Turmeric — The Ingredient Behind Our Amazing Coconut Warrior Tea

Turmeric - a spice that just used to be known in the western world as: "that main spice from the Indian dish curry". But today you probably know turmeric as that beautifully golden-colored trendy spice that you can find in everything from ice creams and lattes to tea. 

We might even go as far as to say that turmeric is the trendiest spice out there right now.

Honestly, the rise in the popularity of turmeric is very deserved. This powerful spice is practically powdered gold. One of the biggest reasons why turmeric has risen in popularity is because people have begun to realize its role in Ayurvedic medicine. 

With turmeric having been thoroughly researched and extensively studied, it's shown benefits that make this spice arguably one of the most powerful herbs on our planet. With research backing up many of its incredible healing properties, and turmeric even potentially helping in reversing certain conditions and diseases. 

We here at Wise Ape Tea love herbs and spices, not only do they have a wonderful range of flavors, but also so many magical health properties. And we gotta say if we had to pick an all-around health star, spice favorite of ours, it might have to be the incredible turmeric. The remarkable spice behind the biggest anti-inflammatory effects from our very own legendary elixir is designed to mitigate inflammation and defend your body from the inside-out: Coconut Warrior Tea.

The gnarly looking yet gorgeously golden root known as turmeric is truly a miracle of nature with a wonderful flavor and healing powers that are truly out of this world. 

Today we're going to celebrate this vibrant root and spice's awesomeness and get acquainted with its amazing health benefits, and how you can put it to work for your everyday wellness and incorporate it into your everyday life – so you can enjoy this fantastic spice's power!

What Is Turmeric?

Turmeric comes from the flowering Curcuma longa plant which is native to is native to India and other Southeast Asian countries. The Curcuma longa plant is a member of the ginger family, which probably explains why the crusty-looking bent turmeric root looks so similar to the ginger root. 

Ground powder from the dried root of this plant is the beautiful golden-colored powder known as Turmeric powder. Turmeric powders vibrant yellow color is so unique and beloved that many recipes call for turmeric strictly for the golden-colored effect. 

Curcuma longa aka turmeric has a long history of use in traditional medicine being particularly known for having potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant attributes. 

Turmeric contains 3-6% polyphenolic, crucial chemical compounds, collectively known as curcuminoids. Curcuminoids are made up of a mixture of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin, all integral components of various biological actions. 

Curcumin is the main active substance in turmeric and is a very strong antioxidant that gives turmeric its essential anti-inflammatory effects.

Why exactly do these properties make turmeric such a powerful spice? Let's get into why turmeric's characteristics make it such an incredible spice, full of unique health benefits!

Why Is Turmeric So Powerful? Top 5 Benefits Of Turmeric

1. Fights Inflammation In Your Body

I'd say that maybe the most powerful capability of turmeric, is its ability to control inflammation. 

Inflammation is a part of your body's natural healing process in which your body is in distress. White blood cells (also called leukocytes) fight to protect us against bacteria, viruses and prevent illnesses. 

But some diseases (like arthritis and leaky gut syndrome) are caused by chronic inflammation. This is when inflammation is triggered by your immune system long after infection or injury and there are no foreign invaders, mistakenly attacking healthy tissue and causing damage. Chronic inflammation also forms as a response to unwelcomed substances in the body, like pollutants or an excess of fat cells.

Curcumin induces anti-inflammatory effects that can provide relief, and reduce symptoms from several health conditions, including arthritis. 

Inflammation is believed to contribute to cognitive function. And the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric are so effective that this spice may offer a protective benefit against cognitive issues according to information from several animal trials examining the relationship between curcumin and Alzheimer’s disease.

2. Keeps Free Radicals Away

Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules with unpaired electrons. Because they have an uneven number of electrons, they rob other cells of electrons, causing damage and contributing to several human diseases including cognitive disorders, diabetes, and even cancer. 

Turmeric has been shown to fight against free-radical damage. As we know turmeric contains curcumin, and curcumin is a potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals. Curcumin might have the capability to stimulate the action of other antioxidants and block the action of free radicals.

