Of all the health trends, one super food stands out among them all: turmeric. This incredible root offers more holistic benefits than just about anything else we can put in our body. Here are a few reasons why you might want to make turmeric part of your daily routine, especially during the holidays:
1) Increase Immunity
Turmeric is a powerful immune booster, fighting bacteria, virus, fungus and other parasites while helping support your body’s immune function. It supports a host of your body’s natural defense cells, including white blood cells, T cells, macrophages, and natural killer cells to name a few. These guys run through our system and fight off bugs and harmful organisms that find their way into our body. It’s even shown to be powerfully protective against our biggest medical fear: cancer. Active compounds in turmeric help to prevent cancer and reduce tumors in the body, making it a superstar for preventing and reversing a wide range of physical ailments.
2) Heal the Gut
Our gut does more than just break down food. Helps produce hormones, houses much of our immune system, and has as many nerve cells as your spinal cord! Our gut health has everything to do with how we feel, our energy, our ability to thrive. Turmeric effectively heals ulcers, repairs lining in the gut, and encourages a healthy immune system by supporting beneficial bacteria in the gut to thrive. Turmeric is a phenomenal agent for gut health and repair.
3) Love your Liver
An unsung hero of our body, in Eastern traditions the liver is understood to be an integral part of total body wellness. Our liver cells are highly sophisticated, and perform over 300 different functions! That’s pretty impressive. Of the many things they do, liver cells play a key role in filtering and detoxing our body, managing hormonal breakdown and regulation, influencing our mood, metabolism, and so much more. When our liver is working well, all other organs and systems are working well. And in our modern world, there are more inorganic compounds and odd chemicals for it to sift through than ever. Not to mention, it’s great for specific liver issues like hepatitis or fatty liver disease. Supporting your liver with turmeric helps keep you feeling vibrant and clear.
4) Fight Inflammation and Pain
Turmeric is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. As most disease arises from an acidic and inflamed internal environment, turmeric is your first choice for longevity and disease prevention. And because it’s so powerful in reducing inflammation, it’s been shown to be phenomenal for inflammation-related conditions like pain and arthritis. High doses of turmeric are just as effective as some pain relievers, without the negative effects on your liver and gut!
5) Keep a Sunny Perspective
Two of turmeric’s active compounds, curcumin and turmerone, have been shown to reduce symptoms of depression. Part of this is linked to its anti-inflammatory action, which calms the nervous system. Turmeric also heals the gut and restores balance to the flora and lining of the intestines, which is where much of our serotonin is made. While all turmeric’s mechanisms of action are still being investigated, these two are clearly partially responsible for turmeric’s mood-enhancing properties. It’s easy to imagine turmeric as a little dose of sunshine with its vibrant golden color!
6) Anti-Aging
One way we measure longevity is by our telomeres. Telomeres are buffers at the end of our chromosomes that protect our DNA. If you recall the diagrams of X-shaped chromosomes from your high school biology class, telomeres are like little hats of blank DNA at the ends of these X’s, which protect the part of your DNA that’s used for coding and cellular production. Turmeric has been shown to increase the length of telomeres, protect DNA, improve DNA repair, and reduce mutations; which means your cells look younger and function more smoothly.
7) Keep off Fat
Turmeric was supplemented to one group of mice in an obesity study, where both groups were fed a high-fat diet. The group given turmeric exhibited reduced weight gain, less generation of new fat cells, and halted the growth of microvessels required to increase fat storage. It even increased oxidation and helped burn stored fat, boosted metabolism, and reduced cholesterol.
With all these benefits, are there any precautions when taking turmeric? While there are great benefits on gut health, those with acidic bellies may find bloating or discomfort when taking oral turmeric, as it has a strong neutralizing effect. That change in pH is what can cause the gas and bloating. Start small, ¼ teaspoon of powder or one capsule if that applies to you, or you experience any of these symptoms.
Next time you’re in SaunaBar, try an Immunity Turmeric shot by Vive or pick up a bottle of our bio-activated turmeric supplements!
