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Herbs have been successfully used to treat a range of illnesses for centuries. One of those herbs you have surely heard of is the Indian spice called turmeric.
Among the main effects of turmeric is its excellent ability to suppress and treat many types of bodily inflammations. It owes this ability to the active substance called curcumin.
Today turmeric and its extracts are used not only in a variety of healthy cooking recipes, but also in cosmetics, medicines and dietary supplements.
In treatment it is so effective that it is even successfully used for serious diseases such as cancer or in treating chronic inflammations caused by arthritis.
Health effects of turmeric and curcumin
Besides the aforementioned inflammations or cancer, turmeric is also applied in the treatment of the following health problems1:
- allergies
- pains of all kinds (headache, joint pain, menstrual cramps and similar)
- depression
- diabetes
- reducing the risk of heart disease (heart attacks) and strokes
Turmeric and inflammations
Inflammations in the body arise from various causes. Their treatment is often difficult and lengthy. For this reason we distinguish 2 main types of inflammations:
- acute inflammations
- chronic inflammations
An acute inflammation arises, for example, from an injury or an infectious disease and can spread very quickly throughout the body.
A chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is usually localized (joints, some organ, and similar) and lasts months or even years. Its main risk is that a persistent inflammation tends over time to develop into serious diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease or cancer.
In one of his articles the well-known American doctor Dr. Mercola also explains how inflammations contribute to the development of diabetes and cancer.
During this process a large number of free radicals are also released into the body, which cause further health problems.
Dosage of turmeric
One study conducted by the University of Maryland recommends the following dosage for turmeric2:
Fresh root: 1.5 to 3 grams per day
Dried root: 1 to 3 grams per day
Liquid extract: 30 to 90 drops per day
Tincture: 15 to 30 drops daily
Standardized extract: 400 to 600 mg 3 times a day (in Slovakia you can buy it HERE and in the Czech Republic THERE)
It is best if you include turmeric (and other beneficial spices and herbs) into your regular diet.
Even its small but regular use can literally work wonders for your health.
When not to use turmeric
As with everything, with turmeric there are cases when its use might not be beneficial to the body.
This applies mainly in the following situations:
- during pregnancy (increases the risk of miscarriage)
- if you are trying to get pregnant or have trouble conceiving
- if you suffer from gallstones or gallbladder disease
- you are shortly after surgery (2 weeks)
- you are taking blood-thinning medications such as aspirin
- you have stomach problems, diarrhea or gastritis
- you are taking diabetes medications (may trigger hypoglycemia)
- you have iron deficiency
Conclusion
To increase the effect of curcumin several measures are needed, which we wrote about in more detail in this article.
Basically it is about 3 things – you should add a pinch of pepper to turmeric (it contains piperine), mix it with olive oil and consume it slightly warmed.
More details on why this is so can be found in the mentioned article.
