The Right Way to Take Turmeric to Boost Your Brain and Liver Function
You’ve probably already heard about its numerous health benefits (it has been gaining popularity recently, after all, and for good reason), but did you know how your brain and liver health can benefit from this wonderful spice?
Turmeric and Brain Health
While turmeric has already made a name for itself when it comes to treating all sorts of physical ailments and problems, what it can do for your mental health remains a mystery. That is, until now.
Its active ingredient, called curcumin, has shown great promise in the future treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. One of the main causes of this disease is these beta-amyloid plaques that can cause a buildup in one’s brain.
Well, recent research suggests that curcumin has the ability to prevent plaque from building up, by at least 40%. This makes turmeric one of the possible treatment methods for Alzheimer’s disease.
But this is not the only reason. Curcumin also possesses powerful anti-inflammatory properties. This means that it can reduce any damage caused by inflammation, as well as any oxidizing agents.
Depression, which is also largely considered a brain disease, can also be treated thanks to turmeric.
Turmeric and Liver Health plus Cancer Prevention
One of the other lesser-known benefits of turmeric, is the wonders it does for our liver.
Did you know that its main component, curcumin, has been used for the successful treatment of liver disease (and other liver-related problems) for over a century?
And yet, scientific research based on the potential it may offer for liver treatment is very new, just beginning to be conducted.
Those same researchers believe that it is turmeric’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory abilities that are to thank for maintaining liver health.
Studies have found that turmeric has the ability to reduce liver damage caused by:
Iron overdose
High levels of toxicity
Ethanol (alcohol you drink)
Cirrhosis (scarring of the liver)
Liver disease (e.g. cholestasis).
On top of all this, recent discoveries suggest that turmeric may serve to reduce the risk of developing liver cancer (including hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common and 75% of liver cancer cases).
How does it do this? It can reduce the effects that thioacetamide and other human carcinogens have on the liver.
Quick recipes to get the most out of it.
As great as the information above is, the sad truth is that our bodies find it difficult to absorb the active component in turmeric: curcumin. And that is a waste indeed, as it is this component that does all the important work.
If you take raw turmeric, your body is only absorbing as little as 1% of the curcumin. How to improve its absorption, you ask? Here are some tips you can try:
Make sure you buy high-quality, certified organic turmeric with 95% curcuminoids.
Consume it together with black pepper. Adding pepper to this spice (or even to turmeric-spiced foods), serves to increase the bioavailability of curcumin a thousand-fold, all thanks to the black piperine it contains.You can also choose to take turmeric alongside a healthy heat. An excellent example of this would be coconut oil. Since curcumin happens to be fat-soluble, you are enhancing its absorption this way.
But before you get discouraged by the fact that turmeric seems to do very little on its own, keep in mind that even taken on its own every day, it is bound to keep any ailments or illnesses at bay.
Even ¼ of turmeric a day is enough, as long as it is taken on a regular basis. In emergency situations, the extract would work better.
Turmeric water.
A great way to get your daily dose of curcumin is by making your own turmeric water! How? Nothing could be simpler.
Ingredients:
One to two cups of water
A quarter tsp. of turmeric.
Preparation:
Boil the water, add the turmeric before letting it boil for another 10 minutes. Once it has cooled, know that you have created a 12% solution. Bottoms up!
Turmeric plus fat (oil).
This is another great method. Mixing turmeric with some healthy fats makes it even better!
Ingredients:
Two cups of coconut milk
One teaspoon of turmeric
One teaspoon of coconut oil
A pinch of black pepper.
Preparation:
All you need to do is mix these ingredients together and heat them in a saucepan. No boiling, though! Drink this concoction while it is still hot.
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