5 Health Benefits Of Turmeric;
Turmeric scientifically known as curcuma longa is a bright yellow spice used throughout Asia for
centuries.
Grown for its root
turmeric has an ancient history of uses in cooking fabric dyeing cosmetics and
especially as a traditional medicine in china and India.
Its use in conditions such as rheumatism severe pain fatigue
and breathing problems has been well documented for over 4 000 years.
Scientists have identified a key ingredient of turmeric that
quite literally gives turmeric its super food properties this key ingredient is
known as curcumin.
Curcumin is a pigment found in turmeric that not only gives it its characteristic bright yellow hue but also has a range of health benefits these include antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
Because of these wide ranging functions turmeric has been studied in relation to arthritis eye conditions cancer heart diseases Alzheimer’s disease and much more.
Top scientifically proven health benefits of turmeric;
1. curcumin is a natural anti-inflammatory compound.
Inflammation is incredibly important for our body it helps
to fight bacteria and viruses and also has a role in repairing the damage done
in your body by free radicals.
It’s a body's way of
protecting itself although short-term inflammation is beneficial it can be a
concern if it becomes long-term or chronic and attacks your body's own tissues.
Chronic low level inflammation plays a key role in the
development of many diseases including heart
diseases, cancer, metabolic syndrome,
Alzheimer’s disease, and various
degenerative conditions.
That’s why anything that can help to fight chronic
inflammation is important in the prevention and treatment of these conditions.
The curcumin in turmeric has proven strong anti-inflammatory
properties that reduce the damage done by chronic inflammation in the body.
Studies have shown positive effects of curcumin on people
suffering from conditions such as rheumatoid
arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease
and many others.
This anti-inflammatory ability of turmeric reduces the
worsening of pre-existing joint problems as well as development of new ones in
the people with arthritis.
In addition turmeric also has pain relieving properties the
spice is reputed to relieve arthritis pain as well.
Dietitians suggest taking turmeric capsules of 400 to 600
milligrams up to three times per day.
2. Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant.
Curcumin has potent antioxidant properties now to completely
explain what oxidative damage is what free radicals are and how antioxidant
work.
Oxidative damage is believed to be one of the main mechanisms
behind aging and the development of many chronic diseases.
The main reasons antioxidants are so beneficial is that they
protect your body from this oxidative damage and the development of many
diseases like cataracts, glaucoma,
and macular degeneration in the eyes.
3. curcumin can boost brain health.
Before scientists had a better understanding of neurons it was believed that they were not able to divide and multiply after early childhood but studies have shown this isn't true neurons are capable of forming new connections and in certain areas the brain.
They can multiply and increase in number also one of the
main drivers of this process is brain derived neurotropic factor also known as (BDNF)
this protein is responsible for promoting the life of neurons and also plays a
role in memory and learning.
Many common brain disorders have been linked to the
decreased levels of (PDNF) protein including depression and Alzheimer’s disease.
Interestingly animal studies have shown that curcumin may
increase the levels of BDNF in the brain.
By doing this it may be effective in the delaying or even
reversing many brain diseases and age related decrease in brain function.
Also there is growing evidence that curcumin can cross the
blood-brain barrier and may help to protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
It works to reduce
inflammation as well as the buildup of protein plaques in the brain that
are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease sufferers.
Still since these studies were performed in animals it's
hard to say what the results mean for humans and more studies are needed to
confirm this.
4. curcumin may lower your risk of heart diseases.
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the world researchers
have studied it for many decades and learned a lot about why it happens.
Unsurprisingly heart disease is incredibly complicated and
various things contribute to it including oxidative stress by free radicals.
curcumin may help to 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 endothelium which is the inner lining of
your blood vessels.
When endothelium gets affected it is unable to regulate blood pressure, blood clotting, and various other factors and this
dysfunction is a major driver of heart diseases.
Several studies suggest that curcumin can lead to
improvement in the health of endothelium.
One study found that regular consumption of turmeric is as
effective as exercise in post-menopausal females.
In addition curcumin can help to reduce inflammation and
oxidative damage which can play a key role in the development of heart diseases.
In one study of 121 people undergoing coronary artery bypass
surgery researchers assigned them into two groups' one group received a
placebo and the other group received 4 grams of curcumin per day for a few days
before and after the surgery.
They found that the group who took curcumin had a 65
decreased risk of experiencing a heart attack in the hospital.
Indicating that turmeric definitively reduces their heart
related issues.
5. Turmeric may help to prevent cancer also.
Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell
growth there are many different forms of cancer that appear to be affected by
curcumin supplements.
curcumin has been studied as a beneficial herb in the cancer
treatment and has been found to affect cancer growth and development.
studies have shown that it has various ways that it can
control cancer such as it contributes to
the death of cancerous cells it reduces angiogenesis which means it
prevents growth of new blood vessels in the tumor and it reduces metastasis also that is the spread of cancer.
Whether high dose curcumin preferably with an absorption
enhancer can help to treat cancer has yet to be studied properly.
However there is evidence that it may prevent cancer from
occurring in the first place especially cancers of the digestive system like
colorectal cancer.
This was studied by researchers in a month-long study in 44
men these men had lesions in the colon that sometimes turned cancerous.
The researchers found that 4 grams of curcumin per day
reduces the number of lesions by 40% so
the bottom line is that turmeric and especially its most active compound curcumin
have many scientifically proven health benefits such as the potential to improve
heart health, prevent against Alzheimer’s
and cancer, relieving joint pain in arthritis, and much more.
it's a potent anti-inflammatory
and antioxidant agent while these benefits are possible they are limited at
this time because of the curcumin scars bioavailability the current scientific
literature regarding definitive benefit of turmeric is still in its early
development so while scientists explore the benefits of turmeric in their own
way.
You can introduce turmeric in one form or other in your diet
and start experiencing the benefits yourself you have the advice of billions of
people who have used turmeric for innumerable purposes over the last four thousand
years.






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