Turmeric for Inflammation: Does It Really Work?
Curcumin the active compound of turmeric inhibits inflammation. It is also the most widely studied herb due to its medicinal properties. Research shows that curcumin blocks cytokines and certain enzymes that lead to inflammation.
What Is Inflammation?
In general, inflammation is the body’s immune system’s response to an irritant. The irritant may be germs, pollutants, chemicals, toxins, foreign objects, heat, or even injury. When inflammation happens, white blood cells release chemicals that enter into the injured tissue to protect it from foreign invaders. Also, the damaged cell releases chemicals like histamine, bradykinin, and prostaglandins that cause blood vessels to leak fluid into the tissue, resulting in swelling. It can also cause redness and warmth around the affected tissues.
Inflammation is important because it plays a role in repairing cell damage. Without inflammation, pathogens like bacteria and viruses would easily take over the body and cause serious health problems.
Turmeric for Inflammation
Scientists believe that low-level inflammation plays a major role in chronic diseases like metabolic syndrome, heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, any compound that can help fight chronic inflammation can potentially prevent or treat these diseases.
Curcumin is a strong anti-inflammatory chemical found in turmeric. The anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin is so powerful that it matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs. Another benefit of using turmeric for inflammation is that it has no adverse side-effects even at higher doses. Although the mechanism of inflammation is quite complicated, however, curcumin is the bioactive substance that fights inflammation at the molecular level.
Many studies have shown that curcumin can reduce the inflammation involved in arthritis, colitis, and, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS. In a study on 50 patients with ulcerative colitis, those who took curcumin with their regular treatment showed better results than those who took a placebo with the same treatment.
Doctors associate many long-term diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, tuberculosis, periodontitis, etc., with inflammation. Curcumin, the yellow colouring agent extracted from turmeric, has potent anti-inflammatory activities when used for treating chronic diseases.
Read on to learn how turmeric’s anti-inflammatory activity helps fight some of the major inflammatory diseases.
Rheumatoid Arthritis – It is a long-term autoimmune disease that causes inflammation, pain, and stiffness in joints. In a study involving 36 people with rheumatoid arthritis, the bioavailable formulation of curcumin was given to the participants for 90 days.
All of them reported significant improvements in their pain and inflammation compared to the placebo group. Scientists believe that curcumin may help in reducing inflammation by blocking the intracellular signalling process in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Results of the various other turmeric anti-inflammatory studies related to arthritis are promising.
Bronchial Asthma – It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway path of the lungs. In bronchial asthma, the airways swell and become narrow. The inflammation makes it difficult to breathe, resulting in coughing and wheezing.
Curcumin in turmeric inhibits the actions of an inflammatory protein called NF-κB to prevent allergic airway inflammation in asthma patients. Researches have shown that people consuming curcumin observed significant improvement in mean FEV1 values.
The FEV is the forced expiratory volume which is used to measure the amount of air a person can exhale in one second. It helps in determining the severity of asthma. The research also concluded that turmeric is an effective and safe add-on therapy for the treatment of bronchial asthma.
Cancer – Over time, chronic inflammation can cause damage to the cell’s DNA affecting the way it grows and divides. This unusual growth of cells could lead to tumours and cancer.
Curcumin targets cancer cells in multiple ways that include modulating the activity of transcription factor which is altered in cancer cells via chromosomal translocations, and gene amplification, or deletion, suppressing growth factors like inflammatory cytokines that plays important role in cell signaling, as well as apoptotic proteins that help control cell death.
With potent anti-inflammatory activity, turmeric can slow down the spread of cancer, increase the effect of chemotherapy, and protect healthy cells from damage by radiation, and may prevent cancer.
Periodontitis – It is a chronic inflammatory gum disease caused by bacterial infections. If untreated, periodontitis can destroy the bone that supports your teeth and loosen or lead to tooth loss.
Turmeric can remove plaque, bacteria, and provide quick relief in gum inflammation. It can exert antibacterial activity on an array of periodontopathic bacteria, including P. gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Treponema denticola. Turmeric paste and gels are also safe for oral use and comparably better than anaesthetic Benzocaine based oral gel or traditional mouthwashes.
Low-grade inflammation plays an important role in developing chronic diseases. Turmeric can decrease markers of inflammation and boost immunity to prevent diseases.
How Long Does It Take for Turmeric to Reduce Inflammation?
When you are consuming turmeric for inflammation, you don’t need to wait very long to see visible effects. Once the curcumin level starts to build-up in your body, you will see its anti-inflammatory benefits.
Depending on your body mass condition, it will take approximately 4 to 8 weeks to work for inflammation. However, turmeric may take more or less time depending on your existing health condition, frequency, and amount of curcumin in doses, age, and type of inflammatory diseases for which it is consumed. Also, it is difficult to recognize whether it reduces inflammation in the initial phase because curcumin acts on inflammation gradually.
Remember, the quality of turmeric or curcumin plays a major role in its ability to work for inflammation. Most of the turmeric powder or extracts available in the market or you buy online exhibit very low bioavailability.
This is because turmeric is less soluble in water, it is not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract easily. Consuming this type of turmeric may take a longer time to absorb in your body, or it might not absorb it at all. In order to get the quick benefits of turmeric, it is important to increase its bioavailability.
How Much Turmeric Should I Take for Inflammation?
500 milligrams of curcumin is a good dose for improving gut health and preventing inflammation. When you are taking turmeric for inflammation, make sure it’s getting absorbed into the gut to see full benefits.
Natural turmeric contains a small amount of curcumin which is the main active component responsible for anti-inflammatory activity. Turmeric spice contains approximately 3% curcumin, although turmeric extracts have 95% curcumin.
To get a strong anti-inflammatory effect, you need to take 500 to 1000 milligrams of curcumin per day. Regularly taking turmeric can help reduce inflammation associated with itchy skin, and, osteoarthritis. 500 milligrams of curcumin twice a day for 2-3 months for skin inflammation and the same amount three times a day for 2 months can effectively reduce inflammation and pain in osteoarthritis. Always consult your Ayurvedic doctor for determining effective and safe doses of curcumin.
Why Choose SNEC 30 for Inflammation?
SNEC30 is the latest generation scientifically formulated bioactive curcumin developed by Arbro Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. It is the US-patented formula. SNEC30 curcumin capsule is formulated with Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System (SNEDDS) to enhance bioavailability.
SNEC30 is the best turmeric supplement for inflammation. It works faster than other curcumin supplements with rapid absorption enabling you to get quick relief in inflammation.
The curcumin-based SNEC oral gel is effective in treating tooth pain and provides relief in inflammation and burning sensation in the mouth and gums. Besides periodontitis, it can be used for treating canker sores, Oral Lichen Planus, Oral Submucous Fibrosis, and precancerous lesions. SNEC oral gel does not contain any harmful chemicals, hence there are no side effects.