Sometimes, you have to look no further than your spice rack to find a supplement that can do a wide range of positives for you. From helping ease sore muscles to keeping your skin healthy, turmeric is a spice of many talents. But just what is turmeric, and how does it work for you?
What is Turmeric and What Does it Do?
Turmeric is a spice that comes from the root of the turmeric plant. This plant is native to Southeast Asia and India, and is one of the components in a multitude of Southeast Asian dishes. But, this spice hasn’t just been used for spicy dishes. Turmeric has been used as a medicine for hundreds of years, and has been researched for decades due to its popular use and it’s wide range of benefits. Even more recently, turmeric has gained popularity as a fitness supplement due to its powerful antioxidant properties, as well as its ability to fight muscle inflammation and pain caused by exercise. Turmeric can also increase blood flow, and is an important supplement to consider if you suffer muscle tissue damage regularly.
What are the Pros of Taking Turmeric?
During exercise and even everyday life, our bodies get battered by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can create free radicals, which in turn cause cell damage and even speeds the aging process of our skin and cells. The antioxidants in turmeric can help fight and repair this damage, and can vastly improve blood flow. This helps add skin resilience and combat skin irritations. Even scars from acne can be reverse when turmeric is applied topically. Other pros of taking turmeric as a supplement is a marked and noticeable decrease in muscle soreness, an impressive increase in muscle recovery, and a decrease in muscle recovery time.
What are the Cons of Taking Turmeric?
Currently, there no negative side effects have been found in those that supplement with turmeric. The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists have deemed the supplement safe in doses up to 8 grams a day. But, if you’re taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications, it’s advised that you discuss turmeric supplementation with your doctor before beginning a regimine. Since turmeric can increase blood flow, it can negatively impact your health and cause these medications to do much more harm than good.
What Should You Look for When Buying Turmeric Supplements?
If you decide to shop around for turmeric supplements to help with inflammation due to exercise, it’s important to look for one that has piperine or has phytosome to help the absorption of the nutrient within your body. Since these additions are pretty common in turmeric supplements, this should be too hard to find. If you’re looking for the antioxidant benefits of turmeric, then you may want to consider the powder form of the supplement. 3-4 grams per day mixed into food or a protein shake can give you these benefits, and if you include black pepper you can increase your absorption possibilities.
