Turmeric Root

Turmeric is best known as a spice that comes from the turmeric plant root. For instance, if you have ever eaten Asian food derived from Bangladesh, India, or Pakistan, you may have noticed this warm and bitter tasting spice that was added. It is used to flavor curry powders, mustard, butter, and even cheese.

The root is where the health benefits lay, and it resembles a sweet potato in appearance. However, the smell is in line with ginger root, since it belongs to the ginger family. These plants require an abundance of rainfall, and mild to warm temperatures to flourish, as they are native to South Asia. Hence, it is not surprising that India is a major producer of the plant.

Interestingly, turmeric root has been used in Siddha Asian medicine for many years, and in this article, we will look into all its health benefits.

How it works

Turmeric root is considered a potent anti-inflammatory because of the chemical curcumin, which will decrease swelling and treat many diseases that are caused by inflammation. Additionally, it has a considerable amount of manganese, iron, as well as other minerals and vitamins, while having a very low glycemic index. This makes it a fantastic healthy food.

Curcumin chemical structure

Research and medical uses

The amount of research done on turmeric root is plentiful. For example, researchers found that taking turmeric root daily for 3 months reduced bad cholesterol in those who were overweight, or who had existing cholesterol problems.

Moreover, when it comes to arthritis, turmeric root has been shown to reduce pain and improve function. In fact, it works just as effectively as ibuprofen, but without the side effects of drug use. Besides, turmeric root can help with inflammation in the eyes, and early research has shown that it is effective for anterior uveitis.

Other health benefits

More research is needed, but there are some encouraging results with those who have Crohn's disease. Specifically, patients with bowel issues who took turmeric root daily for 1 month had improvements with diarrhea and stomach pain.

In ayurvedic medicine, turmeric root is used for immune health, liver problems, and as a wound cleanser.

Use for bodybuilders

Bodybuilders are constantly straining their soft tissues and dealing with injuries from weight training that can lead to nagging inflammation. The use of turmeric root can help relieve the inflammation naturally, without the use of harsh drugs like aspirin or NSAIDS, which can cause more harm than good. Thus, turmeric root is especially helpful while on a steroid cycle, when missing gym days due to inflammation is not an option.

However, injuries are not the only problems that bodybuilders have to face. The one side effect that is universal from using anabolic steroids is always going to be lipid strain in the form of a rise in bad cholesterol (LDL) and a drop of good cholesterol (HDL). As a matter of fact, I have seen bad cholesterol levels rise over 220 as a result of using some harsher androgenic compounds like trenbolone. This is a very important thing, since cholesterol and high blood pressure are silent killers, and they must be addressed before they go out of hand. Therefore, when on cycle, turmeric root should be used in conjunction with other support supplements in order to keep cholesterol levels as balanced as possible and to prevent heart damage.

Side effects

There is no evidence that turmeric root causes any side effects, so it is an extremely safe supplement to take.

Dosage

Turmeric root can be found in spice form for cooking, liquid extract form to dose as a supplement, or even at your grocery store as a plain root. I recommend taking 250 milligrams (mgs) per day when used by itself, and half that dose when used as part of a supplement stack.

Where to find

You can find turmeric root at Walmart, your local Asian market, or online. However, it works much more efficiently when used as part of a supplemental stack. N2guard contains 125mg per serving of turmeric root, plus dozens of additional ingredients, to make it the most potent support supplement on the market. I suggest it as I used it daily.

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References

• Curcumin: A Review of Its’ Effects on Human Health
• Turmeric and Its Major Compound Curcumin on Health: Bioactive Effects and Safety Profiles for Food, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnological and Medicinal Applications
• Role of Curcumin in Disease Prevention and Treatment
• Take turmeric with a grain of salt
• Curcumin content of turmeric and curry powders
• Role of curcumin in systemic and oral health: An overview