Turmeric...Turmeric...Turmeric

March 5, 2018

Turmeric, Turmeric, Turmeric...Try saying that 3 times! The amazing health benefits of turmeric include its ability to reduce inflammation, heal wounds, improve skin health, protect cognitive abilities, and ease menstrual difficulties. Turmeric also helps eliminate depression, alleviate pain, slow the aging process, protect the digestive tract, and prevent cancer.  Check out all 12 benefits in depth and how this liquid or powdered gold can benefit you!

1. Anticoagulants/Antiplatelets: Medical intervention generally includes the following medications to slow and prevent blood clotting:

• Aspirin

• Clopidogrel (Plavix)

• Diclofenac

• Enoxaparin (Lovenox)

• Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others)

• Naproxen

• Warfarin (Coumadin), and others.

In addition to common side effects like excessive bleeding and hemorrhage, the risks associated with anticoagulants abound and include everything from back pain to headaches to difficulty breathing. Turmeric, on the other hand, has relatively no known side effects unless taken in extremely excessive amounts.

2. Antidepressants: Research showed that those with major depressive disorder such as bipolar disorder determined how patients treated by curcumin (turmeric) fared against Prozac and a combination of the two. Not only was it discovered that all patients tolerated curcumin well, but they discovered curcumin was as effective as Prozac in managing depression.

3. Anti-inflammatories: The most powerful aspect of curcumin is its ability to control inflammation. 

4. Skin Condition Treatments: Turmeric benefits include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that have proven effective in treating skin conditions. Turmeric benefits for skin include speeding up wound healing; calming the pores to decrease acne and acne scarring; and controlling psoriasis flares. 

Turmeric can stain the skin and it may cause an allergic reaction, so do a patch test by applying a dime-size amount to your forearm to check for any reaction before applying turmeric to your face.

5. Arthritis management: Because curcumin in turmeric is known for its powerful anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing characteristics, a study was conducted on rheumatoid arthritis patients to compare the benefits of curcumin in turmeric to the arthritis drug Diclofenac sodium, which put people at risk of developing leaky gut and heart disease. The curcumin group showed the highest percentage of improvement in overall and more importantly, curcumin treatment was found to be safe and did not relate with any adverse events.

6. Cancer treatment: A number of laboratory studies on cancer cells have shown that curcumin in turmeric does have anticancer effects. It seems to be able to kill cancer cells and prevent more from growing. It has the best effects on breast cancer, bowel cancer, stomach cancer and skin cancer cells. 

Turmeric benefits include working incredibly well to help naturally treat cancer as well as breast cancer, colon cancer and skin cancer. It may also help with chemotherapy resistance.

7. Diabetes management: For lowering blood sugar and reversing insulin resistance, there’s no better natural treatment than adding turmeric into your diet. In addition to correcting the causes of diabetes and damaged blood vessels, curcumin in turmeric has also been proven to help reverse many of the issues related to insulin resistance and hyperglycemia.

8. Obesity: Anti-inflammatory properties in curcumin in turmeric were effective at suppressing the inflammatory processes of obesity, which help to reduce obesity and its adverse health effects.

9. Gastrointestinal treatments: Individuals with digestive and stomach complaints become intolerant to medicines because the stomach flora is already compromised and drugs can literally tear up the mucosal lining.

Supplementing with curcumin in turmeric does not have side effects, when taken correctly, and because of its anti-inflammatory properties, it actually helps heal the gut and supports growth of good bacteria (probiotics).

10. Cholesterol regulators: Diabetics and non-diabetics alike are suffering from a common complication called oxidative stress, which damages the inside of blood vessels. Because of this damage to the arteries, cholesterol begins to build up to patch up the damaged areas, which leads to high levels of LDL cholesterol  (BAD FATS). 

Statin drugs (like Lipitor) are widely known to harm the kidneys and liver and cause a number of deadly side effects, natural alternatives like curcumin in turmeric and fish oil prescribed instead.

11. Painkillers: Another accepted property of curcumin in turmeric is its ability to manage pain. Therapeutic use of turmeric and other curcumin-rich plants are displacing conventional medical treatments and proving it’s a legitimate natural painkiller especially for burns and even for menstrual cramping. 

12. Steroids: Typically conditions like: psoriasis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and chronic pain was only treated with steroids, but  it’s common for curcumin to be prescribed instead.

What are the side effects?

• Nausea

• Diarrhea

• Increased risk of bleeding

• Increased liver function tests

• Hyperactive gallbladder contractions

• Hypotension (lowered blood pressure)

• Uterine contractions in pregnant women

• Increased menstrual flow

People taking certain medications should also be careful when using turmeric in their food or supplementing with it. Turmeric may interfere with anti-coagulants like aspirin, clopidogrel and warfarin. It also can affect medications such as non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs. As with any herb or supplement, use as directed.