Most of us, Indians know about the medicinal properties of Turmeric. Turmeric has been used as an ingredient in many ayurvedic medicines, pastes, etc and is used widely to reduce inflammation, improving the skin, removing acne and hair. It is also an ingredient in many oils, and also used for the treatment of arthritis, digestion issues, liver function improvement etc!
While turmeric has been used in India for 100s of years, the western world has only recently noticed its benefits. The turmeric extract-based supplements (curcumin) is one of the fastest-selling supplements in western countries.
What gives magic aura to turmeric?
The main active ingredient in Turmeric is Curcumin, which is what gives a yellow colour. Curcumin has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which gives turmeric all the benefits that it needs.
Inflammation is a natural process in the body, with which it fights external pathogens (bacteria etc). Inflammation is important for the repair and healing of the tissues. However, excessive inflammation can be gravely dangerous and can lead to many other issues such as heart diseases, other metabolic syndromes etc. Even Cancer starts with an inflammatory response in the body which eventually spreads. No wonder, Curcumin is widely researched for cancer treatments!
Curcumin is a bioactive molecule that arrests the inflammation and can be as powerful and effective as many anti-inflammatory drugs!
Curcumin is also an antioxidant that neutralises the harmful free radicals that are formed in the body due to external pollution, smoke, pesticides in vegetable etc. The anti-oxidant properties of curcumin are what gives turmeric, its anti-aging properties (Read Free radical theory of aging)
Unfortunately, curcumin cannot be easily absorbed by our body – ie, in other words, the bio-availability of curcumin is low. You may add black pepper along with turmeric to make the curcumin more bioavailable. This is because black pepper has a component called piperine that helps in making curcumin more bio-available
Turmeric (Curcumin) is also claimed to reduce the oxidative stress on liver and helps reduce liver damage, improve arthritis and reduce inflammation.