When I say turmeric, you probably immediately think of Asian cuisine. The spice gives curries a yellow color and adds extra flavor to any dish.
But did you know that turmeric is also a natural anti-inflammatory? It has a strong anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory effect, which means that it would also have a healing effect on numerous diseases.
I researched for you and gathered several scientific studies that show the health benefits of turmeric.
Inflammation in the body: the basis of many diseases
Before we talk about the health benefits of turmeric, it's also important to understand how inflammation affects your body .
There are two types of inflammation:
- the first group of inflammations is positive . Suppose you are injured or have an infection, your body will do everything it can to start the healing process immediately. Inflammation is a good thing in this case, because your immune system does everything it can to get rid of the damage as quickly as possible.
- The second group includes chronic or 'silent' inflammations . With these inflammations there is no question of an infection or a wound, but your immune system is constantly activated. It causes damage to your cells and tissues and causes your immune system to become exhausted. The consequence? Your body is susceptible to many diseases.
In the long term, the latter group can lead to fatigue, sleeping problems, but also to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, MS, Crohn's, Parkinson's, arthritis, heart failure, hay fever, high blood pressure and many other diseases.
How does chronic inflammation arise?
Due to certain factors such as obesity, a vitamin D deficiency, stress, smoking, an unhealthy diet, a lack of sleep or pollution, your body is much more susceptible to these silent inflammations. Fortunately, there is a solution: if you work on a healthier lifestyle, you can do something about those silent inflammations in the long term.
So it starts with making conscious choices (also with regard to nutrition.) There are various foods that can cause inflammation:
- All forms of sugar and unhealthy carbohydrates
- Cow's milk
- Alcohol
- Food with artificial sweeteners added.
- Grains such as wheat, rye, spelled (grains containing gluten can damage your intestines).
- (...)
The most important thing is that you eat healthy and varied. Choose pure, unprocessed products and put a lot of vegetables, fruit and fish on the menu.
Turmeric or turmeric: what does it consist of?
We have already talked about the foods that you should not eat too often and what you should put on the menu, but in this blog I want to talk specifically about turmeric, also known as turmeric.
This spice is not only used in cooking in Asia, it has actually been used as a medicine for thousands of years because it has many proven health benefits.
These benefits are mainly due to the substance curcumin in turmeric, this component ensures that turmeric gets a yellow color. But it also has numerous benefits for your body: a study shows that curcumin binds to toxic metals and has an anti-inflammatory effect (1, 2).
Curcumin has many other proven benefits:
- It would have an inhibitory effect on the development of cancer cells. A study shows that it can slow down the growth of cancer and also prevent it from spreading. (3) The Against Cancer Foundation also says that turmeric may slow down cancer development, although more research is needed.
- It is a natural pain reliever. A study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis shows that turmeric reduces pain. A test was done in two groups, one group took the drug diclofenac (a painkiller) and the other group curcumin (the substance in turmeric.) (5) That study shows that curcumin fights the pain better than the drug.
So we can say with certainty that turmeric is an extremely important superfood!
Increase the absorbability of turmeric and pay attention to the quality
Turmeric has so many super qualities, but before you start sprinkling it generously over numerous dishes, it is important to take the following points into account:
1. The absorption of turmeric is unfortunately very low
Unfortunately, our body does not absorb curcumin easily and a large part is even broken down by the liver. If you simply add this spice to dishes, it is definitely not enough to enjoy the many health benefits. That is why it is recommended to always use turmeric in combination with some black pepper and oil, which greatly increases its absorbability.
A study (6) shows that if you combine turmeric with black pepper (peperine), the absorption of turmeric improves by no less than 2000%. In addition, turmeric is fat-soluble, the combination with fats allows you to benefit even more from the numerous benefits.
2. Turmeric powder from Bangladesh would be mixed with lead chromate
Not every turmeric is equally healthy because research shows that turmeric powder from Bangladesh is often mixed with lead chromate so that the color becomes a nice yellow and this powder sells better. But… this can be extremely dangerous! It can lead to cardiovascular disease and in children it can interfere with brain development. Most of the total production comes from India, so be sure to check where your jar of turmeric comes from.
Conclusion
Chronic inflammations are silent destroyers, they can occur in different parts of your body without you noticing anything. Fortunately, you can do something about it yourself because the degree of growth is largely in your own hands.
It is especially important that you pursue a healthy lifestyle in which you eat as much healthy and pure food as possible. You can of course give your body a helping hand by adding anti-inflammatory elements to your diet, such as turmeric powder.
Enough reasons why you should use this yellow powder in dishes from now on. Perhaps also the ideal opportunity to discover the delicious flavors of Asian cuisine… ;-)
Greetings
Ronny
Sources
- Nagpal, M., & Sood, S. (2013). Role of curcumin in systemic and oral health: An overview. Journal of natural science, biology, and medicine, 4(1), 3.
- Ammon, HPT, Safayhi, H., Mack, T., & Sabieraj, J. (1993). Mechanism of antiinflammatory actions of curcumin and boswellic acids. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 38(2-3), 105-112.
- Anand P., Sundaram C. (2008). Curcumin and cancer: an "old-age" disease with an "age-old" solution. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18462866
- Foundation Against Cancer. (nd) Turmeric supplements. https://www.kanker.be/voedingssupplementen/turmeric
- Chandran, B. and Goel, A. (2012) A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Phytotherapy Research 26;1719-1725.
- Shoba G., & Joy G. (1998). Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9619120
