What are the Benefits of Turmeric Vitamin Supplements

When you see or hear the word turmeric, you might not immediately think of supplements or health. In fact, you’ll probably think of curries and golden rice and dal and all sorts of delicious goodies. And honestly, we can’t blame you. Turmeric is a key ingredient in loads of our fave meals.

But it’s more than that. Because turmeric isn’t just that bright yellow spice you’ll have in your cupboard. It's also a key ingredient in herbal medicines. And it has been for thousands of years. So let’s put the pilau rice to one side for just five minutes while we explore turmeric supplements and their benefits.

Turmeric as a herbal remedy - a quick history

Turmeric has been grown in India for thousands of years. Way back then, people would grow this flowering plant to use as a dye (as anyone who’s spilled a turmeric-heavy curry on their favourite white top can tell you), and as a spice.

But they began to notice something. They began to notice that turmeric seemed to have some health-promoting properties. So much like we all take vitamin supplements as part of our modern diet, these ancient Indians used it as part of their culture of folk medicines. The ones that’d eventually become Ayurveda and Siddha medicine.

From India, turmeric spread and spread. In China and in Persia Turmeric was used in traditional Chinese medicine and Unani. Turmeric was used as far away from its native India as Tahiti, Hawaii and Madagascar - long before Europeans ever set foot there. And by the medieval period turmeric (or Indian saffron as it was called) was spreading around Europe.

Fast forward 1100 years, give or take a century, and turmeric is now widespread all over the world. As a spice, as a foodstuff, and as a health supplement.

But why? Why would people decide this tasty yellow powder was just as good at promoting wellbeing in 2021 AD as it was at dying the robes of a Buddhist monk in 500 BC?

Five fab benefits of turmeric

The reason turmeric is used as a health supplement is because it’s full of compounds that can - you guessed it - supplement your health. What ancient Indian and Chinese doctors knew instinctively, our health experts have discovered with science. And here are just five fab benefits of turmeric supplements:

1 - It’s packed with protective compounds

The reason we’re supposed to eat colourful plant foods is because the compounds that give them their vibrant colours have special properties. And bright yellow turmeric is no exception. It’s packed with hundreds of active compounds that provide a range of helpful benefits.

2 - It can help as an anti-inflammatory

Scientists have been testing one of the compounds in turmeric as an anti-inflammatory. And one report, if you can look past the medical jargon, suggests that it might help your body regulate inflammation and even ease arthritis.

3 - It might be good for your brain

Other studies suggest that turmeric contains an active ingredient that can help repair your brain cells, which is definitely food for thought!

4 - It might be good for your heart

Those anti-inflammatories we mentioned above? There are other studies out there that suggest turmeric’s active ingredients can help protect the body against heart disease and even improve cholesterol levels.

5 - It might give your immune system a boost

Another round of studies (those scientists sure are busy) suggests that turmeric might help to regulate the way your immune system works, and even help fight off allergies and hay-fever.

Should you take turmeric supplements?

If you’re looking for a natural, entirely-vegan health supplement that’s believed to help with your overall wellbeing through its natural anti-inflammatory properties, then turmeric supplements might be for you.

With Sealions, you can grab a six months’ supply of one-a-day turmeric, ginger and black pepper capsules for less than 3p per tablet.