Turmeric

In this blog post I offer you convenient ways to use Turmeric. I also share the nutrition science of Turmeric and why you might want to add it to your diet!

First, a quick advertisement…

Now, all about Turmeric!

Native to the warmer parts of Asia, specifically India, Turmeric is a green leafy plant that harbors a beautiful orange rhizome below it. Historically, this rhizome, or root, has been used medicinally for thousands of years in the East as part of Ayurvedic medicine (1). It’s alleged uses are diverse, some of which include support of a healthy cardiovascular system; reduction of inflammation and rheumatism as well as to support brain health and to ‘cure insanity’ (1,2).

While Eastern medicine has a long history of using the entire root, Western Medicine is in the process of exploring some of its isolates. Researchers take the whole root, grind it up and isolate just one part to study. One isolated part getting attention recently is curcumin. Interestingly some of what science has found on the curcumin isolate runs parallel to the uses of whole tumeric mentioned above.

For instance, in a metanalysis, supplementation of curcumin was shown to reduce anti-inflammatory makers including: C-reactive protein, Interleukin-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor α, IL-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(3). It’s also thought that curcumin may benefit the cardiovascular system through improving serum lipid levels (4) and may help those suffering from arthritis(5).

With respect to mental health, one study found that 1g of curcumin was shown to be as effective at reducing depression as Prozac (6). In another study, 400mg Curcumin per day significantly improved performance on sustained attention and working memory tasks compared to a placebo. (7) Researchers note that curcumin can boost the levels of serotonin and dopamine which are neurotransmitters known to effect mood (8).

While interesting, the amount of Turmeric needed to provide the body with the amount of curcumin used in these studies seems excessive. To give you an idea, the percentage of curcumin in turmeric root is only about 1.06% to 5.70% (9). Therefore, ~11 and 27g of ground turmeric is needed to provide ~400 and 1g of curcumin respectively. Not only is this a lot of Turmeric from a food palatability standpoint, but it’s unclear how safe this is. Yes, the FDA note Turmeric is generally recognized as safe (10). But, at what point does a safe food become unsafe?

Until we know more about the tolerable upper limits, the best way I can think of to gauge a safe daily dose would be to consider a population of people who routinely consume it without known side effects. This leads me to India where it appears to be regularly consumed at an average daily intake of about 2.5g per day (11). It’s notable to mention that this dose provides only 90mg curcumin. This amount is significantly lower than what is commonly used in medical research like the studies noted above. But does this mean one will reap no health benefits if Turmeric is consumed at a dose of 2.5g (1tbs)per day? No.

Let’s consider the Nutraceutical benefits of Turmeric as a possible way to help improve health and prevent disease. As a functional food, Turmeric contains phytochemical, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties (12,13). Also, one teaspoon of turmeric powder contains: 9% iron (1.65mg), 16% zinc (0.135mg) and 33% manganese (0.594mg) of the RDA for, non-pregnant or breastfeeding, females ages 19-50(14,15,16). Interestingly, there are ways to enhance the functional proprieties of Turmeric including the following:

• Black pepper when combined with Turmeric can increase the body’s ability to absorb curcumin (12).

• Fermentation of Turmeric can increase the body’s ability to absorb curcumin (17).

• Turmeric can help increase absorption of Vitamin A found in green leafy vegetables (18)

While for the most part Turmeric does appear safe to consume at a level of 2.5g (~1tsp) per day, it’s important to note that there are always exceptions. For example, Turmeric may increase the risk of bleeding in patients taking warfarin and antiplatelet drugs(19). So, please keep this in mind when making changes to your diet.

If you are interested in adding Turmeric to your diet, I created recipes below you could consider trying. I’ve tried to make them relatively easy and/or quick to make. A word of caution, I am no Gorden Ramsay or Giada De Laurentiis. I am an amateur cook. So, forgive me if they aren’t perfect or don’t meet your expectation. I’m a humble learner of the culinary arts.

A suggestion I have would be consider batch cooking the Cauliflower to eat when you do your meal prep day. If you double the above recipe you can eat one serving with your family the day you meal prep it and then you can save the other serving for the Turmeric Mac and Cheese to make on a day when you have less time.

As always, the choice to include turmeric (or any other food) in your diet is up to you. The content in this post is for general information purpose only and is not intended to be used as personal health care advice. Research shared in this post should be interpreted cautiously and discussed with your primary health care provider. If you have questions or concerns about information in this post please speak with your primary health care provider. You can also book an appointment with me!

