Turmeric Benefits: Are They Too Good To Be True?

Turmeric is one of the most popular spices known for its yellow color and is more commonly used in curry powders and mustards. Aside from its culinary use, this spice is also known in the medicinal herbs space. It is reported to have several health benefits to the body, but what do researchers say? We’re about to tell you if these coveted health benefits are really true or just too good to be true.

What is Turmeric?

Turmeric has the scientific name, Curcuma longa, and belongs to the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. The rhizomes (mass of roots) of this plant are used in the culinary industry. When tasted, turmeric has a warm and bitter taste most commonly used to color and flavor curry powders, a variety of mustards, cheeses, and kinds of butter.

Turmeric plants are typically found in South Asia which includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

It is also called curcumin, Curcuma, Curcuma aromatica, and many other names around the world. Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a polyphenol responsible for the yellow color of turmeric and is considered to be its active ingredient known to offer health benefits.

What Are the Benefits of Turmeric? Here’s What Current Studies Say!

In the medicinal herbs world, turmeric is one of the most known and fastest-growing dietary supplements today. In 2018 alone, turmeric products had an estimated $328 million in sales in the US according to a report from the Nutrition Business Journal.

For a product to reach a huge amount of sales, consumers must be seeking its value for good reason. Turmeric is famed for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and other health benefits, but how true are they? Here’s what researchers have to say based on current studies.

Curcumin Is Anti-Inflammatory

Perhaps the most known use of turmeric is its anti-inflammatory effects. Here’s what
University of Utah’s Health Registered Dietician and Nutritionist, Anne Pesek Taylor, RDN, CD has to say about turmeric’s one of most desired benefits.

She noted that researchers have found that phytochemicals from natural foods, such as the curcumin found in turmeric, may be a safe and effective way to help reduce inflammation and prevent and treat disease.

In addition, acute inflammatory responses are beneficial for the body in that they help heal injury, irritation, or infection, and chronic inflammation can contribute to disease onset. There is promising research to support curcumin’s use for the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on obesity, to reduce arthritis pain and swelling, and to aid in complications such as diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, and cardiomyopathy.

Because chronic inflammation contributes to many chronic diseases, curcumin may help treat conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, and arthritis, according to a past review.

According to a past study, curcumin may be a more effective anti-inflammatory treatment than common inflammation-fighting medications such as Advil (ibuprofen) aspirin. However, more research is needed in this area as well.

Curcumin May Help Ease Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Due to its potent anti-inflammatory properties, curcumin may be a safe and effective long-term treatment option for people with osteoarthritis (OA).

According to a study published Advances in the Experimental Medicine and Biology book series last August 2021, authors concluded that curcumin may be a treatment of osteoarthritis.

Respondents who took 1,000 mg per day of Meriva experienced significant improvements in stiffness and physical function after eight months, whereas the control group saw no improvement.

Meriva is a proprietary treatment made up of a natural curcuminoid mixture (75 percent curcumin; 15 percent demethoxycurcumin; and 10 percent bisdemethoxycurcumin), phosphatidylcholine (a chemical found in eggs, soybeans, and other foods), and microcrystalline cellulose, a refined wood pulp commonly used by the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Meanwhile, a recent clinical trial studied the potential effects of curcumin supplements on patients with knee osteoarthritis. The group that took 40 mg of nanocurcumin in a capsule every 12 hours experienced a significant decrease in pain and stiffness after six weeks compared with the control group. The findings were published in 2020 in Current Rheumatology Reviews.

A study in mice published in the June 2016 issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy found that 50 mg oral curcumin per kg of body weight significantly slowed the progression of OA, whereas a topical curcumin treatment provided pain relief.

Since current researchers about curcumin mostly focused on mice, the specific benefits on humans are yet to be seen and proven.

Curcumin May Help Protect Against Heart Disease

According to the
CDC, one person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease and about 659,000 people in the United States die from heart disease each year.

A
2012 study shows that curcumin may improve endothelial function or the health of the thin membrane that covers the inside of the heart and blood vessels. This membrane plays a key role in regulating blood pressure. Lower endothelial function is associated with aging and an increased risk of heart disease.

Due to this reason, curcumin may help protect against age-related loss of function and reduce your likelihood of developing heart disease.

In one
study, researchers compared the effects of an eight-week aerobic exercise program and a curcumin supplement in improving endothelial function in post-menopausal women. Both the exercise and the curcumin group saw equal improvements in endothelial function, whereas the control group saw no changes.

Still, more research is needed to determine if curcumin is a safe and effective long-term treatment strategy for people with heart disease.

Curcumin May Help Treat or Prevent Diabetes

In 2018, 34.2 million Americans, or 10.5% of the population had diabetes, according to
American Diabetes Association. The number sounds alarming and researchers are currently looking for ways on how to treat it, and turmeric may help.

According to several
reviews, turmeric may help treat and prevent diabetes and other related disorders such as diabetic neuropathy (or diabetic kidney disease), which affects people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

One study found that feeding 80 mg of tetrahydrocurcumin (one of the main substances in curcumin) per kg of body weight to rats with type 2 diabetes for 45 days led to a significant decrease in blood sugar, as well as an increase in plasma insulin.

