6 Powerful Health Benefits of Turmeric and How to Add More to Your Diet

In the last few years, turmeric has exploded onto the health scene. It’s touted as a cure-all for everything from depression to cancer. But, can it possibly live up to the hype?

If you’re curious about the health benefits of turmeric, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll not only explore six major turmeric health benefits but offer ideas for how to get more in your life (and body).

First things first – let’s address the confusion between turmeric and curcumin.

Turmeric vs. Curcumin – What’s the Difference?

Turmeric, a member of the ginger family, is the spice that gives curry its vibrant yellow-orange hue. It’s been used as a health remedy in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine for many years. It is a staple in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine.

However, in recent years turmeric fever has gone mainstream. The turmeric craze all revolves around one powerful compound – curcumin.

While turmeric contains several plant compounds, curcumin is the shining star when it comes to health benefits.

So basically, turmeric is the spice, and curcumin is the secret ingredient that gives turmeric its magic powers. Speaking of magic powers, here are six impressive health benefits of turmeric:

Turmeric has Powerful Anti-inflammatory Effects

While inflammation gets a bad rap, it’s a natural process in your body. During inflammation, your immune system responds to perceived threats – whether that be a virus, toxin, damaged cell, or even stress.

While this process is helpful in the short term, chronic inflammation can be a wrecking ball for your health. Research shows long-term inflammation puts you at risk for chronic illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and liver disease. (1)

But don’t worry. While inflammation is inevitable, there’s plenty of anti-inflammatory foods that balance the scales — including turmeric!

Traditionally, inflammation treatment involves non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen. However, taking NSAIDs long-term can cause nasty side effects, such as headaches, indigestion, and even stomach ulcers! Luckily research shows turmeric boasts even more anti-inflammatory powers than NSAIDs, minus the side effects. (2)

Animal studies reveal turmeric’s anti-inflammatory effects show promise as a safe treatment option for people with osteoarthritis as well. (3) But keep in mind, these studies involve high doses that’d be difficult to get from food alone.

Turmeric is a Potent Antioxidant

Free radicals are unstable atoms that have an uneven number of electrons. They roam your body, scavenging electrons from healthy cells – and wreak havoc in the process. That’s where antioxidants save the day.

Antioxidants donate an electron to a free radical, stabilizing them. However, if you don’t have enough antioxidants to keep up with free radicals, they can damage your fatty tissue, proteins, and even your DNA! (4) This damage can lead to many illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and neurogenerative diseases. (4)

Thankfully, you can keep free radicals in check by getting your fill of potent antioxidants – like curcumin. Research shows curcumin can reduce biomarkers of oxidative stress and increase the body’s antioxidant capacity. (5)

Turmeric May Prevent Cancer

Cancer is what happens when the cells of your body grow out of control. And two major risk factors for cancer are chronic inflammation and free radical damage. Thankfully, curcumin addresses both.

Research shows curcumin may inhibit the growth of tumor cells while keeping healthy tissue intact. (6) It seems that it does this by reducing the growth of new blood vessels in tumors. (7)

Guess what else? One animal study showed curcumin might prevent tumors from developing in the first place! (8)

Curcumin has also garnered attention as a helpful add-in to traditional cancer treatment. One lab study found that the combo of chemotherapy and curcumin was more effective than chemo alone. (9) Another study showed curcumin decreased cell damage from radiation in breast cancer patients. (10)

Turmeric Supports Brain Health

Think you can’t teach an old dog (or human) new tricks? Think again! Neurons can form new connections – which is known as neuroplasticity. A huge part of this process involves brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a gene that makes proteins important for healthy neurons. (11)

When it comes to learning and memory, the BDNF protein is crucial. Research shows a reduction in BDNF impairs cognition function and even contributes to behavioral disorders. (12)

Good news! Animal studies reveal curcumin may increase levels of BDNF. (13) While more studies are needed in humans, curcumin shows the potential to delay and even reverse brain diseases and age-related brain decline.

