Turmeric is a spice with a peppery flavor and a mild smell. It’s orange in color and it’s known to be extremely healthy and a remedy to many illnesses.

Turmeric has been used for more than 5,000 years, and to this day plays an important role in traditional cultures throughout the Eastern world.

In just a couple of tablespoons of ground turmeric, you’ll get almost 20% of your daily manganese requirements, 10% of iron, 5% of vitamin B and around 3% of potassium, copper and fiber. So, for a tiny little spice, it’s amazingly good for you.

Here are the top 4 most important benefits of Turmeric and how it can vastly improve your health.

1. Fight against obesity

Curcumin, the active ingredient found within turmeric offers most of the health benefits and has been shown to help suppress the growth of fat tissues within your body. This means that the more turmeric you eat, the more likely it is you’ll be able to meet your weight loss goals.

Research suggests that curcumin can help break down fat cells and stop fat from growing too quickly, so when coupled with a healthy diet, you could possibly lose weight quicker!

2. Anti-inflammatory

As a natural anti-inflammatory agent, turmeric can help reduce joint and muscle pain. Studies have shown over many years that curcumin is just as effective as many chemicals used in over-the-counter drugs, designed to stop inflammation in the body. The spice has the same effect as the likes of hydrocortisone and phenylbutazone, but be sure to speak to your doctor if you have a particularly bad condition.

3. Lower cholesterol

Struggling with high cholesterol levels, and wondering how you can go about protecting your heart with your diet? Along with reducing your intake of saturated fats, you can reduce your cholesterol by increasing the amount of curcumin you consume.

Curcumin can actually communicate with cells in your liver and stop them from creating too much bad cholesterol, and instead directs them to create good cholesterol. Try combining turmeric with vegetables and meats when cooking to enjoy this amazing health benefit.

4. Lower blood pressure

As well as reducing your cholesterol, curcumin can stop the oxidization of cholesterol in your body. This in turn protects blood vessels and the build-up of plaque that cause high blood pressure.

Oxidized cholesterol can cause deadly blood clots and make it practically impossible to reduce blood pressure, so be sure to stop this from happening in the first place by engaging in cardio exercise and increasing curcumin intake. This can also be combined with blood pressure medication given to you by your doctor.

3 EASY and DELICIOUS recipes to get

a little Turmeric into your diet

Turmeric Lemonade

In a shaker cup add

1 Cup Ice

1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

1/4 teaspoon Ground Dry Turmeric

1 pinch fresh black pepper

Shake vigorously and strain over ice.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Turmeric Ice Tea

1-2 Tbsp. black or green looseleaf tea - I love English Breakfast

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. turmeric

1 pinch fresh black pepper

1 tsp.+ maple syrup, honey, or sweetener of choice

lemon slices, optional

Add tea, cinnamon, turmeric, and sweetener to the base of a french press.

Add hot water half way and allow to steep for 3-5 minutes stirring once, then press.

Allow to cool slightly, then pour over a glass of ice

Serve with a lemon slices

Golden Milk

I love this right before bed!

1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, preferably coconut or almond milk

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, or 1/2 teaspoon dried ground cinnamon

1 (1-inch) piece turmeric, unpeeled, thinly sliced, or 1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric

1 (1/2-inch) piece ginger, unpeeled, thinly sliced or ½ teaspoon dried ground ginger

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon virgin coconut oil

1 pinch fresh black pepper

1. Whisk coconut milk, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, honey, coconut oil, pepper in a small saucepan; Simmer until flavors have melded, about 10 minutes. If using fresh ginger and turmeric strain through a fine-mesh sieve into mugs.

2. If you are using all dried spices you can mix all ingredients together in a mug and warm in your microwave.

Chefs' Note- Golden Milk can be made 5 days ahead, store in refrigerator in an airtight container and warm in microwave to enjoy. Using fresh turmeric adds a clean, bright flavor to this drink, but dried turmeric can be substituted when fresh is not available. Keep in mind that dried turmeric will settle to the bottom of the mug, so stir well before drinking.