Amazing! Here are the benefits of turmeric for your health
KONTAN.CO.ID – Apart from being used as a spice in cooking, turmeric is also effective in maintaining a healthy body. Interestingly, turmeric can prevent the deadliest disease, namely heart attacks.
Turmeric is a spice that is often used to give foods a natural yellow color.
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More than that, turmeric has many health benefits. Here are six benefits of turmeric.
1. Relieves stomach pain
Can you get rid of heartburn or stomach pain by consuming turmeric? Based on a 1989 study, supplements derived from turmeric were found to be more effective at treating stomach ulcers and indigestion symptoms than giving a placebo.
2. Prevent heart attacks
Turmeric contains curcumin. This substance is considered to be behind the many health benefits of turmeric.
A 2012 study examined the curcumin content in turmeric which is thought to be able to prevent heart attacks. The study followed 121 patients who underwent heart bypass surgery between 2009 and 2011.
Three days before surgery, some of the patients took curcumin capsules, while the rest took placebo pills. As a result, 30 percent of patients given placebo pills had heart attacks, and only 13 percent of patients who took curcumin had heart attacks.
Although curcumin is not used as a substitute for drugs, researchers found that curcumin as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory made patients with bypass surgery 65 percent less likely to have heart attacks.
3. Prevent diabetes
Based on the results of a 2012 study, taking curcumin capsules was also found to delay a person with prediabetes from becoming type 2 diabetes.
Over nine months, study participants were given curcumin supplements or placebo capsules. As a result, only more than 16 percent of people who took placebo pills were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
4. Fight cancer
The efficacy of turmeric for curing cancer is not something we just heard about. Animal studies have shown that the curcumin content in turmeric can fight cancer.
Curcumin can interfere with the growth or development of cancer cells. Curcumin is also believed to prevent the spread of cancer cells.
According to the American Cancer Society, curcumin can even kill cancer cells, shrink tumors, and increase the effects of chemotherapy in animals. However, human research is still in its infancy.
5. Protect brain function
In a recent study, researchers found ar-turmerone or aromatic turmerone, which is also found in turmeric, can help repair stem cells in the brain.
This study examined the effects of ar-turmerone in mice on a stem cell that is also found in the adult brain. These stem cells are associated with recovery from neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer’s.
These findings suggest that ar-turmerone has the potential to be a cure for diseases that attack the brain. Recent studies have also shown that consumption of turmeric can improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients.
6. Reducing joint pain
The benefits of turmeric have also been studied in people who experience joint pain. Researchers found that the benefits of supplements from turmeric extract are the same as the drug ibuprofren which can reduce joint pain in people with knee osteoarthritis.
However, it is important to remember that taking supplements from turmeric extract should first consult a doctor. (Dian Maharani)
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This article was published on Kompas.com with the title “These are the Six Benefits of Turmeric for Health”,