Is Turmeric Good For You?
10 Health Benefits
Turmeric, the bright goldenrod spice that gives curry and mustard their vibrant color, is known for more than just its hue. This spice adds more than just flavor and color to the ever-popular turmeric latte — it contains a multitude of health benefits that can support your body across several systems.
Whether you’re looking to incorporate turmeric as an anti-inflammatory component to your diet, seeking immune support, or embracing this spice’s adaptogenic properties, this article will help you navigate 10 of turmeric's most notable health benefits. We’ll highlight some of the most high-impact products from Kroma Wellness that embrace turmeric and, in turn, help you move towards a more healthful life.
What Is Turmeric?
Aside from being a richly-colored yellow spice, turmeric is a flowering plant that belongs to the ginger family. Turmeric, or Curcuma longa, is native to Southeast Asia and has been used in Traditional Eastern and Ayurvedic medicine to support various skin, joint, and digestive systems.
Turmeric can be incorporated into a number of dishes and is popularly used in golden milk lattes – a yellow milk-based beverage that uses turmeric powder as a base. Turmeric can be used fresh – grated atop a dish – or incorporated in dried or powdered form. Used fresh, the flavor is much more pervasive than if incorporated in its powdered or dried form.
Where Does Turmeric Mainly Come From?
The part that we consume when we use turmeric — often available in powdered form — is the underground stem part of the plant. This underground part of the plant, the rhizome, is the component of the plant that can be dried, powdered, and used for culinary and functional purposes.
Though the plant is native to South Asia, turmeric grows all over the globe. Turmeric thrives in warm, moist environments, where its shallow root systems can gather water from soft soil, while its leafy aerial shoots sprout out up to a meter high.
What Are the Health Benefits of Turmeric?
Turmeric has been used for many years in Vedic culture in India, where it was embraced both as a spice and a sacred plant. Known as “Indian Saffron,” turmeric has been embraced for its properties that can help with inflammation, digestive support, cognitive functioning, and much more. Below, we detail 10 of turmeric’s most noted potential health benefits.
1. Supports a Healthy Heart
Since turmeric can support reducing inflammation, it has the potential to lower the risk of heart disease in addition to supporting overall heart health and healthy blood pressure. Because of the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin, turmeric may help reduce swelling across several systems in your body.
Turmeric is also generally safe if you are someone who takes medication for cholesterol. With no known drug interferences and research supporting the use of turmeric to reverse the process of cardiovascular disease, it may even reduce certain cardiac risks, like the risk of having a heart attack.
2. Antioxidant Boost
In addition to supporting a healthy heart, turmeric has powerful antioxidant properties as well. Antioxidants are compounds that stop oxidation, a chemical process that produces reactions (like free radicals) that can damage your cells.
Turmeric may support your body as it fights against free radicals, in addition to potentially supporting the production of more antioxidants. Antioxidants are especially important for people who might be immunocompromised or work in settings with a high risk of infection.
Kroma Perfect Fast Tea incorporates turmeric, ginger, and orange peel for a delicious and antioxidant-rich way to soothe your digestive system and support a healthy mood.
3. Anti-Inflammatory Effects
The main active component in turmeric — curcumin — has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help ease discomfort from a myriad of issues. Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties may help address the symptoms associated with morning stiffness and joint swelling.
If you are an athlete, on your feet for most of the day, or experience chronic inflammation, you probably have experienced the discomfort of feeling swollen, achy, and warm. Instead of turning towards medication immediately, turmeric offers a natural option for combating inflammation.
4. Calming Effects
Turmeric’s powerful properties expand beyond its capacity to support your body's physical functions. This powerful root has calming effects when consumed orally, and what better way to do so than through our Kroma Wellness Change Your Life Chai Latte.
Our latte is like therapy in a cup; with turmeric working alongside reishi mushrooms and Cordyceps, the calming power of this spice-filled beverage is palpable.
5. Immune Support
Continuing through the list of turmeric’s powerful properties, this spice contributes to your overall health and wellness through immune support. Protecting and supporting your immune system is critical, especially if you live a busy life filled with family, career, and extracurricular commitments.
