Curcumin Turmeric Health Benefits

Protect your heart, reduce inflammation and pain, plus so much more with turmeric.   [...]

“Inflammation” is a word that’s mentioned quite a bit but not many people know what it means, let alone how to prevent it and treat it should they have it. Put simply, inflammation acts as the body’s first responder – it is the response of the body’s immune system to stress, Desiree Nielsen, registered dietitian and author of Un-Junk Your Diet, explains. According to Nielsen, there are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. In most cases, however, when inflammation is mentioned, the chronic type is usually being referenced. “Chronic inflammation represents a loss of the balance between tolerance and action in the immune system – because for your immune system to operate properly, it needs to know when it really needs to act, and when it needs to hang back when it’s not a big deal,” Nielsen says. “Usually it’s the immune system that’s very confused by some aspect of modern living. So chronic stress is a very under-rated source of chronic inflammation in the body, and it has a very real physical impact on us.” Chronic inflammation has been linked to ailments like diabetes, obesity and heart disease, among others, Nielsen points out. It can be triggered by lifestyle, infection or environment, but perhaps the biggest trigger, Nielsen says, is diet. “Maintenance of stable blood sugars and avoiding that blood sugar roller coaster will help with inflammation,” Nielsen says. “Making very high glycemic choices and ones that spike blood sugars and keep a high level of blood sugar circulating in the blood tends to promote chronic inflammation.” Turmeric is a golden-coloured spice that is native to Southeast Asia but can be bought here in Canada. It is also part of the ginger family, and it is also what gives curry its colour. “This is one of the best researched, but also a befuddling anti-inflammatory,” Nielsen says. “The reason why is because the main component is called curcumin. In lab studies, it has shown remarkable anti-inflammatory capacity… and the consumption is associated with lower levels of cancer prevention and Alzheimer’s disease.” But when humans eat turmeric, Nielsen explains that the spice is not very “bio-available,” meaning humans don’t actually digest and absorb the spice into our circulation very well, so humans have to consume a lot of it. “But we’re also learning now that perhaps, part of how it works is through the gut,” Nielsen says. “So by not being digested or absorbed might be happening because it has a bit of a prebiotic effect on our gut bacteria – so feeding beneficial bacteria. But the compounds may also be interacting with the gut level immune system as opposed to having a huge amount of activity when in the blood.” [...]

In one study, two grams of curcumin extract provided to subjects was found to provide pain relief that was equivalent to ibuprofen for pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. A tasty option is to sprinkle turmeric or curry spice in your ... [...]

“This discovery opens the door to new approaches for the treatment and prevention of chronic inflammation. We are hopeful that with further research, these treatments could be exploited in the near future,” Dr. Mohini Gray, the study's lead ... [...]

Press Release: Elsevier, February 2, 2016. A new study by Neil Harrison and colleagues published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that a brain reward center, the striatum, may be directly affected by inflammation and that striatal change is related to ... [...]

Dietary supplements can include fish oil, probiotics, vitamin D and curcumin, a key molecule in turmeric and ginger; all are natural ways to decrease excessive inflammation. 2. Exercise. Physical ... Dr. Joseph Maroon is a Health Now contributor. He is ... [...]

Unlike NSAIDs, studies have shown curcumin to be very safe at even relatively large doses and to have what I like to call side benefits like liver support and combating gut inflammation. Dried turmeric powder contains around 4 percent curcumin, but ... [...]

You may have heard that warm lemon water will get those pipes working in the morning and optimize your health. You may even drink warm lemon water with Himalayan salt, or warm lemon water ... Previous research has highlighted curcumin's antioxidant ... [...]

A golden spice that is very popular for its health benefits that span since the ancient times. Turmeric contains the substance curcumin which is primarily responsible for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin gets the job done by ... [...]

Ankylosing spondylitis, a type of inflammatory arthritis, could be intensified by physically demanding work due to an increase in inflammation, according to research presented at the American College of Rheumatology. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an ... [...]

The ability of curcumin to quash inflammation in such a broad-spectrum manner makes it one of the most studied nutrients for its potential benefits in inflammation-based diseases like Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and ... [...]

Stained sections of foot joints from wild-type (left) and TTP+ (right) mice show that when both were tested using a model of rheumatoid arthritis, the wild-type mouse experienced significant inflammation. Arrows indicate the presence of inflammatory ... [...]

The results suggest that pharmaceutical compounds or other therapeutic methods that produce elevated levels of TTP in humans may offer an effective treatment for some inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and multiple sclerosis. [...]

Arnica Montana is one of the most valuable homeopathic remedies. Also known as Leopard's bane, this member of the Compositae—or Sunflower —family is used as a specific to reduce bruising and swelling, particularly after physical traumas such as falls ... [...]

It is being studied for its potential benefits in a number of inflammation based diseases such as Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes.5,13 To explore curcumin's therapeutic potential for rheumatoid arthritis ... [...]

Turmeric contains a powerful antioxidant called curcumin. The compound lowers the levels of two enzymes in the body that cause inflammation, according to the Medical Center at the University of Maryland but that's just scratching the surface, says Daniluk. [...]