Turmeric like its cousin ginger is a beneficial spice valued for its medicinal properties. If you’ve ever tried curry, then you’ve probably seen it. It’s the yellow spice that gives curried dishes a vibrant yellow color. However, like ginger, it can be an acquired taste.  Turmeric’s overwhelmingly earthy, almost musky, and bitter flavor is not for everyone. Fortunately, there is a delicious turmeric milk recipe that can help you reap turmeric’s benefits without having to put up with its bitter taste. 

Being raised in the Balkans, my palate never ventured past Vegeta, which is blend of herbs and dried vegetables famous in our area. As a result, prior to moving abroad I was one of the pickiest eaters you’d ever meet. Since I am a sucker for everything with health benefits, turmeric became something I adapted to.

 I got hooked on turmeric when my mom told me it had been beneficial for her arthritis. Following folk medicine, she started drinking a glass of water mixed with a spoon of turmeric; after few weeks she felt much better.

After many years of living abroad and apart from family, a shared interest in health and wellness has been something both my mother and I have bonded over. She shares her folk medicine research with me, and I go looking for the science afterward. This is how turmeric got my attention, and soon it became part of my morning detox routine.

What is Turmeric? Origins

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizome (underground stem), that comes from the turmeric plant. Turmeric, together with its cousins ginger, cardamom, and galangal, comprise the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is native to India and is often used in Asian food. Turmeric has a vibrant yellow color and a potent flavor that can be described as earthy, bitter, with a peppery aftertaste.

Raw turmeric is often used in South Asian countries, although in India the powdered variety is more common.  After the turmeric root is harvested it is cleaned, cured, and then dried. Later, the dried root may be sold as is or ground into a fine powder. In India, it is often referred to as Indian saffron, yellow ginger, yellow root, or kacha haldi.

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The nutritious qualities and the health benefits of turmeric have made this spice popular in both the culinary world as well as traditional medicine.

Turmeric has a wide application in traditional Indian (Ayurvedic) and Chinese medicine. It has been used to treat inflammatory conditions, joint pain, disorders of the skin, and digestive system ailments.

Today, turmeric is used as a dietary supplement that can help treat many health conditions. Its most supported uses include arthritis, liver disease, digestive disorders, allergies, depression, etc.

The Science Behind Turmeric Benefits

The Difference Between Curcumin and Turmeric

You might have heard of curcumin before you heard of turmeric, and you might be wondering if there is any difference. The scientific name of turmeric is “Curcuma Longa”, and curcumin is the major component in turmeric, which gives it a bright yellow color. This is probably how turmeric got its name.

Curcumin is a polyphenol that is responsible for turmeric’s medicinal properties. The science community claims that curcumin is beneficial in treating a variety of chronic conditions that range from soothing pain and inflammation to fighting tumors and promoting brain health.

How to Use Turmeric for Optimal Benefits

Turmeric should be consumed with healthy fats and black pepper in order to reap the most from its health benefits.

Curcumin has poor bioavailability, meaning it cannot be absorbed effectively by the human body. It is quickly metabolized and eliminated from the body before it gets absorbed. This hinders the efficacy of curcuminoids to treat various chronic conditions and provide other health benefits.

Research shows that healthy fats such as cold-pressed virgin coconut oil or olive oil along with piperine (a major component of black pepper) significantly increases the bioavailability of turmeric. They act as enhancing agents and inhibit certain digestive enzymes from preventing the absorption of curcumin. This way curcumin can be easily absorbed in the digestive tract and into the bloodstream.

Health Benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric, a spice that has long been recognized for its medicinal properties, has received interest from both the medical/scientific world and from culinary enthusiasts, as a major source of the polyphenol curcumin. It can aid in the management of oxidative and inflammatory conditions, metabolic syndrome, arthritis, anxiety, and hyperlipidemia.

