Turmeric: did you know it had these 5 surprise benefits? |VITL

1. Anti-inflammatory – chronic inflammation is recognised as one of the key causes of many diseases. Whilst acute inflammation caused by foreign, damaged or dead cells is extremely useful as part of our immune system, chronic inflammation drains the body’s resources and can lead to illness. Curcumin has been shown to inhibit molecules across our body’s incredibly complex inflammatory pathway and therefore can limit the damage it can cause.
2. Arthritis – maybe one of the most common diseases attributed to chronic inflammation, arthritis can be a debilitating and excruciating. Arthritis has been shown to respond positively to treatment with curcumin; some studies have even reported it to be as effective as conventional medicines, but without the side effects that conventional medicine often causes.
3. Cancer – curcumin has been shown to act against the growth of cancerous cells in a number of different ways. At the molecular level, it has the ability to prevent the spread of tumour cells, inhibit their growth by preventing the development of blood vessels, and even to induce cancer cell death. Perhaps more interestingly, curcumin may prevent the development of cancer in the digestive system.
4. Antioxidant – curcumin is a potent antioxidant that binds to free radicals, preventing oxidative stress which is linked to ageing. As well as being an antioxidant itself, it actually stimulates other antioxidant enzymes in the body, improving our natural response to free radicals
5. Antidepressant – curcumin has been shown to be as effective as Prozac in treating depression and has been shown to release the feel good neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. Therefore, turmeric can brighten up your day in more ways than just its dazzling colour!

But wait!

Although turmeric is rapidly digested in the body, it is not readily absorbed into the bloodstream, so make sure that if you are going to use turmeric add black pepper and a healthy fat which are able to increase its bioavailability by as much 2000 times!