Turmeric Benefits: Supercharge Your Health

Do you know how good turmeric is for your health? Turmeric benefits are so huge you might want to just go and grab some turmeric this week when you go grocery shopping!

Turmeric Benefits for Health

Turmeric is a plant related to ginger and is grown throughout India, other parts of Asia, and Central America. Turmeric has been used for many conditions, including breathing problems, rheumatism, serious pain, and fatigue.

Here are some of the most effective turmeric benefits:

• Turmeric can reduce depression symptoms – the journal Phytotherapy Research published the results of an amazing, innovative study in 2014 which took 60 volunteers diagnosed with major depressive disorder and split the group to determine how patients treated by turmeric curcumin fared against fluoxetine and a combination of the two. Curcumin was equally effective as fluoxetine in managing depression by the six-week mark.
• There are several studies in which turmeric has reduced inflammation in arthritis and found curcumin is among the most effective anti-inflammatory compounds in the world.
• Turmeric is thought of as a pain reliever. Studies support turmeric for pain relief, with one study noting that it seemed to work as well as ibuprofen (Advil) in people with arthritis in their knees.
• Turmeric has antioxidant abilities and can help liver toxicity.
• Possibly reduces the risk of cancer. A number of laboratory studies on cancer cells have shown that curcumin does have anticancer effects. It seems to be able to kill cancer cells and prevent more from growing.
• Turmeric helps digestion and curcumin may help reduce proliferation (growth) of fat cells, based on lab results.
• Turmeric is used in Ayurvedic medicine as a digestive healing agent. Western medicine has now begun to study how turmeric can help with gut inflammation and gut permeability, two measures of digestive efficiency.
• The spice is even being explored as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

According to Dr. Randy J. Horwitz, the medical director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, “Turmeric is one of the most potent natural anti-inflammatories available.”

He also talks about a 2006 University of Arizona study that examined the effect of turmeric on rats with injected rheumatoid arthritis. According to Horwitz, the turmeric completely inhibited the onset of rheumatoid arthritis in the rats and resulted in a significant reduction of symptoms.

How much turmeric is necessary?

You don’t need a lot of turmeric to reap its health benefits. Studies show potential health benefits at much lower amounts than a teaspoon. As little as 50 milligrams of turmeric over a period of several months have been linked with health benefits. This small amount would be the equivalent of approximately 1/50th of a teaspoon. So even eating a dish with turmeric once a week is beneficial.

Recipes and Cooking tips for Turmeric

Below are some tips on using turmeric in everyday dishes, according to World’s Healthiest Foods.

• Add turmeric to egg salad to give it an even bolder yellow color.
• Mix brown rice with raisins and cashews and season with turmeric, cumin and coriander.
• This spice is delicious on healthy steamed cauliflower and/or green beans and onions. Or, for a creamy, flavor-rich, low-calorie dip, try mixing some turmeric and dried onion with a little omega-3-rich mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Serve with raw cauliflower, celery, sweet pepper, jicama and broccoli florets.
• Turmeric is a great spice to complement recipes that feature lentils.
• Give salad dressings an orange-yellow hue by adding some turmeric powder to them.
• For an especially delicious way to add more turmeric to your healthy way of eating, cut cauliflower florets in half and healthy sauté with a generous spoonful of turmeric for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Adding black pepper to turmeric or turmeric-spiced food enhances curcumin’s bioavailability by 1,000 times, due to black pepper’s hot property called piperine,
According to MensHealth.com

Try this amazing turmeric hot chocolate recipe to get some nutrients while enjoying a tasty hot drink!