3. Gives You Glowing Skin

Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties may have the ability to protect our skin from environmental pollutants and have been proven effective in treating various skin issues. 

The characteristics of turmeric can provide a 'glow' to the skin and reportedly help with eczema, psoriasis, acne, wound healing, and prevent dry skin.

4. Could Help In Preventing and Treating Cancer

Something really fascinating that has been heavily studied is curcumins' potential capability in disease reversal and prevention of cancerous cells. The results of countless studies are promising in both animal and human studies.

According to Cancer Research UK: "A few laboratory studies on cancer cells have shown that curcumin has anti-cancer effects. It seems to be able to kill cancer cells and prevent more from growing. It has the best effects on breast cancer, bowel cancer, stomach cancer, and skin cancer cells."

So, as I mentioned earlier, since the main active substance in turmeric is curcumin, that means turmeric is a cancer-fighting spice, crazy, right?!

5. Boosts Your Mood

Studies have shown that turmeric may be able to help in treating mood-disrupting conditions such as depression, anxiety, and brain aging. 

Cortisol is your body's main stress hormone. When you're under physical or psychological stress your cortisol levels can soar, which over a prolonged can lead to some scary adverse effects. Therefore it’s crucial to keep your cortisol levels down.

Curcumin may have the ability to inhibit large increases in cortisol secretion stimulated by the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).

Additionally, turmeric also helps fight the effects of stress, thanks to its powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Chronic stress or borderline chronic stress can over-activate your immune system, which leads to an imbalance of inflammation and anti-inflammation.

However, as we know turmeric has strong anti-inflammatory properties that may help fight inflammation through regular supplementation and potentially work to reduce the negative side effects from chronic stress.

What Does Turmeric Taste Like?

With all these amazing superpowers that turmeric contains, I don't think you need an excuse to start using turmeric. However, if you're concerned about how your taste buds will react to turmeric, I can assure you, turmeric tastes delicious and is a fantastic way to give your food or drink a cozy pop. 

Turmeric has a smooth, earthy-sweet, peppery, and bitter, which can add wonderful rich depth to a dish. 

The Best Ways To Enjoy Turmeric?

You can add turmeric to almost any dish for a pop of flavor:

• Toss turmeric into your daily smoothie for a wonderful savory-spiced flavor that also brightens up your drink with its vibrant orange-yellow color. 
• Whisk turmeric into your salad dressing for a subtle musky pepper flavor.
• You can sprinkle ground turmeric on dishes such as rice, eggs, beans, roasted potatoes, and stir-fry vegetables for an extra earthy-sweet tang seasoning.
• Mix turmeric into your coffee. Or make a turmeric pumpkin spice latte.
• Incorporate a Lil extra flavor into your soup with a teaspoon or two of turmeric.

Turmeric tea also know as liquid gold, is probably the best way to enjoy this spice. You can either make it at home, by simply letting the spice steep for a few minutes in hot water and then straining. Or even better, you can let us here at Wise Ape Tea do the work for you. We’ve perfected the ideal legendary elixir with turmeric, designed to mitigate inflammation and defend your body from the inside out.

Balanced flavors of Assam black tea, turmeric, and cinnamon are complemented by light coconut-vanilla undertones, followed by a kiss of subtle sweetness from pau d' arco bark. Trust me, our Coconut Warrior Tea makes for an oh-so-divine sip.

It's clear to see now, that the hype behind the 'miracle of nature' - turmeric a spice many uses to think of just as 'that main spice from the Indian dish curry'. But this beautiful golden-colored spice is so much more, it's an incredible Ayurvedic medicine, with crazy amazing health perks for you to take advantage of, and as we just saw there are so many fun, delicious, and interesting ways to enjoy this spice. Stay wise folks!

Side note: The curcumin in turmeric can be poorly absorbed in the bloodstream, but consuming turmeric with black pepper (thanks to the piperine) will enhance the absorption.

This informative article is written, by Sophia Mckenzie. Sophia is head content creator and writer, for several premium websites, where her expertise lie in health, nutrition, and wellness. Her content is heavily focused on providing and sharing doable solutions to help people truly thrive, and live their happiest, healthiest, fulfilled life.