"This is your reminder that your body is the only one you have, treat it well"

Karin

Okay first things first: I'm sure a lot of you are asking yourself now "What is the difference between Turmeric and Curcumin or Curcuma"? Let me help and shed some light.

Turmeric

Turmeric is a beautiful flowering plant called "Curcuma longa" and belongs to the family of Ginger. You can see on the below illustration, that the roots of that plant look very similar to the roots of ginger. The root is also what we use for cooking, food coloring, herbal supplements, cosmetic ingredients and like many spices, turmeric has a long history of use in traditional medicine.

The plant is native to the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia and requires temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees celsius and quite a lot of rainfall throughout the year. They are harvest each year for their roots and for propagation in the following season.

Did you know that turmeric gives curry its vibrant yellow color? :-)

Curcumin

Now, we learnt that the plant (with the roots which we use) is called "turmeric" and so what is now curcumin? The easy answer is: Turmeric consists of many compounds which are called "curcuminoids" of which the most important one is curcumin. Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric and gives it the characteristic yellow color. In fact, you can credit curcumin as the compound responsible for most of turmeric's potential health benefits.

Illustration by Douglas Schneider

Now that you hopefully have clarity of what turmeric and curcumin is, let's look at the secret power of this magical spice!

Recently, science has started to back up what Indians have known for a long time - it really does contain compounds with medicinal properties. In fact, turmeric may be the most effective nutritional supplement in existence. Many high quality studies show the major benefits for your body and brain.

Here are the top 10 evidence-based health benefits of turmeric (sourced from here and here):

#1 Curcumin is a natural anti-inflammatory

Turmeric is most famous for his ability to fight inflammation and it is all thanks to the power of curcumin. You won't believe it but in the right dose, curcumin may be a more effective anti-inflammatory treatment than Ibuprofen and Aspirin.

#2 Curcumin may help protect against heart disease

Curcumin may help reverse many steps in the heart disease process. The main benefit of curcumin when it comes to heart diseases is improving the function of the endothelium, which is the lining of your blood vessels.

#3 Curcumin helps to increase the antioxidants capacity of your body

The main reason antioxidants are so beneficial is that they protect your body from free radicals.

Curcumin is a potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals due to its chemical structure. It also boosts the activity of your body's own antioxidant enzymes.

#4 Curcumin may help delay or reverse Alzheimer’s disease

Turmeric may protect your brain against common degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. You might wonder how? By increasing the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein found in the brain and spinal cord that plays a key role in keeping nerve cells (neurons) healthy, as well as regulating communication between nerve cells, which is critical for learning and memory. As common brain disorders like Alzheimer’s are associated with lower levels of BDNF, turmeric (curcumin in particular) may help delay or reverse brain degeneration. I say "may help" because much of the research has been done in mice. Researchers note more research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of turmeric in the prevention and treatment of common brain diseases. However, adding turmeric to your meals definitely doesn't do you any harm.

#5 Curcumin may prevent and possibly help treat cancer

Just like I mentioned above, I deliberately say "may" as the research is ongoing and has yet to be determined. What we do now, however, is that inflammation is linked to tumor growth, anti-inflammatory compounds such as curcumin may play a role in treating and preventing a variety of cancer types, including colorectal, pancreatic, prostate, breast, and gastric cancers.

#6 Arthritis patients respond very well to curcumin supplements

There are several different types of arthritis, most of which involve inflammation in the joints.

Given that curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory compound, it makes sense that it may help with arthritis. Several studies have proven this to be true. In one of those studies in people with rheumatoid arthritis, curcumin was even more effective than an anti-inflammatory drug.

#7 Studies show that curcumin has incredible benefits against depression

Just like Alzheimer's disease, depression is also linked to reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and a shrinking hippocampus, a brain area with a role in learning and memory. Curcumin boosts these BDNF levels, potentially reversing some of these changes. There is also some evidence that curcumin can boost the brain neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine and in another study they have proven that curcumin is as effective as an antidepressant.

#8 Curcumin may protect against heart disease

Perhaps the main benefit of curcumin when it comes to heart disease is improving the function of the endothelium, which is the lining of your blood vessels. It is well known that endothelial dysfunction is a major driver of heart disease and involves an inability of your endothelium to regulate blood pressure, blood clotting and various other factors. In addition and as you have learnt from above, curcumin reduces inflammation and oxidation, which play a role in heart disease as well.

How to consume turmeric correctly:

Doctors say that what may be affecting curcumin’s efficacy is that it is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. In Indian cooking, turmeric is usually heated in a fat, like oil, which can increase absorption. Certain supplement manufacturers are also taking steps to improve this, curcumin’s bioavailability, by combining the compound with other components. For instance, a chemical found in black pepper, called piperine, is sometimes added to curcumin supplements in proprietary blends to increase its absorption.

Researching curcumin can be challenging because some blends have better bioavailability than others, and varying amounts of the active ingredient. If you did the study over and over again but used slightly different preparations, you would probably have different results.

So, when you add turmeric to your food, make sure you always add black pepper and some kind of fat to make sure your body can absorb it correctly.

Unfortunately, adding a bit of turmeric to your curry once a month is unlikely to give you the desired anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. To reach the amounts of turmeric and curcumin shown to offer benefits in research studies, you will have to turn to supplements. Most of the studies on this herb are using turmeric extracts that contain mostly curcumin itself, with dosages usually exceeding 1 gram per day. It would be very difficult to reach these levels just using the turmeric spice in your foods.

All of that doesn't mean of course, that it does not help even a little if you don't take it as a supplement and you can of course still add it to your meals and drinks. Here are some ideas for you:

Golden Latte or Turmeric Latte

If you don't have too much time, you can also buy a "ready to use mix" and then just add your favorite milk, mix and heat everything.

Turmeric overnight chats (aka chia and oats)

Ginger and Turmeric lemonade

There are lots of types of turmeric teas out there, just take a look next time you go shopping :-) You can also add it to your smoothie or juice, to your veggies, curries, actually any type of dish so really the sky is the limit. Maybe start with one thing and see if you like the taste.

Be careful though, the stains will NOT go away unfortunately (speaking from my own experience).

Enjoy and sending lots of "golden" light to you!