Turmeric in food is the most common way many are consuming the spice which can be found in India, Asia and Central America. But some take supplements in capsules, add it to massage oils, add it to smoothies, or drink tea containing Turmeric.
Joint Paint & Turmeric
The health benefits of Turmeric are widely researched, and it is predominantly used to aid the reduction in inflammation. Therefore, most sufferers of joint pain are encouraged to add Turmeric into their daily routine, with many seeing improvement after just a couple of weeks.
Other ailments have been treated with Turmeric in Ayurvedic medicine historically, such as, fatigue, breathing problems, rheumatism and pain relief. Ayurvedic medicine is over 3000 years old and is one of the oldest Indian alternative holistic healing systems.
Turmeric is part of the Zingiberaceae family, as is Ginger, and is regularly named as the most effective nutritional supplement available. This is due to its content of bioactive compounds with medicinal properties and anti-inflammatory qualities. In fact, anyone with a Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis would do well to include a Turmeric supplement into their diet. Adding it into your diet would always help, but it would be difficult to meet the recommend volume of Curcumin (the active ingredient in Turmeric) to make a difference to you. To feel significant effects, it would be best to take a supplement with high levels of Curcumin.
In fact, in several studies undertaken with patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, the Turmeric supplements were more effective than the usual anti-inflammatory drug and patients noticed a distinct improvement in their pain levels.
More Benefits
Turmeric is also fat soluble and can be better absorbed into the system when consumed with foods containing high levels of fat, like avocado, nuts and seeds.
Oxidative stress has been linked with premature ageing and lack of elasticity in the skin, involving free radicals which can be detrimental to health by reacting with fatty acids, DNA and proteins.
Turmeric and the levels of Curcumin it contains is known to boost the body’s antioxidant enzymes blocking free radicals, in turn protecting the system.
This links in with the belief that Turmeric may be used in the prevention of the development of Alzheimer’s. As Alzheimer’s is also linked to the oxidative stress put on the ageing process, it makes sense given the studies conducted to prove that Turmeric can boost the ani-oxidant ability of the body.
This is significant as there is no known cure for the disease yet, and the ability to prevent its development in the first instance could be a real breakthrough for medicine. There just has not been enough research done into this to put these ideas into practice.
As with all significant changes to your diet, you should consult a doctor before adding large amounts of Turmeric into your daily routine.
Excessive Turmeric consumption can lead to some side effects with the digestive system and can cause issues with anyone using blood thinning medication as it can interfere with it.
Ultimately, Turmeric can have some incredibly positive results for anyone with joint pain and inflammation.
