Turmeric is one of the most beneficial and medicinal spices on the planet. It’s used in primarily Indian cuisine but is also used in many other foods and cultures around the world. It is also used in China, other parts of Asia and Jamaica. It’s one of the staple ingredients in curry, which is delicious! But turmeric offers much more than just a delicious flavor. It is one of the best anti-inflammatory agents known to man.
Inflammation is part of the healing process to the body but if the body stays in an inflammatory state and doesn’t come down from the inflammation, it can then be harmful. Turmeric acts as an anti-inflammatory agent to regulate the inflammatory response of the body.
Turmeric has many health benefits, such as:
- An Increase in Lifespan: One study found that curcumin (the active medicinal compound in turmeric) helped the lifespan of flies increase. An important mitochondrial enzyme known as aconitase was in higher amounts with flies supplemented with curcumin. Long story short, curcumin (turmeric) helps you live longer.
- Kills Cancer Cells: Turmeric has been found to kill bladder and lung cancer cells but also may kill cancer cells in the liver as well as other parts of the body. Curcumin (the medicinal polyphenol in turmeric) has been found to have antitumor properties. Curcumin affects the protein markers that involve cell growth and induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) of the tumorous cells in the body.
- Anti-Inflammatory: Turmeric was found as a better pain management and anti-inflammatory agent than aspirin and ibuprofen, with no known side effects. It’s a more effective way to treat pain and inflammation without the negative affects that come from the pills. I actually just had a friend text me today actually and share that her massage therapist said her inflammation in her back had lowered and asked what she had done. She has been using this optimized turmeric recipe for pain and inflammation that I posted on the blog here a few months ago.
- Great For Brain Health: Turmeric does several things for the brain. It increases oxygen intake of the brain which is important. The entire body needs oxygen and the brain vitally needs it. Ever have to step outside for some fresh air? Indoor air quality is low and fresh oxygen helps your body function better. Turmeric helps your brain get more of exactly what it needs. Not only that but turmeric also helps both serotonin and melatonin production which are hormones that affect mood, happiness, sleep and more. Turmeric is also great for people with age related mental illness or memory conditions such as alzheimer’s.
A Whole Lot More: Turmeric is also beneficial for the aging process, skin health, diabetes, depression, arthritis & More! It probably has more medicinal properties than we know and have yet to discover, like many plants herbs and spices. With such a powerful medicinal compound as curcumin we can at least understand the benefits that we currently know and have research on and work it into our dietary routine in one way or another.
How To Make Turmeric (Curcumin) Up To 2000% More Medicinal:
What’s interesting is that curcumin in turmeric is beneficial for health and well-being but it can be up to 2,000% (yes, you read that right, two thousand percent) more effective by simply consuming black pepper with turmeric. If you consume black pepper with turmeric there is research that shows that it can increase the bioavailability up to 2,000%. The study started with rats and found that absorption of curcumin improved 154% with piperine, the active compound in black pepper.
With humans though they found it gave even better results. The increase in bioavailability for humans to absorb curcumin raised 2000%.
What does this mean? It means that if you want to absorb and fully receive all of the benefits of turmeric’s active medicinal compound, curcumin, then you should be consuming it with black pepper. You can also make a turmeric paste that includes black pepper and coconut oil for improved absorption even further.
Turmeric is fat soluble which means that it is absorbed in fat. If you pair coconut oil (a healthy fat) with black pepper containing piperine already shown to improve absorption of curcumin by 2000% you’ll be creating the best environment to get the most medicinal value out of turmeric that you possibly can.
I personally like the organic liquid turmeric from omica organics which you can learn more about here. If you’d like to read the full turmeric paste recipe (that includes coconut oil and black pepper) you can see full instructions here.
Source: pubmed.gov , draxe.com, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9619120, Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_picture_candidates/Turmeric
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