10 Health Benefits of Turmeric Powder for Men and Women

Turmeric, or the golden spice, also known as Indian saffron, is a plant that is grown mainly in the central part of America and Asia. You will find it on the kitchen shelves/cabinets of nearly every Asian house in the form of turmeric powder. 

The turmeric powder’s bright yellow color has stimulated people to use it in the form of a dye. This spice powder is also used to cook different curries, mainly in Asian countries. 

Today, turmeric is sold commercially as capsules, powders, extracts, and teas. 

But, what’s most important about turmeric that we have not discussed till now is turmeric curcumin. It’s an active turmeric ingredient that encompasses powerful biological properties. 

The curcumin in turmeric makes it an extremely effective and beneficial nutritious supplement. 

Curious to learn more about turmeric powder and the health benefits of its curcumin? 

Wanna know what turmeric is good for? Then, keep reading on, and we promise we will give you all the details about the health benefits of turmeric. 

Turmeric Powder – Its Nutritious Content:

As per the National Nutrient Database of USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), 1 tbsp (tablespoon) of this spice comprises 29 calories. Also, it encompasses 0.31 grams of fat, 2.1 grams of fiber, 0.91 grams of protein, and 6.31 grams of carbohydrates. 

Besides, turmeric powder also has 0.3 grams of sugar, 26 percent of manganese, and 5 percent of potassium. In addition to these, 16 percent of iron and 3 percent of Vitamin C have also been found in turmeric. 

How To Use Turmeric Powder? What Does Turmeric Do?

Since turmeric is an extremely versatile spice, you can use it in various ways to cook your food or for other purposes. Turmeric helps in cooking, dressing, preparing medicine, formulating supplements, etc. Here’s how to use turmeric powder for various purposes: 

• Mix turmeric powder with other spices and add the mixture to your curry/barbecue rub.
• Turmeric helps you make a homemade dressing. Just prepare a mixture by stirring part oil, different seasonings, turmeric, and part vinegar within a container and apply it to your wounded area. 
• Transform your go-to marinades just with the use of turmeric. 
• You can also prepare some delicious as well as healthy recipes, as recommended by dieticians, with the help of turmeric. They are mason jar lentil salad, mango turmeric smoothie, gold rush soup, cumin-lime turmeric vinaigrette, and turmeric milk. 
• Turmeric powder is also used for making turmeric supplements, turmeric pills (capsules), fluid turmeric, turmeric extracts, and turmeric tinctures. These products are combined with pineapple-derived protein extracts to make the effects of turmeric and its absorption more productive. You can purchase turmeric supplements from online stores, but only with a doctor’s recommendation, guaranteeing you that it’s safe for your use. 

Is Turmeric Good For You? 10 Health Benefits Of Turmeric:

A strong biological ingredient exists in turmeric that is very good for your health and has many beneficial effects on the human body. Its name is turmeric curcumin. The health benefits of turmeric curcumin are as follows:  

1. The Bioactive Compounds In Turmeric Powder Will Function Like Medicine In Myriad Conditions:

Turmeric contains about 3 percent of turmeric curcumin in it, which is not very high. When various studies are done on this herb, turmeric extracts are taken for the research with curcumin in a dosage of more than 1 gram/day. 

However, when you use turmeric in the form of spice within your foods, you will find it very difficult to catch those levels. It’s the reason why a few people prefer to consume turmeric in the form of supplements. 

Nevertheless, your bloodstream absorbs turmeric curcumin very poorly, and so to get turmeric curcumin’s full effects, you have to improve its bioavailability. 

Bioavailability refers to the rate at which one’s body consumes a substance. Consuming turmeric and black pepper (containing piperine) enhances curcumin absorption in your body by 2000 percent. 

If you see the wrapper of the best turmeric curcumin supplements, you will find in the ingredients list that they comprise piperine, making them considerably more beneficial. 

Being fat soluble, curcumin also breaks down fat/oil and dissolves in it. So, if you take the supplements of curcumin along with a high-fat meal, it will be best for you. 

2. The Curcumin In Turmeric Will Help You By Acting As A Biological Anti-inflammatory Compound:

Among various turmeric benefits for men as well as women, the biological anti-inflammatory property of turmeric curcumin is very important. 

Acute short-term inflammation in a person’s body is crucial because it helps combat the foreign invaders of his body and repairs the body’s damage. 

However, when the same inflammation turns chronic, it becomes a matter of concern as it will attack the tissues of your body. 

According to Scientists, chronic low-level inflammation results in a few health conditions or diseases such as heart ailment, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, several degenerative conditions, and metabolic syndrome. 

The bioactive substance of turmeric curcumin fights chronic inflammation, thereby preventing and treating this condition. However, only if you can consume high doses of curcumin you will see medicinal effects. 

3. Turmeric Curcumin Has The Power To Increase Your Body’s Antioxidant Capacity:

Aging and other diseases happen because of many reasons. One of them is oxidative damage to your body. It encompasses highly reactive free radical molecules with electrons of unpaired types. 

These free radicals usually react with vital organic substances, such as fatty acids, DNA, and proteins. Turmeric powder consumption enhances your body’s antioxidant potential, which, in turn, defends your body from independent radicals. 

Curcumin, being a potent antioxidant, neutralizes free radicals because of its chemical configuration. Researchers, after researching animals and cells, have found that there’s a chance that curcumin may obstruct the movement of independent radicals and promote the activities of other antioxidants. However, the same research is still pending on human beings.

4. Turmeric Curcumin Facilitates The Improvement Of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factors:

There was a time when scientists were not as knowledgeable about neurons as they are today. Then, it was assumed that they were incapable of doing proper division or multiplication after their early childhood. 

However, everyone, as well as they are now sure that this was not the case. Neurons have the power to form new connections and are capable of increasing in number through multiplication within certain brain areas. 

