Consider adding turmeric to your daily routine for any long-term inflammatory condition, including with joint pain and skin problems. This is not an unusual measure: the average turmeric consumption in India is several grams per day.

The focus in the traditional reputation of turmeric is on the digestive system. This is key to its benefits on inflammatory problems. The gut turns out time and again to be where chronic inflammations originate and provides many important mechanisms to reduce them. Turmeric is particularly worth trying if there is inflammation within the gut; inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s may often benefit from regular supplementation with turmeric and there seem to be very few such cases where this has exacerbated the conditions.

Turmeric has wider benefits on gut health and as a prebiotic could be an important element in a programme to build a healthy gut microbiome, perhaps after antibiotic therapy or after any depleting illness. It is certainly worth trying for irritable bowel (IBS) symptoms and various forms of indigestion.

It also has a persistent reputation in helping jaundice and what we now refer to as hepatitis. It can also be considered with gallbladder problems or bile stones without risk of exacerbating this condition.

Turmeric is a warming, ‘drying’ spice in the same category as ginger (to which it is related), black pepper and chillies. So look to turmeric particularly if symptoms are worse in cold and damp, which is often the case with arthritic problems.

Women will often find turmeric useful to relieve a variety of menstrual problems, including where there is evidence of pelvic inflammation (tenderness in the region especially mid-month, vaginal discharge, bloating) and where symptoms are relieved by a hot water bottle.

A key concept in Ayurvedic health is that of supporting agni (fire) in the digestion, as a metaphor for all digestive and metabolic processes at the core of health. It relates to the Ayurvedic term ãma: the idea that toxins building particularly in the digestive functions can fuel problems elsewhere in the body.

Turmeric is known as ‘deepana’ – enkindling the digestive fire, and ‘pachana’ helping digestion. This may be the most powerful image for understanding the benefits of turmeric.

Turmeric has been one of the most valued remedies in Ayurvedic medicine, as a heating and drying remedy that moves the circulation, and clears digestive-based toxins (ãma or ‘damp’) especially from the lower abdomen and pelvic areas. This ties in closely with the Ayurvedic concept of supporting agni (fire) in the digestion.

Turmeric has a long list of traditional health uses across many cultures. In India, it is regarded as a stomachic, tonic and blood purifier and used for poor digestion, fevers, skin conditions, vomiting in pregnancy and liver disorders. Externally, it is applied for conjunctivitis, skin infections, cancer, sprains, arthritis, haemorrhoids and eczema. Indian women also apply it to their skin to reduce hair growth. Another common use is to promote wound healing.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) different applications are attributed to the ‘rhizome’ and ‘tuber’. Turmeric ‘rhizome’ is said to be a blood and qi with analgesic properties. It is used to treat chest and abdominal pain and distension, jaundice, frozen shoulder, amenorrhoea due to blood stasis and postpartum abdominal pain due to stasis. It is also applied to wounds and injuries. The ‘tuber’ has similar properties, but is used in hot conditions as it is considered to be more cooling. One particular application is viral hepatitis.

Traditional Thai medicinal uses include gastrointestinal ulcer, anal haemorrhage, vaginal haemorrhage, skin disease, ringworm, insect bites and to prevent the common cold. In earlier Western herbal medicine, turmeric was regarded as an aromatic digestive stimulant and as a cure for jaundice.

Digestion: Turmeric has widespread application to digestive problems. As a very widely consumed culinary spice it has long been favoured for reducing indigestion in many forms, including dyspepsia, colic and IBS. It has can help to restore disturbed microbiome and can be considered in many inflammatory bowel diseases and even as part of a bowel cancer regime. The traditional focus on its role in igniting agni (see above) is possibly a key to its core prospect: turmeric really does seem to support more robust digestive functions.

Liver: Turmeric has a stimulant effect on the liver, increasing bile output and helping to dissolve and prevent gallstones. It is traditionally considered a blood ‘purifier’ and is often used for beautifying the skin and clearing systemic toxaemia; eczema, urticaria, psoriasis and acne. As with many liver herbs it is also good for the eyes; a wash is used in conjunctivitis and styes.

Women’s health: In Ayurvedic terms turmeric is used to clear kapha accumulations from the lower abdomen, uterus and apanakshetra. Fibroids, cysts, endometriosis, dysmenorrhoea, amenorrhoea and congestive pelvic inflammatory conditions and vaginal discharge may all be relieved. As a specific herb for rasa dhatu it also works on its secondary tissue stanyasrotas and is used to purify breast milk as well as to promote the flow of the menses.

Inflammation: Turmeric may reduce inflammation around the body. It is used in arthritic problems, dermatitis, and other skin problems. In Indian tradition it is favoured for pitta-kapha conditions and in this case mixed with more bitter herbs.

Circulation: Turmeric has circulatory stimulating and warming properties similar to ginger, chillies or black pepper. This leads to increased blood flow through the tissues, and is likely to accentuate its value in treating symptoms around the body that are worsened in the cold.

External: Turmeric is excellent for reducing pain as a topical application in bruises, infections, inflammations like mastitis, sprains and pain. Use it carefully as it is very staining to the skin and anything it comes into contact with.

Although curcumin has been widely agreed as active principle of turmeric, and has even been cited as the beneficial agent instead of turmeric, it is insoluble in water, and rapidly converted to inactive metabolites in the gut, so is in fact extremely poorly absorbed into the tissues (2). Indeed perhaps only 1% of curcumin consumed actually gets through the gut wall into the body (3). One review of more than 120 clinical trials found no successful clinical trial of curcumin that was fully double-blinded and placebo controlled, and concluded that it is an unstable, reactive, nonbioavailable compound and a highly improbable lead (4).

It is therefore advisable to put aside the majority of research evidence for curcumin, usually based in the laboratory, and select only the few studies that relate to real-life human consumption of turmeric.

Fortunately, as one author has reported “curcumin does not need to be absorbed to bring about its effects since it has profound effects on the intestinal wall and can effectively reduce inflammation by this mechanism” (7). The following summary identifies research that follows the action of both curcumin and other turmeric constituents on the gut wall.

Effects on inflammation from gut wall Curcumin has been shown to reduce the activity of gut wall proinflammatory factors, including cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), 5-lipoxygenase (LOX), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), TNF-a, IL -1, -2, -6, -8 and -12, TLR 4, and Nf-kappa-β (5).

Importantly curcumin mends intestinal cell wall junctions, blocks gut surface enzymes (e.g. alkaline phosphatase), transcription factors, and growth factors, and prevents bacterial or virus infection from the intestine (15). This may be the key to the wider effects on inflammation throughout the body. One research team has demonstrated that curcumin can decrease in the release of gut bacteria-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into circulation by maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier function (6). This could explain the role of curcumin in benefiting metabolic diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, and kidney disease (7). It has also shown promise in the management of local gut inflammatory disease (8), including Crohn’s disease (9).

Prebiotic effects Turmeric has been shown to beneficially alter the gut microbiome (10), with relatively more Lactobacillus and Bifidobacter populations and fewer pro-inflammatory Enterobacteria and Enterococci (11); its effect in increasing bile flow adds to its stabilising effects on the microbiome (12).

Effects on gut function Adding turmeric to curry meals shortened small-bowel transit time, suggesting that turmeric can increase bowel motility (12). Turmeric has calcium-channel blocking spasmolytic effects on the gut wall greater than either verapamil or curcumin alone (13). These findings added to the effect on bile above reinforce the view that turmeric can stabilise gut motility from either extreme.

Effects on leaky gut Benefits have been observed in a number of test models (14,15). The role of leaky gut in a wide range of autoimmunological and other chronic inflammatory conditions is widely accepted.

Choleretic (bile eliminating) effects Turmeric stimulates gallbladder emptying – by between 25-50% (16,17); bile acids are natural laxatives; however by increasing microbiotic metabolism to secondary bile acid levels turmeric can reduce consequent laxative action (18,19). It also reverses the carcinogenic effect of bile acids in reflux oesophageal cancer, in part through suppression of COX-2 gene expression (20). Bisacurone B was the most potent choleretic ingredient, followed by ar-turmerone, bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and then curcumin (21).

