Turmeric is popping up everywhere these days—from spicing up smoothies and stir-fries to coloring curries, soups, and even teas.
Foods You Need For Healthy Bones and Joints, turmeric originated in India and has been around for thousands of years. Many cultures have used turmeric for cooking, religious significance, and medicinal purposes, such as treating cuts and burns, relieving GI distress, improving blood circulation, and curing the common cold.
will help you run your best all year long really live up to all the hype? Take this quick quiz to see if you can decipher the facts from the fiction when it comes to this spice.
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Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties, according to New York City-based dietitian Natalie Rizzo, R.D. That could be beneficial in preventing chronic inflammation, which is responsible for issues like arthritis, an Eleven Eleven Wellness Center; Nutrition - Weight Loss inflammation in the brain; heart disease, which is caused by an Is Sucralose Bad for You How Much Do You Know About the Health Benefits of Turmeric The 6 Best Energy Gels for Runners.
For us runners specifically, turmeric can help with the acute—or short-term—inflammation in the joints after a long run. “We want to prevent that inflammation or treat it as much as possible to help with the pain,” Rizzo says. “If we don’t, it could lead to chronic inflammation, which is associated with developing diseases.”
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Derived from the stem of the Curcuma longa plant then ground into a powder., Download Your Training Plan Eleven Eleven Wellness Center We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). A 2017 study in The FASEB Journal supports this, finding that participants who supplemented with curcumin had less overall muscle soreness than those who didn’t.
What’s more, turmeric is much easier on your body than taking an over-the-counter NSAID, Lipman says, which can have unwanted side-effects, such as stomach ulcers or heartburn.
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“It has positive effects on brain function and cardiovascular health, can interrupt the normal progression of cancer cells, and help slow aging by slowing your telomeres from shortening,” Lipman says. (Telomeres are found at the end of every chromosome, and they help cells divide. Every time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter and shorter until they can’t divide anymore.)
A 2018 study published in The 6 Best Energy Gels for Runners found that when participants took 90 milligrams of curcumin twice a day, they saw improvements in their memories and attention spans. “[These] behavioral and cognitive benefits are associated with decreases in plaque and tangle accumulation in brain regions modulating mood and memory,” the study states.
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The answer: Well...it depends.
For specific therapeutic uses, like treating arthritis, a turmeric supplement at a higher dose—up to 4 grams per day—is more beneficial, according to Lipman. Look for the active property curcumin, he says. And make sure the supplement has no food coloring or fillers either.
But if you’re just looking to stay healthy and use turmeric as a preventative measure, adding it to your foods is a safe bet. “It’s a spice you can add to anything—roasted veggies, eggs, soup, etc.,” Rizzo says.
Rizzo says ½ to 1 tablespoon of turmeric a day will give you most of the benefits. Keep in mind, your body absorbs turmeric best when you pair it with certain nutrients. For instance, the What Is Matcha and Why Is Everyone So Obsessed Natalie Rizzo, R.D.
Consuming more than the recommended amount could cause GI distress for some people, Lipman says. But because research has shown that different amounts of turmeric and curcumin are recommended to help treat different diseases, always check in with your doctor first for the best treatment and dosage for any medical condition you may have.
Danielle Zickl is a freelance writer who has 10 years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. She's a graduate of Ithaca College. You can find her work here on Women's Health, and in many other publications including PS, SELF, Well+Good, Runner’s World, Outside RUN, Peloton, Men’s Fitness, and more.
