The more researchers learn about turmeric’s healing abilities, the more they take interest in the spice. As it stands, there are over 5,000 studies on the root’s ability to treat cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and depression better than drugs. (updated Sep 2, 2019)
The most recent study concerning turmeric found that taking a teaspoon daily has the ability to reduce heart attack risk just as effectively as three 60-minute workouts a week.
Study Details
The 8-week long study involved 32 postmenopausal women assigned to either an exercise group, a turmeric group or a control group that underwent no change in diet or exercise.
Researchers assessed the endothelium (the inner lining of their blood vessels) of each woman by using an ultrasound device. More specifically, they measured flow-mediated arterial dilation to evaluate arterial elasticity, which determines blood vessels health (1).
As the turmeric group received the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of turmeric a day, the exercise group practiced supervised aerobic exercise training 2-3 times a week plus an unspecified amount of home-based training, including cycling and walking.
Each session lasted between 30-60 minutes and ranged in intensity between 60-75% of maximal heart rate.
Researchers discovered that the turmeric group and the exercise group both experienced significantly improved endothelial function. What’s more, their results were nearly identical, proving that daily turmeric ingestion had the same effect as daily exercise in preventing, reducing or perhaps even reversing endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis.