Turmeric effective for knww pain, fight cancer and other diseases
Turmeric, or ‘Indian saffron’, also known as Haldi in Hindi, is a bright yellow spice powder that’s widely considered to have beneficial effects on health. The spice is extensively used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Various studies show that curcumin, the active chemical in turmeric, may prevent and treat a range of health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), heart disease, cancer, etc. According to a study, turmeric supplement may be more effective than placebo for reducing knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
Turmeric supplement for osteoarthritis knee pain: How it works
The findings from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial showed that an extract of Curcuma longa (CL), or turmeric, was found to be more effective than placebo in reducing knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. However, the study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that CL did not affect structural aspects of knee osteoarthritis, such as swelling or cartilage composition assessed using MRI.
For the trial, researchers from the University of Tasmania, Australia, randomly assigned 70 participants with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and ultrasound evidence of effusion (swelling inside the knee joint) to take either 2 capsules of CL (n=36) per day or matched placebo (n=34) for 12 weeks to determine the efficacy turmeric for reducing knee symptoms and joint swelling.
The researchers observed that patients taking turmeric supplements reported less pain with no adverse events compared to those in the placebo group. Patients taking Curcuma longa extract also took fewer pain medications than those receiving placebo. The findings also showed there was no difference in th structural aspects of knee osteoarthritis between the groups.
Other health benefits of turmeric
For thousands of years, turmeric has been used as medicine in places like India due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The spice has been touted as a superfood that has been linked to numerous health benefits:
Immune system: It is claimed that the medicinal and antioxidant properties in turmeric can help strengthen immunity - even among individuals with immune disorders. For instance, one study claimed that the spice can moderate the immune system.
Heart disease: Several studies suggest that curcumin in turmeric can help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Curcumin may help reverse many steps in the process of heart disease. It also a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.
Cancer: A number of studies have shown that curcumin can help prevent certain forms of cancer, including breast cancer, liver cancer, and colorectal cancer due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Research suggests that the substance can cause several changes on the level that may help prevent or even treat cancer.
Brain health: Curcumin has been shown to boost levels of the brain hormone BDNF, which helps produce new brain cells and strengthen the existing ones. BDNF may also fight various degenerative processes in your brain. Turmeric may also help in preventing or treating Alzheimer’s disease, the most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, and a leading cause of dementia.
Depression: Turmeric may help treat depression. A controlled, randomised trial involving 60 people with depression showed that curcumin was as effective as Prozac ( a type of antidepressant) in alleviating symptoms of the condition. Additionally, there’s some evidence that curcumin can boost the brain neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine.