Photo: www.NutritionStripped.com
The long-time staple of Asian and Indian cuisine is now a healthy insider’s superfood of choice. Turmeric is now blowing up as an ingredient at juice bars, hot restaurants, and in top healthy bloggers’ recipes.
The curcumin in turmeric actually exhibits over 150 potentially therapeutic activities, including anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity, as well as potent anti-cancer properties that have been intensely studied.
What Makes Curcumin Such Potent Medicine?
Researchers have found a number of different mechanisms of action for curcumin, and part of the answer as to why curcumin appears to be such potent medicine is because it can:
• Modulate about 700 of your genes
• Positively modulate more than 160 different physiological pathways3
• Make your cells’ membranes more orderly4
That’s because of the curcumin, “a major component of turmeric that has powerful ‘anti’ properties—anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral,” explains Stephanie Middleberg, RD, founder of Middleberg Nutrition. “It helps neutralize free radicals, which attack the healthy cells in your body,” and is considered a fierce fighter of colds and the flu to disease in general. It can also support your beauty regimen and help keep you looking like your youthful self.
Turmeric is so good at what it does that it’s classified as an adaptogen, which means it helps the body adapt to stressors like environmental toxins, inflammatory foods, and lack of sleep.
You can grate it fresh (it’s a root) or buy it dried in a spice jar to sprinkle on everything, from breakfast foods and veggies and even dessert.
Recipe: Turmeric Milk
“I love fusing anti-inflammatory rich turmeric with homemade nut milk or coconut milk,” Nutrition Stripped’s McKel Hill says. “Both milks are high in healthy fats, which are essential for health, but also make it totally filling and a beauty food.”
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1 Tbsp local honey
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 cinnamon stick or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Small pinch black pepper
- Small pinch grated fresh ginger
DIRECTIONS
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