Reasearch Summary of the Health Benefits of Turmeric

Often used to treat conditions that involve pain and inflamation, Turmeric appears to help address a wide ranging scope of medical challenges. Here we narrow our focus to the impact consistent incorporation of Turmeric (and its constituent ingredient curcumin) have on Heart Health, Arthritis, Brain Health, Metabolic Syndrome (Type 2 Diabetes) & Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  

Heart Health

“curcumin (Turmeric) is a nutraceutical that may be helpful for maintaining a healthy vascular endothelium with aging, a key process in preventing the development of athero-sclerosis and attendant arterial diseases.”

“… in the present study, 12 weeks of curcumin (Turmeric) supplementation improved conduit artery endothelial function by 1.3% brachial FMD units in healthy middle-aged and older adults, and a 1% improvement in brachial artery FMD units has been associated with a 13% reduction in risk of future cardiovascular outcomes”

Santos-Parker JR, Strahler TR, Bassett CJ, Bispham NZ, Chonchol MB, Seals DR. Curcumin supplementation improves vascular endothelial function in healthy middle-aged and older adults by increasing nitric oxide bioavailability and reducing oxidative stress. Aging (Albany NY). 2017 Jan 3;9(1):187-208. doi: 10.18632/aging.101149. PMID: 28070018; PMCID: PMC5310664.  (Learn More) 

“Cardiovascular Disease are an important cause of human deaths worldwide … Pre-clinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the effects of Turmeric/Curcumin in Cardiovascular Disease through its anti-hypercholesterolemic and anti-atherosclerotic effects and its protective properties against cardiac ischemia and reperfusion. These effects are scientifically verified showing Turmeric/Curcumin as a potential therapeutic candidate for Cardiovascular Disease treatment”

Salehi, B.; Del Prado-Audelo, M.L.; Cortés, H.; Leyva-Gómez, G.; Stojanović-Radić, Z.; Singh, Y.D.; Patra, J.K.; Das, G.; Martins, N.; Martorell, M.; et al. Therapeutic Applications of Curcumin Nanomedicine Formulations in Cardiovascular Diseases. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 746.  (Learn More) 

Arthritis

“Arthritis now affects 15% of those over the age of 30.”

GBD 2021 Osteoarthritis Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of osteoarthritis, 1990-2020 and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Rheumatol. 2023 Aug 21;5(9):e508-e522. doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(23)00163-7. PMID: 37675071; PMCID: PMC10477960. (Learn More) 

 “Both treatments (Turmeric & diclofenac) relieved arthritis symptoms and helped to a similar degree: 94% of those taking curcumin (Turmeric) and 97% of those taking diclofenac reported at least 50% improvement … People reported fewer side effects with curcumin (Turmeric).”

Shep, D., Khanwelkar, C., Gade, P. et al. Safety and efficacy of curcumin versus diclofenac in knee osteoarthritis: a randomized open-label parallel-arm study. Trials 20, 214 (2019). (Learn More) 

“... data from eight randomized clinical trials that investigated the effectiveness of turmeric and curcumin extracts for treating symptoms osteoarthritis. The authors concluded that there is some evidence to suggest that taking curcumin (Turmeric) each day for 8-12 weeks can help reduce joint pain and inflammation due to arthritis, particularly osteoarthritis. The results also indicated that curcumin extracts might be as effective as taking NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and diclofenac.”

Daily JW, Yang M, Park S. Efficacy of Turmeric Extracts and Curcumin for Alleviating the Symptoms of Joint Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. J Med Food. 2016 Aug;19(8):717-29. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2016.3705. PMID: 27533649; PMCID: PMC5003001. (Learn More) 

Brain Health (& Alzheimer's disease )

“The reduction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) affects cognitive function, learning, and memory and also causes behavioral disorders.  …. Four randomized control trials with 139 participants were included. Curcumin supplementation dose and duration ranged from 200 to 1820 mg/d and 8 to 12 weeks, respectively. Curcumin (Turmeric) supplementation significantly increased serum BDNF levels“

“The significant positive impact of curcumin supplementation on BDNF levels indicates its potential use for neurological disorders that are associated with low BDNF levels.”

Sarraf P, Parohan M, Javanbakht MH, Ranji-Burachaloo S, Djalali M. Short-term curcumin supplementation enhances serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor in adult men and women: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutr Res. 2019 Sep;69:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2019.05.001. Epub 2019 May 9. PMID: 31279955. (Learn More) 

“BDNF also induces hippocampal long-term potentiation, which is important for memory formation. Weinstein et al. found that higher peripheral BDNF levels protect the older adults against Alzheimer’s Disease. By having BDNF levels higher by one standard deviation, the risk for AD or dementia was lowered by 33%” 

Weinstein G, Beiser AS, Choi SH, Preis SR, Chen TC, Vorgas D, Au R, Pikula A, Wolf PA, DeStefano AL, Vasan RS, Seshadri S. Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and the risk for dementia: the Framingham Heart Study. JAMA Neurol. 2014 Jan;71(1):55-61. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.4781. PMID: 24276217; PMCID: PMC4056186. (Learn More)

Metabolic Syndrome

One study followed 240 adults with prediabetes and found that taking a curcumin supplement over 9 months lowered their odds of developing diabetes… to Zero.

“At 6, 9, and 12 months after the subjects were first identified with prediabetes conditions (at 3-, 6-, and 9-month visits), a number of subjects in the placebo-treated group developed Type 2 diabetes: 11 subjects (9.5%) at 6 months, 18 (15.5%) at 9 months, and 19 (16.4%) at 12 months. However, none of the subjects in the curcumin-treated group developed Type 2 diabetes”

Chuengsamarn S, Rattanamongkolgul S, Luechapudiporn R, Phisalaphong C, Jirawatnotai S. Curcumin extract for prevention of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2012 Nov;35(11):2121-7. doi: 10.2337/dc12-0116. Epub 2012 Jul 6. PMID: 22773702; PMCID: PMC3476912. (Learn More) 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Early research, including a pilot study of 207 adults and another one using rats, has found that turmeric could help improve IBS symptoms such as abdominal pain. Like many things we've already covered here, more research is needed. Turmeric is also being studied as a treatment for diseases like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

Jafarzadeh E, Shoeibi S, Bahramvand Y, Nasrollahi E, Maghsoudi AS, Yazdi F, KarkonShayan S, Hassani S. Turmeric for Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Population-Based Evidence. Iran J Public Health. 2022 Jun;51(6):1223-1231. doi: 10.18502/ijph.v51i6.9656. PMID: 36447978; PMCID: PMC9659538. (Learn More) 

In a study of 207 participants … “There were significant improvements in all bar one of the IBSQOL scales of between 5% and 36% in both groups, approximately two thirds of all subjects reported an improvement in symptoms after treatment, and there was a favorable shift in self-reported bowel pattern”

Bundy R, Walker AF, Middleton RW, Booth J. Turmeric extract may improve irritable bowel syndrome symptomology in otherwise healthy adults: a pilot study. J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Dec;10(6):1015-8. doi: 10.1089/acm.2004.10.1015. PMID: 15673996. (Learn More) 

Ready to start incorporating Turmeric into your daily diet ? Try some by clicking the image below :-)