8 Reasons You NEED Turmeric In Your Diet
I’ve mentioned before in my own Journey To Health that changing habits and becoming “healthy” isn’t a destination nor does it happen quickly. And one of the things that took me the longest to appreciate was the power of roots, specifically turmeric in my diet.
Fun Fact: I am not a medical professional and this information is for informational purposes only. You should always consult your doctor before using any superfoods or supplements.
Turmeric is a small, orange looking root you can find in just about every grocery store. And while it may seem simple, it’s not. Turmeric is part of the ginger family and is a wonderful, nutrient dense powerhouse that has been said to have quite a few benefits associated with it (grab my favorite brand here) Now, if you’re anything like I was, the only time you really use turmeric was in a tasty curry because you know it’s part of Indian Cuisine (which by the way here are some awesome curry recipes!)
But this potent herb is so much more than that. Not only does it come with an array of vitamins and minerals but it’s possibilities to help prevent disease (in conjunction with other treatments) is mind blowing. If you follow Chris Beats Cancer you’ll know that there actually studies of turmeric on cancer prevention and regression which is outstanding! Turmeric comes from the Curcuma Longa plant. While the turmeric root itself doesn’t contain as much curcumin as ideal- if you use a turmeric extract or curcumin capsules you’re getting even more benefits from the root. That said, I heard a few years ago that turmeric supplements (like in a capsule) should be paired with black pepper to help it better absorb. So if you’re shopping around- that’s one thing to take note of!
So what do I do with it? After diving into the benefits of turmeric within the last few years I’ve grown accustomed to using it daily. I cook with it (in curries, stir fry’s or roasting veggies). I also add it to shakes (like this spectacular turmeric smoothie) and truthfully just sneak it in where I can.
Below is a video of one of my favorite ways to get my intake of turmeric up: golden milk! Healthy, nourishing and absolutely delicious to sip on.
Turmeric Promotes Anti-Inflammation
Inflammation due to processed foods, habits and intolerances is a slippery slope for disease development.
Ensuring ingestion of anti-inflammatory foods and herbs regularly can help keep this inflammation at bay. Turmeric, specifically curcumin, has been said to drastically lower inflammation within the body.
Healing Properties (External)
Turmeric has actually been show to help speed healing, and reducing acne. I haven’t fully delved into weather this is fully based on applying the turmeric directly or if taken internally but it’s something to check out!
Immune Boosting
Turmeric, along with ginger, garlic and onion is one of the roots that helps boost your immune system and keep you healthy! Consuming turmeric on a regular basis is a great way to keep your immune system high and fight off colds.
My favorite way to use it in this regard is to make fire cider for the winter months!
Helps Alleviate Arthritis Pain
Because arthritis stems from chronic inflammation, ingesting turmeric regularly has been shown to help alleviate pain symptoms more so than common medication. One reason for this is that medication comes with a host of side effects, and a natural root does not.
Turmeric Can Help In Cancer Treatment
I’ll let you delve into this one on your own but a great place to start is Chris Beat Cancer.com (one of my favorite websites!). because of its potency, turmeric is being studied in both cancer prevention as well as treatment and so there’s been a lot of progress.
The fact that a root has the ability to heal so effectively with so little draw back only pushed me more towards believing how essential it is in our day to day lives. if you haven’t checked out the book How Not To Die it’s also an awesome resource for nutrition and cancer!
Helps Promote Weight Loss
A lot of weight gain and obesity stems from chronic inflammation of the bowels. Since turmeric has such high anti-inflammatory properties, it’s been shown to help promote weight loss and help control issues like colitis and IBS.
Turmeric Boosts The Antioxidant Capacity Of The Body
I believe that this is partially where a lot of the cancer research comes into play. Oxidative damage is one of the leading causes of disease. Not only is turmeric a potent antioxidant but it also help the body boost its own antioxidant enzymes which is pretty amazing.
Heart Health
While there are many contributors to heart disease, curcumin has been shown to improve the function of the lining of the blood vessels. This makes your body better able to regulate blood pressure and prevent clotting.
Turmeric For Depression
It seems this is just recently being studied but it seems promising that turmeric can work as an anti-depressant. One of the major benefits of this is that traditional anti-depressants come with an insane amount of side effects, making it much more natural, healthy and wise to give this root a try first!
The truth is, I’ve spent the last couple of years reading a lot about nutrition and cancer/disease and this root keeps popping up. Turmeric as a medicine has been used for hundreds of years as a holistic remedy and we are now beginning to study it scientifically- which is awesome. This is an awesome article from Natural Healthy Concepts which delves even more into the benefits of turmeric and contains a ton of sources if you’d like further reading.
