Scientific Health Benefits of Turmeric and Curcumin

9. Turmeric May Improve Skin Health

Thanks to its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, turmeric may be an effective treatment for a variety of skin conditions, including acne, eczema (atopic dermatitis), photoaging, and psoriasis. Yet robust research is lacking.

One review suggests oral curcumin in particular may be an effective and safe treatment option for psoriasis (a chronic inflammatory skin disease), but more studies are needed before doctors make recommendations.

According to the authors of another review, topical curcumin treatments may be useful in treating skin disorders, especially as past research suggests curcumin is relatively safe even at high doses. But curcumin’s bright yellow-orange color, poor solubility, and poor stability at a high pH make it an unappealing topical skin treatment.

And thanks to its poor bioavailability, chances are you’d have to use curcumin to complement, not replace, other skin treatments, according to the authors of one study.

10. Turmeric Protects Your Body From Free Radicals

Antioxidants help protect your body against damage caused by free radicals, a class of highly reactive atoms that are generated in our bodies and found in environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke and industrial chemicals.

Too much exposure to free radicals can mess with the fats, proteins, and even DNA in your body, which may lead to a number of common diseases and health conditions, including cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.

Therefore, antioxidant-rich spices like turmeric may play a role in protecting you from free radical damage.

Curcumin in particular is able to scavenge different types of free radicals, control enzymes that neutralize free radicals, and prevent certain enzymes from creating specific free radical types, according to a review.

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