Today’s post on some of the health benefits of the spice, tumeric, was submitted by Maria Rainer–find out more about Maria at the end of the post.
You may have heard of turmeric, a spice used in Indian and Caribbean cuisine to add bold flavor – it’s often manifested as curry powder, which gives food a characteristic yellow color. But what you may not know about turmeric is that it’s full of curcumin. And curcumin has been found by experts to have anticarcinogenic effects on animals, increasing the likelihood that it could have these cancer-fighting effects in humans.
In her article on the health benefits of herbs and spices, Dr. Linda C. Tapsell cites research done on mice that has produced promising results: turmeric has chemopreventive effects against oral cancer and cancers of the skin, forestomach, liver, and colon in mice. There’s no guarantee that taking a curcumin supplement will even affect cancer in humans, much less cure it, but there is good reason to believe that it has the potential to help. There are many other health benefits to taking curcumin and eating turmeric, which are listed below, so you can talk to your doctor about starting a supplement.
Potential health benefits of curcumin:
Whether you prefer to enjoy turmeric as a regular part of your diet or you’re partial to taking a curcumin supplement, you may experience at least some of these benefits:
- Natural treatment for arthritis, resulting from curcumin’s anti-inflammatory properties;
- Faster healing of wounds and damaged skin;
- Prevention or reduction of amyloyd plaque buildup in the brain, which causes Alzheimer’s disease;
- Reduction of insulin resistance due to antioxidant properties, contributing to the prevention of Type 2 diabetes;
- Increased immune function due to curcumin’s natural antioxidant properties, which attack both bacteria and viruses, as well as fungi;
- More successful weight management due to stimulation of the metabolism
How to choose your supplement
Some people have trouble absorbing curcumin in pill form, but you can still find a good supplement that includes piperine to aid digestion. Alternatively, you can start eating turmeric as a food spice and you can even make turmeric tea. If you keep ground turmeric in your spice cabinet, be sure to replace it at least every six months so you’ll get the strongest benefits. Stumped on how to cook with turmeric? It tastes great with any poultry, vegetables, rice, and even salad dressing – simply add as much as you like for flavor and health benefits.
Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education and performs research surrounding online degrees. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
Additional References:
- Tapsell, Linda C. et al. “Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future.” The Medical Journal of Australia 185.4 (2006): S1-S24.
- Curcumin at Medline Plus.
About Guest Author
Great article. What is more, turmeric can also be used topically for skin rejuvenation. It seems that it can reduce inflammation, neutralize free radicals and prevent the formation of age-related pigmentation. There is also some evidence that curcumin used topically can reduce the incidence of skin tumors in mice. So, you can also use turmeric on your skin, if you don’t mind the yellowish tint.
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