It’s hard not to love a spice like Turmeric. This bright orange spice boasts such a wide range of benefits, it seems like it heals everything from digestion complications and hangovers to congested and ageing skin conditions.
Turmeric, for centuries, has been known for its healing properties and skin-enhancing benefits. It is a potent ingredient for skin lightening and revealing glowing, youthful looking skin. It is a powerful antioxidant ingredient that can reduce dark spots, acne and even hyperpigmentation. It can also provide relief from skin conditions like atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
What is Turmeric?
Turmeric is a root plant native to Asia and is a member of the ginger family and has a bioactive component called curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric that also gives it that beautiful golden yellow colour.
Turmeric has been used for medicinal purposes for nearly 4,000 years. In traditional Indian Ayurvedic Medicine, it’s long been a treatment for health issues like skin conditions, allergies, and joint pain.
So why do we love Turmeric as a skincare ingredient?
Turmeric diminishes fine lines and wrinkles
Turmeric has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and antioxidant effects, which can benefit the skin in many ways. Antioxidants are beneficial as they protect your body and skin from free radicals which damage your skin cells and speed up the ageing process.
Usually, the ageing signs first appear around your eyes, forehead and neck. Curcumin being a high antioxidant compound boosts your collagen production and strengthens the elasticity of your skin.
Turmeric manages oily skin and treats acne
Turmeric is recommended for treating oily skin as it helps regulate the production of sebum, the oily substance produced by the sebaceous glands. Its antiseptic and antibacterial properties help fight pimples and breakouts whilst reducing inflammation and redness from acne and other types of scarring.
A study in PharmaTutor suggests that curcumin – the active component in turmeric – has potent antioxidant properties that can fight against acne vulgaris. The anti-inflammatory nature of turmeric reduces skin inflammation and eventually heals the skin.
Turmeric reduces dark circles and brightens the skin
Dark circles around the eyes is a common skin concern. Lack of sleep, unhealthy eating, hyperpigmentation, or spending too much time in front of a computer or mobile phone can cause under-eye dark circles.
Turmeric to the rescue! As a lightening agent, turmeric benefits your skin by minimizing the appearance of dark circles and boosts circulation, thereby reducing puffiness and lightening the skin around your eyes.
We recommend Clarins Double Serum Eye – A multi-benefit double eye serum formula visibly acts on all signs of ageing around the eye area. In just 7 days the eye area is intensely nourished, smoother, firmer and brighter.
Thanks to turmeric’s antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties, it can help to reduce dark spots and hyperpigmentation.
Beat winter dryness
Clients often tell us that they experience dryer skin during the winter months and they’re concerned about their skin appearing dull and dehydrated. We advise adding skincare products like Clarins Double Serum to their daily routine to help nourish and hydrate their skin and to boost the dead skin cell removing process so that new skin cells can regenerate and reveal brighter, fresher looking skin.
Add Turmeric to your diet to reduce inflammation
Inflammation is a natural response to stress or infection, but when uncontrolled it can have harmful effects throughout your body, from your gut to your joints. It can also affect the quality of your sleep. One study found that turmeric taken in medicinal doses had a similar effect in reducing inflammation as ibuprofen.
Curcumin has been shown to increase the levels of antioxidants in your body. These antioxidants help control free radicals that build up in your body in response to environmental and behavioural factors like pollution and cigarette smoke. In excess, free radicals can harm the function of your proteins, fatty tissues, and cell DNA. Over time, this damage is linked to the development of chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties are also shown to alleviate symptoms caused by chronic pain and osteoarthritis.
Turmeric can help alleviating symptoms of depression
While not an alternative to treatments like therapy or medication, clinical trials have shown promising results of turmeric’s effect on easing symptoms of depression and anxiety. The causes of depression are complex, but scientists believe that health issues like inflammation, hypothyroidism, and damage from free radicals can contribute to poor mental health — all of which curcumin has been shown to relieve.
Turmeric is also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are linked to good cognitive health.
Try adding Turmeric to drinks and meals to help relieve inflammation. We love this simple but delicious Cauliflower and Turmeric soup from brokenfoodies.com with the addition of tofu croutons for protein…
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Large Head of Cauliflower cut into large chunks
- 1/2 Large Carrot peeled and cut in 4
- 1 Thumb size piece of ginger peeled and cut in 4
- 2 Tbsp Turmeric
- 1 Tsp Black pepper
- 2 Tsp Salt
- 1 Cup coconut milk
Crispy Tofu Croutons.
- 454 grams Extra Firm Tofu (454g = 1 pack)
- 1 Tsp Smoked paprika
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tsp lemon juice
Garnish
- 1 cup coconut milk full fat
- Your favourite dried herbs. I used dill, it works great with it.
- Freshly ground black pepper.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 F.
- Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add your cauliflower, carrots and ginger. Cook for about 20 minutes on medium-high heat until your veggies are completely cooked through and are very soft.
- While your soup is cooking, cut your block of Tofu into 32 cubes and place in a bowl. Add the rest of the seasoning and mix. Place your Tofu cubes on a parchemin paper covered cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until brown and crispy.
- Turn the heat off your soup and let it completely cool down. Using an immersion blender, blend your soup until smooth. Turn the heat back on and add: Salt, Turmeric, Black Pepper and Coconut Milk. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it cool down for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve your soup topped with croutons, a drizzle of coconut milk and your favourite dried herbs.
Notes
This nutrition info counts the additional coconut milk added for garnish.
Nutrition
Sugar: 4.1GFiber: 3.9GCalories: 471KCALSaturated Fat: 18.7GFat: 34GProtein: 32.7GCarbohydrates: 9.5G
Tried this recipe?