Effects on circulation Like active principles of other spices cayenne, ginger and black pepper, curcumin has a vanillyl group and can stimulate the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1) on the gut wall surface, leading to increased blood flow and muscle relaxation, and therapeutic benefits similar to those of ginger. In one study curcumin’s observed benefits in test models of inflammatory bowel disease was abolished by the TRPV1 antagonist capsazepine. Follow-up in vitro observations suggest that the TRPV1 receptor is more sensitive to this effect in inflamed tissues (22).

Effects on gut-brain axis It reduces markers of anxiety, depression and IBS via 5HT-dependent gut wall receptors (23).

There are also other powerful constituents of turmeric that are likely to be more easily absorbed and have their own significant activity elsewhere in the body (24). Particular interest has been in ar-turmerone which as well as being readily bioavailable (25), has shown to have promising anti-inflammatory (26), anti-angiogenic (27) and neurorestorative (28) properties. Given the current interest in the inflammatory aetiology of mental health problems and neural disease, it is interest that a role in modulating microglial inflammation has also been identified (29).

The reason Turmeric is called turmeric is because it truly is a blessing of the earth from the Latin ‘terra merita’.

It’s not true that you must take turmeric with black pepper. The idea that turmeric must be taken with black pepper started because researchers found that the isolated curcumin is poorly digested, but they are also not the only active components. Turmeric has 230 natural compounds and, for example, the essential oils that give turmeric their characteristically earthy smell are also highly protective and anti-inflammatory as well which is why herbalists use the whole spectrum herb.

In Chinese Herbal Medicine turmeric (jiang huang) is taken as a decocted tea and in Ayurveda turmeric (haridra) is often taken with other oils and spices.

Natural Balance Tea

When our digestive fire is low and our metabolism feels sluggish it cannot transform food into nourishing energy. Instead, food can get stored as fat, starting a vicious cycle where digestion becomes weaker and weaker, leading to steady weight gain. This delicious tea helps to stimulate the metabolism and supports your body to find your natural and balanced weight.

Ingredients:

• Cinnamon bark 4g
• Ginger root powder 2g
• Orange peel 2g
• Green tea 2g
• Turmeric root powder 1g
• Black pepper 1g
• Orange essential oil a drop per cup

This will serve 2–3 cups of digestion enhancing, weight-balancing tea that works together with lots of exercise.

Method:

• Put all of the ingredients in a pot (except for the orange essential oil).
• Add 500ml (18fl oz) freshly boiled filtered water. Leave to steep for 10–15 minutes, then strain.
• Add one drop of orange essential oil to each cup

Let me glow tea

This delicious recipe is a healing blend of chlorophyll-rich herbs that purify the blood, soothe the liver and cleanse the skin, helping you glow from the inside out. Good for anyone with pimples, acne or other skin blemishes.

Ingredients:

• Nettle leaf 3g
• Fennel seed 2g
• Peppermint leaf 2g
• Dandelion root 2g
• Burdock root 2g
• Red clover 2g
• Turmeric root powder 1g
• Licorice root 1g
• Lemon juice a twist per cup

This will serve 2 cups of beautifying tea.

Method:

• Put all of the ingredients in a pot (except the lemon). Add 500ml (18fl oz) freshly boiled filtered water.
• Leave to steep for 10–15 minutes, then strain and add the lemon.

Joint protector tea

It’s almost an inevitable human condition that we will suffer from some sort of joint pain as we get older. All that wear-and-tear through our life can catch up with us but we have a herbal tea recipe that will help keep the red-hot inflammation of arthritis and gout at bay.

Ingredients:

• Turmeric root powder 3g
• Boswellia resin 2g
• Ginger root powder 2g
• Celery seed 2g
• Ashwagandha root 1g
• Licorice root 1g
• Meadowsweet leaf 1g
• Honey to taste

This will serve 2–3 cups of ache-free tea.

Method:

• Put all of the ingredients (except for the meadowsweet leaf and honey) in a saucepan with 600ml (21fl oz) cold filtered water. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Take off the heat and add the meadowsweet leaf.
• Leave to steep for 10 minutes, strain and add some honey to taste.

Recipes from Cleanse, Nurture, Restore by Sebastian Pole

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