It may also help in the management of exercise-induced inflammation and muscle soreness, thus enhancing recovery and performance in active people. In addition, a relatively low dose of the complex can provide health benefits for people that do not have diagnosed health conditions. Most of these benefits can be attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Turmeric is an Antioxidant

Antioxidants play a crucial role in helping protect our body from damage caused by free radicals.  They are highly reactive molecules generated by body’s metabolism as well as exposure to environment toxins such as pollution or smoking that can interfere with DNA and lead to serious health conditions.

Curcumin acts as a scavenger of free radicals. By neutralizing the free radicals, it prevents or reduces the risk of common chronic diseases such as cancers, arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s etc.

It Has Anti-Inflammatory  Properties

Turmeric’s most supported use is fighting inflammation. Its anti-inflammatory properties are credited to curcumin. When taken in the right doses, this substance matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, without the side effects.

Alleviates Symptoms of Arthritis

Arthritis is the disease most commonly associated with inflammation. It affects millions of people worldwide. While there is no cure for arthritis, its prolonged treatment remains costly and may lead to undesirable side effects.

The need for an alternative treatment led to studies that have shown that about 1000 mg/day of curcumin extracts can reduce pain and inflammation-related symptoms.

Arthritis patients can benefit from turmeric. Turmeric is often recommended for alleviating the symptoms of arthritis, both for osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Improved Brain Function:  Delay Alzheimer’s

There are scientific claims that Turmeric may help delay Alzheimer’s disease. 

Alzheimer’s disease is associated with low levels of a protein found in the brain and spinal cord called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which promotes the neurons’ health.

Turmeric increases BDNF levels, which might reverse brain degeneration.

However, as most studies has been done in mice, further study is needed to prove the correlation.

Antidepressant

Depression is also associated with low levels of the protein BDNF.

There are limited studies in humans that show that by boosting BDNF levels, turmeric might alleviate symptoms of depression. This study is the first evidence that curcumin might be used as an effective treatment for patients with Major Depressive Disorder without causing patients side effects and other disorders.

Metabolic Syndrome

Curcumin’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties are beneficial for patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS), which includes insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hypertension, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), elevated triglyceride levels, and obesity.

Curcumin has proven to beneficially affect multiple components of MetS, such as improving insulin resistance, which helps to prevent or manage diabetes more effectively; control glucose levels, reduce high blood pressure as well as high levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, linked to obesity. 

Both being overweight and obesity are linked to chronic low-grade inflammation; although the exact mechanisms are not clear, it is known that pro-inflammatory cytokines (protein messengers) are released. 

Related Reads:

Indian Spices: The Essentials, Uses and Health Benefits

How to Make Milk Tea at Home: The Hong Kong Way

How to Make Golden Milk （Turmeric Milk Recipe）

As previously stated, there are two main obstacles that prevent people from reaping the benefits of turmeric. One is its pungent and very potent flavor. The other is turmeric’s low bioavailability – it gets metabolized quickly prior to absorbing its nutrients.

One way to balance these disadvantages is to add turmeric to milk.  The body absorbs turmeric more easily when dissolved in milk and combined with a few other spices, such as black pepper. In a way, milk turns turmeric into a flavorful latte.

It is very easy and takes only about five minutes to make a turmeric latte, also known as golden milk. You will need milk, turmeric powder, and few other spices. You can use whole spices or their ground variety.

For this recipe you will need:

1 cup of unsweetened milk of your choice

1 Tbsp turmeric powder

2 cloves

4-5 cardamom pods

A couple slices of ginger (½ tsp ginger powder) 

3-4 whole black peppercorns (a pinch of ground black pepper)

 A chunk of cinnamon (½ tsp cinnamon powder)

1 tsp of honey

Add the spices to the milk and simmer on a very low fire for about 5 mins so the spices can release their flavors. Before it starts boiling turn off the heat and carefully remove the leftover spices.

Pour into a mug and your golden milk is ready.

You can also use a milk frother to make it creamier if you’d like.

Final thoughts on Turmeric Benefits

Having a curry once a month won’t help you tap into turmeric’s health benefits. If turmeric is not part of your diet, you might consider turning to supplements.

Read Next:

Ginger Benefits: Why You Need to Add More Ginger to Your Diet

7 Best Morning Routines to Start Your Day With

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