Cultivated for its root, turmeric has an ancient history of uses in cooking, fabric dyeing, cosmetics, and traditional medicine.
Curcumin is a pigment found in turmeric that not only gives it its characteristic bright hue, but also has a variety of health benefits. These include antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. Because of these wide-ranging roles, turmeric has been studied in connection with arthritis, eye conditions, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and more.
Most of the studies looking at the health benefits of turmeric have been small trials, making their results less certain. Also, many have used various turmeric preparations, sometimes in types you won't find in turmeric powder, or in amounts you wouldn't want to add when cooking! Therefore, while all of the claims below have been tested in human trials, they are by no means safe
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