Turmeric: Metabolic Health Powerhouse?
Research highlights turmeric’s benefits for blood sugar support.
When it comes to trendy herbs, turmeric is all the rage. Renowned for its properties as a top-flight anti-inflammatory botanical, the recent surge in research on turmeric (Curcuma longa) and its constituent curcuminoids has both boosted its popularity with consumers and led to its inclusion in a plethora of products. Beginning with its use in the Ayurvedic tradition for multiple conditions, the herb’s traditional health benefits are now being validated scientifically. Turmeric’s purported benefits range from cardiovascular health to brain-, joint- and liver health. Available in an array of bioavailable forms and preparations, scientists are still just scratching the surface of turmeric’s potential.
In addition to its beneficial effects on the areas mentioned, a lesser known, but certainly well–researched, application for turmeric and curcuminoids is blood sugar health. Current estimates suggest that over 30 million individuals in the U.S. have diabetes and an additional 84 million have prediabetes.1 The need and demand for safe and efficacious alternatives is clear. Several studies show benefits of various preparations of turmeric on parameters related to metabolic function, supporting its potential usefulness for this chronic health epidemic. Covered here is a recent meta-analysis that attests to its effectiveness for supporting healthy blood sugar metabolism, along with additional studies focusing on uncovering turmeric’s beneficial mechanisms in this important area.
References:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017. http://www.diabetes.org/assets/pdfs/basics/cdc-statistics-report-2017.pdf. Accessed December 10, 2017.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO VIEW SLIDESHOW
Photo © Shutterstock.com/Anna_Pustynnikova
