Many of you are already familiar with turmeric’s anti-inflammatory benefits. However, this popular spice offers many other health and life-lengthening benefits. Turmeric contains more of the active ingredient, curcumin, than its cousins cardamom and ginger, which gives it many of the same benefits, but with more punch:

• Anti-inflammatory
• Antioxidant
• Fights cancer
• Cleans the arteries
• Protects the liver
• Regulates insulin
• Protects the brain

Anti-Inflammatory

The active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, is the strongest natural anti-inflammatory known. Many studies have documented its ability to reduce pain and swelling in people with chronic inflammatory diseases, such as osteoarthritis. It also prevents the cellular damage inflammation causes.

However, curcumin is not very bioavailable; our bodies do not absorb it well. This has led to a plethora of expensive supplements that combine curcumin with chemicals that make it more absorbable, but are sold for unreasonable prices in my opinion.

The most common additive for increased absorption is peperine, a constituent of common black pepper and its relatives.

In addition, I believe the ground spice or concentrates of the whole spice, (full spectrum) are more effective than supplements that contain just curcumin. If you buy in supplement form, look for concentrates that are 95 percent curcuminoids (curcumin itself is just one curcuminoid).

Or, you can do as I do. I buy powdered turmeric. I mix it with about 25 percent (by weight) ground black pepper. Then I either put it in vegetable capsules myself or simply put about two teaspoons in a glass with about two ounces of water, stir it up, and drink it down. It’s nasty, but it works. I might mention that I don’t like the taste of turmeric, even in foods.

If you buy the concentrate follow the directions on the bottle. It should give you about 400 to 600 milligrams three times a day. If you take it like I do, twice a day is enough for me, but you can take it three times a day if needed.

Because I believe the chemicals in foods and herbs all work together in a synergistic way, I almost always use the whole herb or full spectrum concentrates.

Turmeric usually contains about fifty percent curcuminoids before concentration, so in order to get the effective dose using the whole herb, you must take eight to twelve milligrams.

However, unless you have gallstones or bile duct problems, turmeric is very safe. It has been known to cause heartburn in a few people after using it for long periods of time, but that is very rare. If you don’t notice any problems, you can take as much as required to get the desired effect.

Just start with a low dose and work up slowly.

Antioxidant

Turmeric is, like many medicinal herbs, a strong antioxidant. Studies have shown that it protects your cells from oxidation as well as inflammation.

Researchers at the Chonbuk National University Medical School in the Republic of Korea showed that turmeric protects the liver of rats by increasing the levels of glutathione and by reducing the levels of aminotransferase enzymes. Aminotransferase enzymes catalyze reactions in the body that rid us of toxins but have the potential, if present in unusually high quantities, to cause oxidation and inflammation.

Glutathione is made inside the cells. It is a sulfur-based compound that easily forms chemical bonds with toxins and debri and caries them out of the cell and into the blood stream for disposal.

One of its primary functions is to rid the cell of oxidants.

Fights Cancer

Another of turmeric’s legendary benefits is as a cancer fighter. Its powers against tumors have been heavily researched, and have been shown to use several pathways to attack the cancer cells. If CBD oil from the cannabis plant is the most powerful natural cancer fighter known right now, and it seems to be, turmeric is the second most effective natural cancer fighter.

Researchers have shown that while the curcuminoids in our blood stream have a relatively short lifespan, it persists in cancer cells, reaping its protective vengeance, for several days.

In a quick survey of research articles on NBCI, the governments registry of scientific research, I identified the following cancers turmeric has been shown to be effective against:

• Oral cancer (carcinoma)
• Pancreatic cancer (Adenocarcinoma)
• Breast cancer (MDA-MB-231, see the Warnings and Side Effects at the bottom of this page! )
• Colon cancer
• Liver cancer (hep3b, hepg2, carcinoma, NCI-H460)
• Thyroid cancer
• Brain cancer (Glioblastoma)
• Lung cancer (non-small cell, 95D)
• Skin cancer (melanoma)
• Neck cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)
• Prostate cancer
• Giant Cell Tumor (tendons, joints)
• Cholangiocarcinoma

I’m sure it is effective against many other forms of cancer. This was not a thorough review. It is meant to give you an idea of how encompassing Turmeric is in its anti-cancer powers.

Unfortunately, all of the studies the list above was taken from were introductory studies, mostly on cancer cells in a test tube, so none reported turmeric or curcumin as a cure. As always, little has been done to expand on research identifying natural cancer cures. One encouraging trend is that natural scientists are beginning to study combinations of curcumin with other known natural cancer fighters, such as resveratrol.

For now, if you have cancer, go to an integrative or naturopathic doctor before submitting to the death sentence chemotherapy offers. In addition to turmeric, a ketosis diet has shown powerful effectiveness against cancers, even advanced cancers.

Combine everything we know about natural cures, and you can survive.

Cleans the Arteries

Turmeric’s ability to clean and repair arteries is well known. It performs this function by preventing the build–up of macrophage foam cells, which stick to the walls of the arteries and attract oxidized cholesterol and oils. They also attract calcium deposits, which creates quite a mess.

Singh et el. at the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, B.S. in Lucknow India tested the effects of curcumin oil on hamsters with induced atherosclerosis (clogged arteries). They found that the curcumin oil modulated the genes involved in involved in plaque stability, lipid homeostasis and inflammation, preventing the foam cells from forming and eliminating those that had already formed.

Protects the Liver, Regulates Insulin

Scientists in Iran and Australia, working together, conducted a randomized clinical study to determine if curcumin could alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Rahmani et al. tested patients with fatty liver disease that were divided into two groups. One was given a placebo, the other was given a concentrate equivalent of 70 mg. per day of curcumin for eight weeks.

They concluded that the curcumin group had a 78.9% reduction in liver fat content versus the placebo group which had only a 27.5% improvement for the placebo group. In addition, the curcumin group showed significant reductions in body mass index, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase, alinine aminotransferase, glucose and glycated hemoglobin.

In words the rest of us understand, it made a remarkable difference in the patients’ liver, blood fats, and sugar levels, virtually eliminating metabolic syndrome.

Helps Prevent Stroke and Limits Brain Damage

Turmeric is both a blood thinner and prevents abnormal blood clots by preventing the platlets from sticking together. In fact, it is so effective that people taking pharmaceutical blood thinners are warned not to take it. Again, it is the curcumin that provides this benefit.

In addition, it limits damage to the brain and heart when the blood flow is stopped by a clot or temporary heart stoppage. It does this by limiting the damage caused when the flow of blood restarts. This is called “reperfusion.”

Reperfusion happens because the cells create excessive reactive oxygen species but not enough nitric oxide when blood flow returns after being stopped. The excessive oxidants cause extreme inflammation and cell damage. Researchers at Dezhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shandong, China showed that curcumin prevented reperfusion damage by increasing the expression of a protein that encourages cell proliferation and separation and a protein that is involved in many cellular functions, including growth and apoptosis. In this case, it encourages new cell growth to replace the damaged cells.

Dosage

For supplementation purposes, take 1 to 3 grams of ground, raw turmeric daily mixed with 25 percent by weight of black pepper. This dosage can be taken in up to three equal doses.

This is equivalent to 100 to 500 mg. of curcumin combined with peperine or another thermonutrient.

For inflammation and pain, take up to 300 to 600 mg of standardized curcumin extract three times per day.