Grab a bag of my favorite turmeric powder here.
All of this only pushes me more and more towards using it each and every day. That said (special note here!), I am not a doctor. And while turmeric is generally considered safe for use in medicinal amounts, it’s important to talk to a doctor before using it. Both due to your own body as well as how it may react with other medications.
Don’t Forget To Pin These Awesome Turmeric Benefits!
Note: Here and here are a few resources I used when writing up this blog.
I adore turmeric! I take capsules and add it to smoothie bowls. Great giveaway. Entered and hope I win!
It definitely kicks butt! So insanely good for you!
I love turmeric! I mostly love it in cooking but my favorite way to use it is in turmeric tea/Golden Milk. Those turmeric juice shots look great.
Mmm golden milk is one of my favs. I add in cinnamon and nutmeg and it’s delicious!
Great information! I’ve found that turmeric really helps with period cramps, too! So anti-inflammatory!
Oh I hadn’t even thought of that but it makes sense! it does a bit of everything 😀
I am a big fan of turmeric and have been writing about it and using it in my meals and as a medicine for a long time. Thanks for a great article! I applaud all sharing of good info about turmeric as it is truly a potent healer!
Go Turmeric!!
It is a great healer! And such an easy way to boost your health- i love it!
I haven’t tried tumeric in my diet yet, but I would love to start. I think the fastest and easiest way is to have the juice shot.
Turmeris is a power house! No matter what way you get it in there will be benefits!
Love turmeric! I’ve been enjoying golden milk a lot lately. 🙂
Oh my god I am obsessed with golden milk- so creamy, yummy and healthy!
This is great! I love to use turmeric to make curry lentils. So yummy!!
So tasty!!
Now I have even more reasons to love tumeric?
Haha there`s a zillion reasons!
Wow I didn’t know that turmeric had so many health benefits! I especially love that it is know to help prevent cancer. I’m definitely going to be using this spice in my food more often!
http://www.officiallychic.com
Yea the research on its potency with cancer is really neat- a huge perk to including it regularly!
I agree that this spice is so important to good health. Plus it adds some great color to dishes
It does add awesome color!
I’ve been trying to get more turmeric in my diet lately. I’ve used it for wound care and my hubby takes capsules for his arthritis but like you said, there’s a whole lot more to turmeric! My favorite way to consume it is in a curry but you can’t have that every day! I’ve never tried the Golden Milk but I think I’ll make one today! Great post!
I could eat curry everyday but my hubby wouldn’t haha but golden milk is another fav! Actually I love turmeric eggs too- sounds odd but they’re tasty!
I didn’t know turmeric was so good for you. Looking at everything it can do, I will try to start using it a bit more!
It comes with sooo many benefits!
I’ve never had turmeric in a drink before. I love ginger and hot water so will try this for sure
If you love ginger you’d like turmeric tea I think (golden milk). It’s awesome for you@
Turmeric is pretty awesome. I’m going to have to try it to fix my skin.
It’s amazing as an anit-inflammatory- plus it tastes yummy!
I love turmeric! This is a great post offering so many wonderful reasons to include turmeric in our diets. I use it often for its anti-inflammatory benefits. I love the taste too, so I enjoy making turmeric teas and lattes. Awesome article!
Thanks so much Aarika! It’s amazing for inflammation and such a great thing to throw into your daily schedule 🙂
Thanks for the information! I’ve started making an effort to add more Turmeric to my diet, it goes great in curry.
Curry is an awesome way to bump up your intake- so yummy!
Great post! I just bought Turmeric from the grocery store today. I plan to make it a part of my regular diet. I have always known it has so many benefits, but I did not know it can be an anti-depressant!
Yes! It has a zillion benefits (medical note: don’t go off medication just to use turmeric without chatting to a doc lol) and it’s so easy to get into your daily recipe! Not sure why I love it in scrambled eggs but my girls do too!
Turmeric is known for its myriad of nutritional benefits. It goes well with a lot of dishes and curry is my favorite on the list. It’s nice to eat healthy while enjoying your food as well. This article shed a well deserved light to this herb.
Yes! Turmeric is one of my favorites- there’s just so many perks to it! Thanks for the kind words 🙂
I truly believe in the power of turmeric. It makes me feel better every time I drink it.
Me too! I love adding it to as much as I can
Wow, such a nice article on the various use of turmeric. Thanks!
It’s one of our staples!