But that’s not all – there’s mounting evidence that curcumin’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier may protect against Alzheimer’s disease. (13) How? Well, curcumin decreases inflammation and free radicals while reducing the amyloid plaques in the brain common with Alzheimer’s patients. (14)

Turmeric May Help Treat Depression

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is the leading cause of disability. (15) In fact, it’s estimated that over 280 million people in the world experience depression. (15)

The stress of the pandemic has only skyrocketed those numbers. The CDC reports that in June of 2020, over 40% of US adults were struggling with mental health or substance abuse. (16) As Covid doesn’t show any signs of disappearing soon, prioritizing your mental health is crucial. Fortunately, turmeric may help with that.

Research shows major depression and chronic stress are associated with a decline in BDNF. (17, 18) When this decline goes on for too long, it can lead to neuronal death and even shrink the hippocampus of the brain – a common sign of depression. (19) However, an animal study reveals that curcumin supplementation can reverse this BDNF decline, which may boost your mood. (20)

Curcumin’s antidepressant effects have been proven with humans as well. One study compared curcumin’s effectiveness to the popular antidepressant Prozac. After six weeks, the curcumin and Prozac group yielded similar improvements, while the group that received both fared even better. (21)

But that’s not all! Another animal study found curcumin raised the feel-good neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine – and even helped some antidepressant drugs work better. (22)

Turmeric Supports a Healthy Heart

Globally, heart disease is the leading cause of death, (23) which is why it’s essential to be proactive to keep your heart healthy. How do you do that? Exercise, don’t smoke, and eat a nutritious diet full of foods that support heart health – including turmeric!

Research shows that curcumin improves the function of your endothelium, the membrane lining your heart, and blood vessels. (24) Your endothelium plays a key role in regulating blood pressure, blood clotting, and blood vessel formation. Endothelial dysfunction can lead to heart disease.

One study found that curcumin’s ability to improve endothelial function was just as powerful as exercise. (25) Another study found that curcumin improved endothelial function just as well as the popular statin drug Lipitor. (26)

Plus, curcumin reduces inflammation and oxidative stress – both of which play a role in heart disease. One study displayed curcumin’s cardioprotective effects with patients preparing for heart bypass surgery. Subjects who received a curcumin supplement days before and after their surgery had a 65% reduced risk of a heart attack. (27)

How to Add More Turmeric to Your Diet

Clearly, curcumin is powerful stuff. And while there are tons of health benefits of turmeric, it does have one major flaw – curcumin’s poor bioavailability.

That means it doesn’t absorb well. However, there’s a trick that fixes that – and it involves black pepper. A compound in black pepper called piperine increases curcumin absorption by as much as 2,000%! (28) So, anytime you’re cooking with turmeric, be sure to add a pinch of pepper.

Speaking of cooking, there are two ways to take turmeric: with food or supplements.

How to Add Turmeric to Your Meals

When you’re playing in the kitchen, look for ways to inject more turmeric into your diet. Here are a few to get you started:

Whip up a batch of turmeric salad dressing
Flavor rice, quinoa, and legumes with a few dashes
Making a smoothie? Try swapping out cinnamon for turmeric
Enjoy a mug of turmeric ginger tea or golden milk
Add some to your scrambled eggs, soups, and stews
Use turmeric in your marinades

Choosing a Curcumin Supplement

If you’re looking for a bigger boost of curcumin, supplements are a great option. All the studies testing curcumin’s health benefits involved high doses – which is tricky to get from food alone. Just be sure to pick one that has piperine, so you’ll get maximum curcumin absorption.

Takeaways

Turmeric and its superstar compound curcumin offer a ton of research-backed health benefits. To recap, here are the six we covered:

Turmeric calms inflammation – a major cause of chronic disease.
Turmeric’s antioxidant action combats harmful free radicals.
Turmeric may help prevent and treat cancer.
Turmeric supports a healthy brain.
Turmeric boasts powerful antidepressant effects.
Turmeric may help prevent heart disease.

Adding more turmeric to your life via food or supplements is a powerful way to prevent chronic illness and support vibrant health.