Turmeric contains curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Most studies use turmeric extracts that are standardized to include large amounts of curcumin.

• heart disease
• cancer
• metabolic syndrome
• alzheimer’s disease
• various degenerative conditions

That’s why anything that can help fight chronic inflammation is potentially important in preventing and helping treat these conditions.

Chronic inflammation contributes to some common health conditions. Curcumin can suppress many molecules known to play major roles in inflammation, but its bioavailability needs to be enhanced.

Oxidative damage is believed to be one of the mechanisms behind aging and many diseases.

The main reason antioxidants are so beneficial is that they protect your body from free radicals.

While curcumin has antioxidant effects, more studies are needed to confirm these benefits.

Neurons are capable of forming new connections, and in certain areas of the brain they can multiply and increase in number.

One of the main drivers of this process is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This is a gene that’s involved in making a protein responsible for promoting the life of neurons.

Curcumin boosts levels of the brain hormone BDNF, which increases the growth of new neurons and may help fight various degenerative processes in your brain.

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Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the world Curcumin may help reverse many steps in the heart disease . Perhaps the main benefit of curcumin when it comes to heart disease is improving the function of the endothelium, the lining of your blood vessels.

Curcumin has beneficial effects on several factors known to play a role in heart disease. Plus, it’s an anti-inflammatory agent and antioxidant.

Cancer is a disease, characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. There are many different forms of cancer that appear to be affected by curcumin supplements

Curcumin has been studied as a beneficial herb in cancer treatment and been found to affect cancer growth and development

Studies have shown that it can

• contribute to the death of cancerous cells
• reduce angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels in tumors)
• reduce metastasis (spread of cancer)

Whether high-dose curcumin — preferably with an absorption enhancer like piperine — can help treat cancer in humans has yet to be studied properly.

Curcumin leads to several changes on the molecular level that may help prevent and perhaps even treat cancer.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and may contribute to up 70% of dementia cases . While treatment exits for some of its symptoms, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s yet. That’s why preventing it from occurring in the first place is so important.

Curcumin can cross the blood-brain barrier and has been shown to lead to various improvements in the pathological process of Alzheimer’s disease.

Arthritis is a common problem in Western countries. There are several different types of arthritis, most of which involve inflammation in the joints.

Arthritis is a common disorder characterized by joint inflammation. Many studies show that curcumin can help treat symptoms of arthritis and is, in some cases, more effective than anti-inflammatory drugs.

Curcumin has shown some promise in treating depression.

A study in 60 people with depression showed that curcumin was as effective as Prozac in alleviating symptoms of the condition.

If curcumin can really help prevent heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, it may have benefits for longevity as well.