Another study of obese mice with type 2 diabetes published in the July 2019 issue of Nutrition & Metabolism revealed that curcumin supplements helped lower blood insulin levels after 16 weeks.

The authors of a recent review noted that curcumin may be a good adjunct to diabetes treatment to improve insulin resistance and blood sugar control and lower blood lipids (fatty substances found in the blood). The findings were published in August 2021 in
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Researches focused on diabetes and curcumin was done mostly on mice and animals, not on humans. However, we can still hope that turmeric can do as researchers discover more.

Turmeric May Protect The Body From Free Radicals

Antioxidants can help against damage caused by free radicals, a class of highly reactive atoms that are generated in our bodies and found in environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke and industrial chemicals.

Too much exposure to free radicals can mess with the fats, proteins, and even DNA in our bodies, which
may lead to a number of common diseases and health conditions, including cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Due to this, antioxidant-rich spices like turmeric may play a role in protecting our bodies from free radical damage.

According to the
2017 issue of Foods, curcumin is able to scavenge different types of free radicals, control enzymes that neutralize free radicals, and prevent certain enzymes from creating specific free radical types.

Turmeric May Work as an Anti-Aging Supplement

To delay the process of aging is anyone’s dream come true, and do who doesn’t want that? Currently, researchers are in the process of debunking the secrets and turmeric might be one of those.

There is no current evidence of turmeric or curcumin directly influencing longevity, but their anti-inflammatory effects may help protect the body against free radicals, and potentially delay brain degeneration and other age-related conditions. Turmeric and curcumin may be effective anti-aging supplements, according to
2010 research.

Turmeric May Prevent Eye Degeneration

More than three million Americans are living with glaucoma, 2.7 million of whom—aged 40 and older—are affected by its most common form, open-angle
glaucoma. In 2020, about 80 million people have glaucoma worldwide, and this number is expected to increase to over 111 million by 2040. The good news, turmeric may help slow down this condition.

Preliminary research published July 2018 in
Scientific Reports showed topical curcumin treatments may help protect the eyes against degeneration. Researchers applied a proprietary curcumin eye drop solution to rats two times per day for three weeks. By the end of the study, the untreated rats experienced a 23 percent reduction in retinal cells compared with the treatment group, suggesting that loss was prevented by the curcumin treatment.

The findings sound promising, but more studies are needed to determine if curcumin is effective in preventing eye degeneration in humans.

Turmeric May Improve Skin Health

Who doesn’t want smooth and glowing skin from within? Turmeric might help you achieve that!

All thanks to its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, turmeric may be an effective treatment for a variety of skin conditions, including acne, eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis), photoaging, and psoriasis. However, more solid research is lacking.

In a
scientific review published in the January 2018 issue of Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, oral use of curcumin may be an effective and safe treatment option for psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Yet, more studies are needed before doctors and medical practitioners make recommendations.

In addition, researchers in another
curcumin review noted that its topical use may be useful in treating skin disorders. Past research also suggested that curcumin is relatively safe even in high doses. Due to its bright yellow-orange color, poor bioavailability, low stability, and high pH levels, curcumin is an unappealing topical skin treatment.

Researchers noted that due to curcumin’s poor bioavailability, it is not recommended to replace other skin treatments but to complement them, as published last September 2019 in
Nutrients Scientific Journal.

Curcumin May Play a Role in Depression Treatment

According to
World Health Organization, approximately 280 million people in the world have depression and it is considered one of the most common illnesses worldwide.

Depression is associated with lower levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which plays an important role in neuronal survival and growth, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory.

Turmeric has the ability to boost levels of BDNF, and the spice shows promising
antidepressant effects. In fact, one study found that rats injected with 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg of curcumin for 10 days had a dose-dependent increase in BDNF, with the higher dose of 200 mg/kg showing greater antidepressant effects.

Meanwhile, in a
study in humans that was published in Phytotherapy Research, researchers randomly assigned 60 patients with a major depressive disorder to one of three groups: One group received daily 20 mg of fluoxetine Prozac is a common brand name), another received 1,000 mg of curcumin, and a third received a combination of the two. By the end of six weeks, the three groups saw comparable improvements, leading researchers to suggest that curcumin may be a safe and effective treatment for major depressive disorder.

However, researchers don’t fully understand the role of turmeric and curcumin in treating depression, and more research in humans is still needed to confirm it is a safe and effective treatment.

Are There Side Effects of Turmeric?

Turmeric is generally recognized as safe. However, few side effects have been reported. Some have complained of nausea and diarrhea when taking higher doses.

Other side effects include headaches and rashes have been reported at doses ranging from 500 to 12,000 mg.

How Should You Take Turmeric to Get the Most Benefit?

Turmeric is usually taken orally. However, there is a significant amount excreted in the body through urination and defecation due to its poor bioavailability, or the ability of a drug or other substance to be absorbed and used by the body.

In choosing the best turmeric supplement, look for ones with BioPerine for improved bioavailability. BioPerine is a patented piperine extract, containing at least 95% piperine in a form that is well absorbed by the body. This helps turmeric become more bioavailable to the body so you get the full benefit.

Shop
Turmeric with BioPerine today!