There’s no better way to boost your immune system than through a flavorful and nourishing adaptogenic beverage created specifically to support your wellness. Our Ultimate Vitality Latte is filled with turmeric, ginger, and reishi mushrooms to offer an “anti-everything” beverage ready to support your immune system. Thanks to turmeric’s antioxidant effects, the Ultimate Vitality Latte is an all-encompassing way to support your whole health.
6. Digestive Support
Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric can offer digestive support to help maintain and stabilize a healthy gut. Because your digestive tract is so sensitive (and often prone to inflammation), turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties can help support your digestive system.
If you are pairing turmeric with efforts to bring new energy into your diet through intermittent fasting or a cleanse, consider pairing it with our 5-Day Reset to give your digestive system the boost that it deserves. When you fast, your gut microbiota can rest in between meals, which gives your healthy bacteria a chance to flourish.
7. Helps Combat Signs of Aging
Turmeric is shown to have properties that may help combat signs of aging. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, in addition to being an antioxidant booster, it can support your hair, skin, and overall health as you age.
Life is busy; we get it.
There isn't always much time to prioritize yourself between busy work weeks, family commitments, travel, and taking care of your home. Stress gets in the way, and stress is one of the main contributing factors to signs of aging. Why not continue to care for yourself naturally with turmeric?
With added antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and a boosted immune system, your body will be better equipped to support itself as you grow.
8. Supports Cognitive Function
One of the other exciting properties of turmeric is how it supports cognitive functioning. turmeric, in many research studies, has been shown to exhibit properties that can help people who are living with certain brain diseases and health conditions.
9. Adaptogenic Properties
Adaptogens are plants and mushrooms that support your body as it responds to stress and anxiety. Adaptogens can be added to food and drinks or incorporated into your diet through tinctures.
With turmeric, particularly when combined with other adaptogens like ginseng, ashwagandha, and cordyceps, you can naturally help ease your tension, fatigue, and stress levels. If you want to regulate stress naturally, consider turmeric and other adaptogens for their stress and anxiety support.
We include ashwagandha in our Change Your Life Chai Latte along with turmeric and reishi for a delicious way to enjoy immune support, tension relief, and an antioxidant boost.
10. Supports Healthy Blood Sugar
Turmeric helps to support healthy blood sugar because of the presence of curcumin, a powerful property that can possibly support the reduction of glucose in the blood.
With so many beneficial properties, ranging from immune support to aiding anxiety and blood sugar, turmeric should be incorporated as a staple in your lifestyle and wellness ritual.
How Often Should I Consume Turmeric To See Results?
When you’re thinking about incorporating anything new into your lifestyle, it’s always a good idea to consult with your medical team. While taking too much turmeric is unlikely to be harmful, you want to be mindful of how much you take.
How Long Does Turmeric Take To Work?
If taken daily, you can start seeing the results of turmeric working in your system between four and six weeks. If you don’t see any results, you might need to change how much you consume or in what form you consume turmeric.
Our Fasting Matcha includes the perfect amounts of turmeric, ginger, and spirulina so you can jumpstart your morning (or afternoon or evening) with a nourishing, vegan beverage.
How Much Turmeric Should I Consume?
While it is recommended that people consume around 500 milligrams twice daily with food, this is a standardized suggestion. Again, since every lifestyle is different, the amount of turmeric that you will want to take will be specific to you.
The Bottom Line
Turmeric has innumerable properties that can support your overall health and wellness. This flavorful spice from Southeast Asia is more than just a colorful addition to roasted cauliflower or an afternoon boost in a warm latte. Turmeric has innumerable health benefits that have been embraced in Traditional Eastern medicine for thousands of years.
Whether you are looking to manage stress in your life, reset your routine with a fast, or address inflammation, turmeric should be high on your list of natural ways to support your body.
Our lattes and 5-Day Resets crafted here at Kroma Wellness embrace turmeric for its adaptogenic properties and anti-inflammatory components. Why not incorporate a flavorful and high-impact nutrient into your life that can help better support you as you strive towards a more whole and healthful lifestyle?
The 5-Day Reset: Deluxe
Ultimate Vitality Latte
Perfect Fast Ginger Turmeric Tea
Fasting Matcha
Beauty Matcha Latte
Spicy Passion Latte
Change Your Life Chai Latte
Veggie Broth with Plant Protein
