Should I know about turmeric?
The short answer is, yes. Turmeric has become one of my favorite herbs in my herbal healing toolbox. My hope is that after you read what it can do, you will be able to use it when you or your loved ones need it to nourish and heal the body.
Turmeric has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for over 5000 years. In Ayurveda, turmeric is believed to balance the three doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha). It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine internally in the form of juice, tea, tinctures, or powder, and topically as creams, lotions, pastes, and ointment. Traditionally it has been used for cold/flus and to help heal bruises and wounds. It also has been used as an anti-inflammatory, and for bronchial diseases. It is also a key ingredient in the food and drink of that area. As a side note, turmeric works best in the body when combined with bromelain or black pepper along with fat — preferably ghee or coconut oil.
What does research say about turmeric?
There has been extensive research done on turmeric. It has been shown to to be effective against many diseases. Some of the most promising research has been done for inflammatory diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel disease, peptic ulcer, gastric ulcer, gastric inflammation, vitiligo, psoriasis, acute coronary syndrome, atherosclerosis, diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, lupus nephritis, and renal conditions (Gupta, Patchva, & Aggarwal, 2013). It has also been shown to protect against various liver conditions. Research has also found turmeric to have antioxidant, wound-healing, and antimicrobial activities (Aggarwal 2009).
What do I do with turmeric?
I like to make a sauce/dressing with turmeric in it and pour it over everything! I pour it over my eggs, my steamed veggies, I put it in my wraps…. I put turmeric, ginger, garlic in a blender with extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar and a dash of barges amino acid. I also like to make a Golden Milk with turmeric. I have included a recipe for it below. Part of the reason I like the Golden milk is because you get more turmeric per serving. Also, the herbs in this drink along with the coconut oil make the active components in the turmeric stronger and more easily absorbable. If I was to recommend one way to ingest turmeric it would be in this recipe below.
1/4 cup organic turmeric powder
3 tsp organic ceylon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon Golden Paste
1 cup coconut milk
References:
Gupta, S. C., Patchva, S., & Aggarwal, B. B. (2013). Therapeutic Roles of Curcumin: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials. The AAPS Journal,15(1), 195–218. http://doi.org/10.1208/s12248-012-9432-8
Aggarwal BB, Sung B. Pharmacological basis for the role of curcumin in chronic diseases: an age-old spice with modern targets. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2009;30(2):85–94. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2008.11.002.
