Health News: Why Turmeric Should Be Your Favorite Spice

Go raid your spice cabinet right now and bust out your turmeric. (If you don’t have any, go buy it. We’ll wait.) Turmeric, a cousin of ginger and primarily used in curries and as a coloring agent, can do magic. It can help with heartburn and indigestion, stuffy noses and congestion, and more. Don’t believe us? Read on to find out what turmeric can do. [pagebreak]

Turmeric can help with heartburn and indigestion.

According to the Huffington Post, a small study found that supplements made from the turmeric plant (turmeric is harvested from the root, which is baked then ground), were more effective than placebos. Why? It may be because turmeric can help fight inflammation.

Turmeric may be able to help prevent heart attacks.

There’s one particular compound in turmeric, curcumin, which can help with range of health issues. It can also help prevent heart attacks, according to a study done on more than 120 bypass patients. According to Reuters, only 13 percent of patients taking a curcumin supplement suffered heart attacks, compared to 30 percent of patients in the placebo group. Turns out that curcumin’s antioxidant and anti-inflammation powers can result in a 65 percent lower chance of heart attack in bypass patients. [pagebreak]

Tumeric may be able to help fight cancer.

Though human studies are in early stages, according to the American Cancer Society, curcumin “interferes with several important molecular pathways involved in cancer development, growth and spread.” And LiveScience reported that researchers at UCLA found that curcumin can enhance the effects of a common chemotherapy drug.

Turmeric may be able to help fight Alzheimer’s.

Research published in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, found that turmerone (found in turmeric) can increase stem cell reproduction, making it a possible component for drugs that treat neurological disorders. 

Turmeric may help treat joint pain.

According to the Huffington Post, curcumen has been proved to have anti-flmmatory powers, meaning it could be used to treat people with joint pain. And one study found that turmeric supplements worked as well as over-the-counter Ibuprofen in treating a certain type of osteoarthritis.