6 Reasons to Start Supplementing with Turmeric and Ginger
It seems like these days I see turmeric popping up everywhere! I’ve seen everything from turmeric facials to turmeric lattes, it’s crazy! One thing that seems to be missing from these spiced up concoctions is turmeric’s BFF ginger.
Seriously, these two superfoods deserve to be together forever! Here’s why you should be taking them together.
Ginger and Turmeric: The Perfect Pair
Ginger and turmeric have been used for thousands of years in cooking and in ayurveda for their medicinal properties. Ayurveda is a health system originating in India. It is based on the concept of using diet, herbal supplements and yoga breathing to balance the body.
According to Chopra.com, “[Ayurveda] offers a body of wisdom designed to help people stay vibrant and healthy while realizing their full human potential.”
Traditionally, modern scientists have written off natural forms of medicine, like ayurveda, as a bunch of hooey, but now the tables have turned. Science and research has finally started to recognize and prove the benefits that these ancient forms of health provide.
Study after study continues to prove that these two ayurveda superstars, turmeric and ginger, can help the body in countless ways. They even come from the same plant family! These two ingredients have been paired together in curry recipes for their complimentary flavors but now we know it goes way beyond taste.
3 Benefits of Ginger
1. Supports Digestive Health
Remember when you were sick as a kid and your mom would give you ginger-ale to help you feel better? Guess what? Your mom knew what she was doing! Ginger is great at helping to calm the stomach and relieve nausea.
Sea Sickness – ginger has been used for many years to relieve motion sickness. I can personally vouch for that one. I get motion sick when flying and my go-to for relief is always ginger.
Cancer-Related Nausea – Cancer patients often feel sick after undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Ginger is known to help alleviate these symptoms.
Morning Sickness – There have been a few different studies that have focused on expectant mothers experiencing morning sickness. They found that ginger can significantly reduce their symptoms nausea.
People with indigestion can also turn to ginger for relief. Ginger is known to stimulate digestion by allowing more movement for different enzymes.
2. Helps Reduce Muscle Pain and Soreness
I’m looking at you fitness fanatics! We all know that the faster we can recover after a tough workout the better. A faster recovery means we can get back out there without getting slowed down by yesterday’s workout. It also just sucks to be sore sometimes even if you don’t let it hold you back.
One study found that supplementing daily with ginger reduced exercise-induced soreness by 25 percent!
And ginger’s usefulness doesn’t stop there. Ladies, another study found that ginger can even help with the pain of cramps during your period. Yes, please!
3. Helps Reduce Inflammation
Inflammation can be big problem. It can cause a wide variety of health issues. One of the most common health issues that can result from inflammation is arthritis. If you experience pain and stiffness in your joints you know what I’m talking about.
That’s why ginger (Spoiler alert: and turmeric) are such amazing herbal supplements. Studies on ginger have found that people suffering from joint inflammation can benefit from taking ginger.
One study in particular looked at knee pain and noticed a significant reduction in symptoms for patients supplementing with ginger. So much so that some patients were able to reduce their medications!
3 Benefits of Turmeric
1. Powerful Anti-inflammatory To Reduce Inflammation
Picking up right where we left off with ginger, turmeric can also help to reduce inflammation. In fact that’s one of the biggest reasons that people love turmeric so much.
We touched on the issue of inflammation when we talked about ginger but let’s dive a little deeper. Inflammation is your body’s natural response to fight off infection and repair itself. If you roll your ankle and your ankle swells up that’s your body’s way of sending help to that area so that it can begin the process of repair.
Without inflammation we wouldn’t be able to fight off disease or heal ourselves. With that being said, too much of a good thing in this case is a very bad thing. The more scientists learn about disease and inflammation the more they’re realizing that the two are linked.
In fact many common diseases in western culture are being traced back to inflammation: heart disease, arthritis, cancer, etc. So it’s safe to say the rampant unchecked inflammation in the body is bad. Lucky for us, scientists are revealing that turmeric could be the key to fighting back.
When compared to turmeric, ginger is the sidekick of this inflammatory fighting duo. Turmeric is now seen as a very powerful anti-inflammatory supplement but without the side effects of drugs.
2. Increases Body’s Antioxidant Capacity
Antioxidants are pretty much the heroes of the superfood world. The more antioxidants you can add to your diet, the better! Antioxidants help to fight cell damage from free-radicals and oxidative stress. Free-radicals damage cells and mutate DNA. This can cause cancer as well as speed up the aging process. Not good.
So if you’re trying to get all the antioxidants you can get your hands on (and you should) your going to want the help of turmeric. Turmeric helps by activating your body’s own antioxidant enzymes as well as help to block free-radicals as well. When you combine that with the antioxidant power of ginger you’ve got a real dynamic duo.
3. Supports Brain and Mental Health
The brain is a complicated organ. Scientists are still discovering new findings about the brain and how it works all the time. One of these more recent studies is that neurons are able to grow and multiply, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) drives this process.
BDNF has been linked to mental health issues like depression and Alzheimer’s.
Some studies show promising potential that turmeric might actually be able to help raise levels of BDNF! That means that turmeric might have the ability to help with these types of mental health issues.
Why Take a Supplement
While you can probably find both ginger and turmeric in your spice cabinet, loading up on these two spices won’t do much for you beyond making your cooking taste amazing. A supplement concentrates these spices to provide the amounts you need to actually see health effects.
Taking a supplement ensures that you’re getting more of the active ingredients that make these spices so effective at supporting your health. Plus having to just take a couple of veggie capsules in the morning is just plain convenient.
The Takeaway
Turmeric and ginger have both been prominent spices used in ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. Taking a turmeric and ginger supplement allows you to take advantage of the amazing benefits of both of them at once.
Boosting your health with turmeric and ginger has never been easier with the help of Nicoya Nutrition.