And BDNF, or Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, is one of the fundamental drivers of this method. 

This gene creates a protein that is liable for stimulating the neurons’ life. The protein of BDNF boosts your memory and learning ability and is found in different brain areas that are responsible for your body weight, drinking, and eating. 

If the BDNF protein level decreases, many brain disorders, like depression, Alzheimer’s disease, etc., may take place. 

An interesting fact (as founded after scientific research on animals) about turmeric curcumin is that it has the capability of increasing BDNF’s brain levels. Committing this results in delayed or reversed brain diseases or age-related drops in brain functions. 

However, it is very hard to assert if it will do the same for humans or not since no study has been performed on humans up til now. Turmeric curcumin is also helpful in improving memory and attention. 

5. With The Consumption Of Turmeric Powder, You Can Lower Your Heart Disease Risk: 

A lot of people in this world are dying every day. And one of the primary reasons for such deaths is heart disease. Heart diseases happen in some processes, and curcumin has the power to reverse the steps of those processes. 

Secondly, heart disease also happens due to endothelial dysfunction, which is a leading driver of heart ailment. It happens when your endothelium fails to regulate blood coagulation, blood pressure, or other factors. 

The curcumin present in turmeric powder improves the endothelium’s (your blood vessels’ lining) functions. Also, many other studies imply that turmeric curcumin is good for heart health. It benefits in the same manner as exercise benefits in the case of post-menopausal women. 

Besides, turmeric powder also lessens inflammation and oxidation, the two processes involved in the emergence of heart diseases. As per research, with the consumption of curcumin decreases your heart attack risk by 65 percent. 

6. Turmeric Powder May Save You From Cancer:

Curcumin, being a beneficial herb, also helps in the treatment of cancer (as found by some studies). Also, it impacts the growth and development of the cancer cells and thus saves you from cancer. 

According to various research and studies, turmeric curcumin kills cancerous cells, reduces angiogenesis (the expansion of new and unique blood vessels within different tumors), and reduces metastasis or cancer spread. However, scientists are still researching whether or not curcumin, if given in high doses along with piperine, can treat cancerous cells in humans. 

Nevertheless, evidence shows that curcumin has prevented cancer cells (especially colorectal cancer cells) from multiplying further.

7. Turmeric Curcumin May Treat Alzheimer’s Disease:

Being one of the most popular kinds of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease contributes to up to seventy percent of dementia cases. Though there’s no cure for this ailment, you can prevent it from happening in the future. Wanna know how? Through the consumption of turmeric curcumin. Thanks to the curcumin’s property of crossing a human’s blood-brain barrier. 

Alzheimer’s disease usually happens because of inflammation and oxidative trauma, and we now know that curcumin is beneficial for curing both of them. 

Curcumin also assists in clearing the amyloid plaques (protein tangles buildup). Now, one can’t surely state if curcumin is able to slow or reverse Alzheimer’s disease or not because the studies have not confirmed it until now. 

8. The Turmeric Supplements Work Well On Arthritis Patients:

Being a strong anti-inflammatory compound, curcumin helps in fighting arthritis. Also, as per studies, people who have rheumatoid arthritis consume curcumin, which becomes more effective than any anti-inflammatory drug. 

9. The Curcumin Of Turmeric Frees Out Your Depression:

Evidence shows that curcumin has treated depression for some people just as Prozac does. This component of turmeric is as useful as any antidepressant. Besides, depression happens when the BDNF level of a person gets reduced, or the hippocampus (an area of your brain that helps retain memory and continue learning) gets shrunk. 

And, with the consumption of turmeric curcumin, the changes get reversed potentially. Moreover, evidence has been found that curcumin also assists in boosting serotonin and dopamine (the two neurotransmitters of your brain). 

10. Turmeric Powder Helps You Stay Young:

Turmeric powder greatly helps prolong your youthful beauty. This is because it comprises the potential of an anti-aging supplement. 

Besides, it is believed that both inflammation and oxidation help in aging, and turmeric powder curbs these processes from happening, thereby preventing your age-related issues. 

Turmeric Powder – 3 Side Effects:

Though turmeric’s side effects are a few as compared to its health benefits, still the stakes of its side effects are worth considering. 

1. Your Stomach May Get Upset:

There are some agents in turmeric powder that support your digestive health. However, if absorbed in huge proportions, the same agents may result in stomach irritation. 

A few researchers who were studying the health benefits of turmeric regarding the treatment of cancer have ceased their studies because they have found that the consumption of turmeric may negatively affect the digestion of cancer patients. 

The spice, if consumed in excess quantity, may stimulate gastric acid production within your stomach. Though this is good for some people’s digestion, chances are there that it negatively affects other people’s health. 

2. Your Blood May Get Thinned:

Turmeric powder encompasses purifying properties and may thus result in easier bleeding frequently. Though there’s no clear reason to support this statement, it is believed that there’s some relation between the function of turmeric within your blood and its other benefits of lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure. 

So, are you someone who uses warfarin (Coumadin) type blood-thinning drugs? Then, immediately stop taking large portions of turmeric in your diet or in other forms. 

3. Turmeric Powder May Stimulate Contractions:

Though it has not been proved (through enough evidence) yet that turmeric can induce labor, many still believe so. So, it is safe for pregnant women to avoid eating foods seasoned with this spice. 

Also, they should avoid ingesting turmeric supplements for their blood-thinning properties. However, if you add a small quantity of this spice to your food, it will not give you any health issues at all. 

Wrapping Up: 

Though turmeric curcumin of turmeric encompasses several benefits, it has side effects too, so you should consume turmeric powder with restrain, that is, in small quantities. By doing so, you will get the benefits of turmeric and can avoid its side effects at the same time. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the health benefits of turmeric