Health Benefits of Turmeric and Curcumin
By Madhusudhan Tammisetti
Turmeric is native to India and Southeast Asia. It belongs to the ginger tribe. This plant's dried root is ground into a distinctive yellow powder, earning it the moniker "golden spice."
Turmeric's long list of health benefits have been carefully studied. Many researchers believe that turmeric, the key spice in the Indian curries, may be the most powerful ingredient on earth when it comes to combating and possibly reversing disease. There are currently more than 12,500 peer-reviewed publications proving the benefits of turmeric, especially one of its well-known healing compounds, curcumin. Turmeric's active component, curcumin, is known for many health benefits. Turmeric, in particular, is beneficial to dogs because of this ingredient.
This places turmeric as one of science's topmost commonly listed medicinal herbs. It has a long history of usage, particularly in Ayurvedic and other traditional medical systems. Here's what you need to know regarding the health benefits of turmeric and curcumin.
May Help in Slowing or Preventing Blood Clots
Turmeric has been shown to suppress platelet accumulation in both lab and animal trials, theoretically lowering the likelihood of blood clot formation.
Curcumin might also be a better therapeutic option for people who are vulnerable to vascular thrombosis and need antiarthritic medication. This finding must, however, be confirmed in clinical trials.
Fights Inflammation
Curcumin's ability to control inflammation is perhaps its most powerful feature. Curcumin was shown to be among the most effective anti-inflammatory compounds.
Several animal studies looking at the connection between curcumin and Alzheimer's disease have been published. Curcumin tends to reverse existing amyloid dysfunction and related neurotoxicity in mice, which is a central character in the development of this neurological disorder due to persistent inflammation. Turmeric curcumin may relieve Alzheimer's symptoms.
May Reduce Depression Symptoms
While few human experiments have been conducted, hundreds of clinical trials have shown that turmeric has a number of health benefits, including the ability to reduce depressive symptoms in laboratory animals. These findings appear to be linked to curcumin's effect on neurotransmitter activity via brain-derived neurotrophic factors.
In 2014, the findings of analysis were presented in the journal Phytotherapy Research. The researchers divided 60 participants with severe depressive disorder into two groups to see how patients treated with turmeric curcumin performed compared to those treated with fluoxetine or a mixture of the two. By the six-week point, curcumin was as successful as fluoxetine at treating depression.
After that landmark study, at least two other experiments have looked into the effect of turmeric's key compound, curcumin, on suicidal patients. The first had 56 male and female participants, while the second had 108 male participants. Both researchers used a placebo that did not equate curcumin to any medication, and both concluded that curcumin was more successful than a placebo at reducing depressive symptoms.
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