin
Boosts Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Linked to Improved Brain Function and
a Lower Risk of Brain Diseases
Back in the day, it was believed that neurons weren’t able to
divide and multiply after early childhood.
However, it is now known that this does happen.
The neurons are capable of forming new connections, but in
certain areas of the brain, they can also multiply and increase in number. One
of the main drivers of this process is Brain-Derived
Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF),
which is a type of growth hormone that functions in the brain Many common brain
disorders have been linked to decreased levels of this hormone. This includes
depression and Alzheimer’s disease Interestingly, curcumin can increase brain
levels of BDNF
By doing this, it may be effective at delaying or even reversing
many brain diseases and age-related decreases in brain function There is also
the possibility that it could help improve memory and make you smarter. Makes
sense given its effects on BDNF levels, but this definitely needs to be tested
in human controlled trials
Bottom Line: Curcumin boosts levels of the
brain hormone BDNF, which increases the growth of new neurons and fights
various degenerative processes in the brain.
5. Curcumin
Leads to Various Improvements That Should Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease
Heart disease is the biggest killer in the world
It has been studied for many decades and researchers have
learned a lot about why it happens.
It turns out that heart disease is incredibly complicated and
there are various things that contribute to it.
Curcumin may help reverse many steps in the heart disease
process Perhaps the main benefit of
curcumin when it comes to heart disease, is improving the function of the
endothelium, which is the lining of the blood vessels.
It is well known that endothelial dysfunction is a major driver of heart disease
and involves an inability of the endothelium to regulate blood pressure, blood
clotting and various other factors
Several studies suggest that curcumin leads to improvements in
endothelial function. One study shows that is as effective as exercise, another
shows that it works as well as the drug Atorvastatin But curcumin also reduces
inflammation and oxidation (as discussed above), which are also important in
heart disease.
In one study, 121 patients who were undergoing coronary artery
bypass surgery were randomized to either placebo or 4 grams of curcumin per
day, a few days before and after the surgery.
The curcumin group had a 65% decreased risk of
experiencing a heart attack in the hospital
Bottom Line: 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.
6. Turmeric Can
Help Prevent (And Perhaps Even Treat) Cancer
Cancer is a terrible disease, characterized by uncontrolled
growth of cells.
There are many different forms of cancer, but they do have
several commonalities, some of which appear to be affected by curcumin supplementation
Researchers have been studying curcumin as a beneficial herb in
cancer treatment. It can affect cancer growth, development and spread at the
molecular level
Studies have shown that it can reduce angiogenesis (growth of
new blood vessels in tumors), metastasis (spread of cancer), as well as contributing
to the death of cancerous cells
Multiple studies have shown that curcumin can reduce the growth
of cancerous cells in the laboratory and inhibit the growth of tumours in test
animals Whether high-dose curcumin (preferably with an absorption enhancer like
pepper) can help treat cancer in humans has yet to be tested properly.
However, there is some evidence that it may help prevent cancer
from occurring in the first place, especially cancers of the digestive system
(like colorectal cancer).
In one study in 44 men with lesions in the colon that sometimes
turn cancerous, 4 grams of curcumin per day for 30 days reduced the number of
lesions by 40% Maybe curcumin will be used along with conventional cancer
treatment one day. It’s too early to say for sure, but it looks promising and
this is being intensively studied as we speak.
Bottom Line: Curcumin leads to several changes on the
molecular level that may help prevent and perhaps even treat cancer.
7. Curcumin May
be Useful in Preventing and Treating Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease
in the world and a leading cause of dementia.Unfortunately, no good treatment
is available for Alzheimer’s yet.
Therefore, preventing it from showing up in the first place is
of utmost importance.
There may be good news on the horizon, because curcumin has been
shown to cross the blood-brain barrier It is known that inflammation and
oxidative damage play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. As we know, curcumin has
beneficial effects on both 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.
Bottom Line: Curcumin can cross the
blood-brain barrier and has been shown to lead to various improvements in the
pathological process of Alzheimer’s disease.
8. Arthritis
Patients Respond Very Well to Curcumin Supplementation
Arthritis is a common problem in Western
countries. 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. Several studies show this to
be true.
In a study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, curcumin was
even more effective than an anti-inflammatory drug Many other studies have
looked at the effects of curcumin on arthritis and noted improvements in
various symptoms
Bottom Line: Arthritis is a common disorder
characterized by joint inflammation. Many studies show that curcumin can help
treat symptoms of arthritis and is in some cases more effective than
anti-inflammatory drugs.
9. Studies Show
That Curcumin Has Incredible Benefits Against Depression
Curcumin has shown some promise in treating depression.In a
controlled trial, 60 patients were randomized into three groups.One group took
prozac, another group took a gram of curcumin and the third group took both
prozac and curcumin.
After 6 weeks, curcumin had led to improvements that were
similar to prozac. The group that took both prozac and curcumin fared
best.According to this (small) study, curcumin is as effective as an
antidepressant.
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.There is also some evidence that curcumin can boost the brain
neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine
Bottom Line: A study in 60 depressed patients
showed that curcumin was as effective as prozac in alleviating the symptoms of
depression.
10. Curcumin
May Help Delay Ageing and Fight Age-Related Chronic Diseases
If curcumin can really help prevent heart disease, cancer and
Alzheimer’s… then this would have obvious benefits for longevity. For this reason, 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
Take Curcumin with
bioperine (another name for piperine), which is the substance that enhances
absorption of curcumin by 2000%. Without this substance, most of the curcumin
just passes through your digestive tract.
