Turmeric is a spice that has probably been sitting in yours or your mum’s cupboard for years, so why suddenly has it become the ‘it’ superfood? Do you remember the kale boom? Not many people had heard of it, it wasn’t available in the shops and now it’s in every supermarket you walk into. There’s no denying that kale is a great source of nutrients, but sometimes you have to wonder if it’s just a lot of media hype that makes it sound better than it is. The same goes for the turmeric supplement benefits.
Turmeric is commonly used in cooking, but is now being added into smoothies, juices and is available in many places to buy as capsules to used on a daily basis. I’ve spent the last couple of days reading many articles to find out if this pot of capsules next to me is actually going to do anything.
Have I just jumped on the bandwagon? No doubt you’re thinking that and I have doubted myself too, but the main reason I’m giving “The Golden Goddess” a space in my morning routine is because of the ancient Ayurvedic healing traditions. If you’ve never heard of Ayurveda then I definitely recommend reading up on it – there’s a lot of sense being spoken there. It’s mainly about balancing out the body and making sure you’re doing things at the right time of day to suit the type of person you are. On my yoga course we had a couple of lectures about Ayurveda, something I was instantly interested in. One of the main supplements our Ayurveda doctor recommended was turmeric and to have it everyday, as it has been used by Ayurvedic healers as medicine taken internally in the form of fresh juice, boiled tea, tinctures, or powder, and topically as creams, lotions, pastes, and ointments for years.
Here are a list of the turmeric supplement benefits I found interesting, but as with these sorts of things, there is always conflicting research, so all I can say is to give it a go and see if it works for you.
- Inflammation – Turmeric contains the chemical curcumin, which is said to decrease swelling/inflammation, so for someone like me who has Infrapatella Fat Pads, I’m hoping that this could help reduce the inflammation of my knees when I run.
- Eczema – I’m fortunate not to suffer from eczema, but my little sister gets quite bad flair ups, so the next time I see her, I’m going to give her a pot of capsules to start taking and do a little experiment on her. I’ve read a lot of success stories connecting turmeric to eczema control, so fingers crossed it works for her too.
- Bloating – This is one we all probably suffer with from time to time. Turmeric is said to help with indigestion, bloating and gas, which we all know can totally ruin your mood and your day, so could turmeric be our saviour for this?
To be honest it’s all a bit of a minefield, with so many different claims about turmeric supplement benefits. There is also a difference between many turmeric capsules and what’s called BCM-95, a newer blend of curcumin and turmeric essential oils, which claims to be absorbed faster by the body.
A lot of the articles I’ve read are very much along the lines of “evidence might suggest”, which really isn’t very helpful, but the good thing is that it’s not going to harm you to try. It might be worth giving this article from the Ayurveda Collage a read, along with some others.
I’ve currently got turmeric capsules from both The Good Guru and Pukka in my cupboard, so we’ll see how I get on with them.
Love, Cat x