Peaceful regards,

Jennifer

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SOURCES:

1)Sikha A, Harini A, Hegde Prakash L. Pharmacological activities of wild turmeric (Curcuma aromatica Salisb): a review. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2015; 3(5): 01-04

2)Chandran B, Goel A. A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Phytother Res. 2012 Nov;26(11):1719-25. doi: 10.1002/ptr.4639. Epub 2012 Mar 9. PMID: 22407780.

3) Ferguson JJA, Abbott KA, Garg ML. Anti-inflammatory effects of oral supplementation with curcumin: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutr Rev. 2021 Aug 9;79(9):1043-1066. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuaa114. PMID: 34378053.

4)Qin S, Huang L, Gong J, Shen S, Huang J, Ren H, Hu H. Efficacy and safety of turmeric and curcumin in lowering blood lipid levels in patients with cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutr J. 2017 Oct 11;16(1):68. doi: 10.1186/s12937-017-0293-y. PMID: 29020971; PMCID: PMC5637251.

5)Chandran B, Goel A. A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Phytother Res. 2012 Nov;26(11):1719-25. doi: 10.1002/ptr.4639. Epub 2012 Mar 9. PMID: 22407780.

6) Sanmukhani J, Satodia V, Trivedi J, Patel T, Tiwari D, Panchal B, Goel A, Tripathi CB. Efficacy and safety of curcumin in major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Phytother Res. 2014 Apr;28(4):579-85. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5025. Epub 2013 Jul 6. PMID: 23832433.

7) Farooqui AA, Farooqui T, Madan A, Ong JH, Ong WY. Ayurvedic Medicine for the Treatment of Dementia: Mechanistic Aspects. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 May 15;2018:2481076. doi: 10.1155/2018/2481076. PMID: 29861767; PMCID: PMC5976976.

8)Kulkarni SK, Bhutani MK, Bishnoi M. Antidepressant activity of curcumin: involvement of serotonin and dopamine system. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008 Dec;201(3):435-42. doi: 10.1007/s00213-008-1300-y. Epub 2008 Sep 3. PMID: 18766332.

9)Tayyem, Reema & Heath, Dennis & Al-Delaimy, Wael & Rock, Cheryl. (2006). Curcumin Content of Turmeric and Curry Powders. Nutrition and cancer. 55. 126-31. 10.1207/s15327914nc5502_2.

10)Prasad S, Aggarwal BB. Turmeric, the Golden Spice: From Traditional Medicine to Modern Medicine. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd ed. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011. Chapter 13. PMID: 22593922.

11) Amalraj A, Pius A, Gopi S, Gopi S. Biological activities of curcuminoids, other biomolecules from turmeric and their derivatives - A review. J Tradit Complement Med. 2016 Jun 15;7(2):205-233. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.05.005. PMID: 28417091; PMCID: PMC5388087.

12)Hewlings SJ, Kalman D. Curcumin: A Review of It’s Effect on Human Health. Foods. 2017 Oct; 6(10): 92. PMCID: PMC5664031. PMID: 29065496

13) Ajanaku CO, Ademosun OT, Atohengbe PO, Ajayi SO, Obafemi YD, Owolabi OA, Akinduti PA, Ajanaku KO. Functional bioactive compounds in ginger, turmeric, and garlic. Front Nutr. 2022 Dec 8;9:1012023. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1012023. PMID: 36570131; PMCID: PMC9773837.

14)https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172231/nutrients

15) https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Manganese-HealthProfessional/#h2

16) https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/micronutrientmalnutrition/micronutrients/index.html

17) Shilpa S, Shwetha HJ, Perumal MK, Ambedkar R, Hanumanthappa M, Baskaran V, Lakshminarayana R. Turmeric, red pepper, and black pepper affect carotenoids solubilized micelles properties and bioaccessibility: Capsaicin/piperine improves and curcumin inhibits carotenoids uptake and transport in Caco-2 cells. J Food Sci. 2021 Nov;86(11):4877-4891. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.15926. Epub 2021 Oct 17. PMID: 34658029.

18)Lim J, Nguyen TTH, Pal K, Gil Kang C, Park C, Kim SW, Kim D. Phytochemical properties and functional characteristics of wild turmeric (Curcuma aromatica) fermented with Rhizopus oligosporus. Food Chem X. 2021 Dec 30;13:100198. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2021.100198. PMID: 35499023; PMCID: PMC9039939.

19)Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®) [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; 2006–. Turmeric. 2022 Mar 21. PMID: 30000906.