Health Benefits of Turmeric
Turmeric is a spice that has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine. It comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant and is also used in cooking. It has the telltale taste of curry and gives mustard its yellow color. Turmeric offers a number of health benefits and should be included in your diet if possible.
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Anti-Inflammatory
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Turmeric has been used most in medicine as an anti-inflammatory. This is because of both the amount of volatile oils contained in it as well as curcumin, which helps lessen inflammation in the arteries and joints.
Antioxidant
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Turmeric also has antioxidant properties. This means it helps prevent damage caused by free radicals in the body, which can harm both cells and DNA.
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Cancer
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Because of its antioxidant properties, turmeric helps to prevent many types of cancer. This is because cancer often occurs when DNA is harmed. Turmeric prevents this from happening, thus decreasing a person's chance of developing cancer.
Liver Function
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The curcumin in turmeric also helps to enhance liver function by assisting the body in filtering out wastes much more efficiently.
Cholesterol
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One of the ways curcumin works with the liver is to increase the production of messenger proteins that focus on LDL (bad) cholesterol. The more messenger proteins there are, the more LDL will be processed and eliminated from the body, thus lowering cholesterol.
In the Diet
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If you are looking to get more turmeric into your diet, try eating a curry dish once per week. You can also add mustard to your sandwiches more often or simply purchase turmeric extract and consume it that way.
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