When we talk about popular herbs, we can’t help but talk about turmeric. Turmeric was originally known as a top anti-inflammatory plant. In recent years, with people’s research on turmeric (curcumin), its popularity among consumers has increased year by year. It has been applied to a large number of products. The benefits of turmeric include promoting cardiovascular health, brain health, joint and liver health, and more.
Benefits of Curcumin
Curcumin is a yellow pigment extracted from the rhizomes of ginger plants such as turmeric. The most active ingredient in turmeric is the curcumin in compound curcuminoids. Although it only accounts for 3% of the total weight, it has countless effects.
According to a well-known American journal (J. Am. Chem. Soc.), the antioxidant capacity of natural curcumin is 2.33 times that of bioflavonoids, 1.6 times that of vitamin E and 2.75 times that of vitamin C, which can help the body fight many diseases.
The American VITY Vitamin magazine reported: “The main pharmacological effects of curcumin are anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulation, lipid-lowering, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-aging, eliminating free radicals, and inhibiting tumor growth.
An article in the American Journal of Arthritis and Rheumatism pointed out that curcumin can prevent joint swelling and arthritis. It is also effective against cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Although curcumin sounds good, can everyone use it?
Who might not be suitable for taking curcumin?
- Pregnant women and lactating women: There is no relevant research on the safety of turmeric for pregnant or lactating women. If you want to take it, please ask your doctor for advice.
- Patients with gallstones or biliary tract function abnormalities: Turmeric can promote bile secretion, so patients with gallstones or biliary tract abnormalities may not be suitable for supplementation.
- Patients who take anticoagulants: Although the current empirical medical literature does not point out the interaction between curcumin and anticoagulants, because turmeric itself has anticoagulant function, so if you are taking it as an anticoagulant, turmeric must be used with care.
- Diabetes patients: Diabetic patients who take medication should use turmeric carefully. Because high doses of turmeric may have the effect of lowering blood sugar, so if you are taking blood sugar lowering drugs at the same time, you must be careful about hypoglycemia.
- Patients with gastroesophageal reflux or other stomach diseases: Because turmeric can cause gastrointestinal symptoms in some people, people with stomach diseases better no take turmeric.
- Iron deficiency: Turmeric was found to chelate iron in the cell pattern. In the mouse model, let mice at the edge of iron deficiency ingest turmeric. It was found that hematocrit, hemoglobin, transferrin saturation, and serum iron all decreased, and there was a dose effect. It was also found that the iron content in the liver and spleen of mice was lower. So far, there is no human experiment to confirm it. However, it is speculated that patients who are on the edge of iron deficiency anemia or have iron deficiency anemia may not be suitable for taking turmeric supplements.
- After surgery: As turmeric has anticoagulant activity, it is not good to take it after surgery.
- Calcium oxalate stone patients: Human experiments found that after healthy subjects ingested 3.2g of turmeric a day for 4 weeks, the concentration of oxalic acid in the urine would be significantly higher. Therefore, patients with calcium oxalate stones should avoid high doses of turmeric.
In addition, patients with liver and kidney dysfunction: the safety is still unknown.
Conclusion:
Although curcumin is good, because it has side effects on some people, please consult a professional doctor before taking it.
