Turmeric, or powdered turmeric, is a highly popular spice in cooking, but now also in health. It has been an essential in Asian cooking for centuries, being an important cog in the recipes of Indian, Chinese, Thai & Iranian influenced cusine.

These days Turmeric is known as much more than just a spice. If you walk into any health supplement store, you’re almost certain to come across powdered turmeric in some form. Most notably as a dry powder or in capsules.

Countless studies have been carried out on the benefits of powdered turmeric. Some researchers have gone as far to suggest that it may be one of the most powerful supplements available today. There are strong suggestions that some of these benefits may include anti-cancerous properties, treatment for cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases & even diabetes.

In this article we explore powdered turmeric in more detail.

What is Powdered Turmeric?

Powdered turmeric is a spice. Naturally, it is a product of turmeric. Turmeric belongs to the same biological family as Ginger, which is easily noticeable when you observe them both. The root of the Curcuma Longa plant is what turmeric is formed from.

Visually, turmeric looks very similar to ginger, although becomes distinctive with its bright yellow & orange tones within the external layer of skin. Historically, these powerful colour tones have made it a popular resource for food colouring & dye. The colour is so powerful that it often causes clothing stains when used in cooking.

Powdered turmeric is an essential in Asian cuisine for its bitter & pepper like flavouring that is so commonly found within curries. It has often been likened to mustard due to its peppery flavour and distinct yellow colour. The reason that most curries are yellow is due to turmeric.

Curcumin

The suggested health benefits & high-quality research into powdered turmeric offers very promising signs. Nonetheless, most people don’t realise that it isn’t necessarily turmeric that is linked to this promising research. It’s Curcumin.

Curcumin is the primary active ingredient that’s found in Turmeric. It’s highly powerful antioxidant profile along with anti-inflammatory effects have been the key focus of most research. The suggested benefits relating to anti-cancerous properties, treatment for cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases & diabetes mentioned above are all closely associated with studies linked to Curcumin.

We will look further into some of the potential benefits further below. 

DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION & STUDIES LINKED IN THIS ARTICLE SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR MEDICAL ADVICE OR AS SUGGESTED TREATMENT OF ANY ILLNESS. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR FOR CLEAR DIRECTION ON TREATMENT FOR ANY ILLNESS OR HEALTH DISCOMFORT.

Before we continue... fancy a free pouch or a discount?

Sign up below & try your luck with our wheel our fortune. Win a free pouch, up to 25% discount & free nutrition & health advice with our weekly newsletter!

Hint: You can't lose!

Where is powdered turmeric from?

As we mentioned above, powdered turmeric is the product derived from the root of the Curcuma Longa plant. To process into powder, the root needs to be dehydrated before it can be powdered. This can even be done at home using a blender, coffee grinder, food processer or something similar.

Turmeric is native to Southeast Asia, primarily India & Indonesia. It typically thrives in warm climates. Research suggests it may have been cultivated in India for close to around 4000 years before spreading to regions in Asia & Africa.

India is by far the biggest producer of Turmeric in the world today, dominating with around 80% of global production. Other major producers include China (8%), Myanmar (4%), Nigeria (3%) & Bangladesh (3%).

Uses

As we all know, turmeric is highly popular in Asian cuisine. It’s mustard like flavour is a large reason for its popularity in cooking recipes. Whilst turmeric is most associated with curry recipes, it’s also popular with soups, meat associated seasoning, smoothie bowls & even scrambled eggs! Be sure to explore some Moroccan inspired turmeric recipe’s next time you want some cooking inspiration.

Outside of cooking, we mentioned that turmeric is closely linked with a variety of health & wellness supplements like dry powders & capsules. Whilst this is relatively new in western culture, using turmeric for medicinal purposes has been standard practice in Southeast Asian communities for thousands of years.

There is evidence that has shown the use of turmeric as an ointment to combat the effects of poisonous food as early as 250bc. Further research has found that turmeric use was also used as far as 2500bc in India, treating various conditions including skin irritations & healing of wounds. Scientific data relating to turmeric & these conditions remains inconclusive.

What are the benefits of powdered turmeric?

Turmeric, or more accurately Curcumin has been suggested to have many powerful potential benefits. Research identifies these benefits as strong influencers of both brain & bodily function. As we mentioned above, the plant had been historically used for wounds & skin irritation. Although modern research closely links powdered turmeric to strong anti-inflammatory properties & highly strong antioxidants.

Antioxidants can play a major role in influencing the protection of our immune system by battling harmful bacteria. Animal studies have suggested that the antioxidant profile of Curcumin is so powerful that it not only plays a major role in defending our bodies, but has the strength to stimulate other antioxidants too.

These powerful antioxidants have also led to most popular research linking curcumin to:

• Treatment of chronic diseases due to inflammation
• Treatment of neurological illness like depression & Alzheimer’s
• Treatment of cardiovascular illness like heart disease.

Anti-inflammatory properties

Chronic diseases are closely linked to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can then lead to chronic inflammation which can be responsible for a long list of chronic diseases such as diabetes, bowel disease or even cancer.

The powerful anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidative properties of curcumin has led to trials for its use as a treatment for chronic diseases. Some studies suggest that the treatment has a positive effect although this would require high doses.

Neurological illness

Neurological illnesses such as depression & Alzheimer’s are often characterised by change in personality, memory loss & declining in cognitive function. Unfortunately, treatment for these illnesses has not progressed significantly in modern science due to their complexity.

This has led more reviews being carried out on the impact of ‘medicinal plants’ being used as a treatment for cognitive reduction. Studies have shown that curcumin may influence the growth of important proteins that fuse the link for connecting important neurons in the brain. This may lead to a breakthrough in tackling neurological issues such as memory loss, ageing, depression & brain function.

Cardiovascular Illness

There is no bigger killer illness than heart disease, responsible for almost 16% of global deaths. Bad habits such as an unhealthy diet, smoking & heavy alcohol consumption are all heavy influencers that can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol & more that can lead to heart disease.

Whilst heart diseases remain highly complex, there has been some positive signs that curcumin may play a role in reversing heart diseases. This is primarily due to the potential anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidative properties mentioned above.

Nutritional Profile of Powdered Turmeric

Turmeric’s strong links to the potential contribution to a better immune system, cardiovascular function & neurological function are also a result of its nutritional profile. Some of its key inclusions are:

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B6
• Iron
• Manganese
• Potassium
• It even includes some essential Omega-3 fatty acids found in sources like fish

Powdered turmeric in every-day life

The strong evidence of potential health benefits that point in the direction of powdered turmeric make it an essential addition to everyday wellbeing. Without doubt, the easiest way this can be done is adding more turmeric based recipes to your meals.

This doesn’t just mean eating more curries. Try adding turmeric to soups, rice, meat seasoning, roasted vegetables, cream cheese, hummus, stir fries & more.

You could also try adding a sprinkle of turmeric to your favourite smoothies or herbal teas. In this case, ensure you do not add too much, so that the flavour becomes overpowering.

Join the Nutrifize community

Want exclusive access to more Knowledge with Nutrifize? Subscribe to our weekly Newsletter using the signup form below for exclusive member discounts, giveaways, recipes, health tips, nutrition tips & more!

Do you have any questions? Feel free to send us your queries via the contact page & we'll aim to get back to you with 48 hours. Alternatively check out our FAQ's, we may have answered your question already!