Can Turmeric Help With Depression?
Turmeric.
The bright yellow spice you’ve probably tasted in your curries.
Even if you’re not a connoisseur of Indian food though, you probably know about turmeric from its vast health benefits.
After all, it’s been the talk of the town in the world of holistic health for quite some time.
In my practice as a naturopathic doctor in Sacramento, I’m frequently singing the praises of turmeric to anybody who will listen.
It’s a potent anti inflammatory, it’s an antioxidant, it’s great for your gut health, and a lot more.
Today, we’re going to focus on what the evidence says in terms of turmeric for depression and anxiety.
If you’ve been dealing with depression, you might be looking for natural depression and mental health help, turmeric may help.
Let’s take a closer look.
What Is Turmeric?
Turmeric is a yellow spice that comes from a plant called curcuma longa, which is related to ginger.
It’s commonly grown in Southeast Asian countries like India and Indonesia.
Turmeric has been used for thousands of years in cooking, medicine, and as a dye.
It has a warm and bitter taste and is often used to add flavor to dishes such as curry.
It’s also the ingredient in regular table mustard that gives it its yellow color.
What Is Curcumin?
Curcumin is a natural compound found in turmeric.
It’s what gives turmeric its bright yellow color.
But it’s also responsible for some of its potential health benefits.
Researchers have found curcumin difficult to study, since it’s a very reactive substance.
This is the nature of antioxidants, like vitamin C, copper, beta carotene, and others.
Still, curcumin appears to have an ability to cool inflammation by interfering with the chemical messengers that produce inflammatory signals.
Curcumin also has low bioavailability, which means that your body does not absorb it very well.
However, taking curcumin along with black pepper can increase its bioavailability.
Interestingly, there may be instances where adding the black pepper isn’t necessary, though. For example, in irritable bowel disease, we may want more local topical effect and absorption isn’t the end goal.
So, I’d hesitate to encourage black pepper across the board as a necessary element.
How Does Turmeric Help With Depression?
There’s been some interesting research exploring how turmeric can help with depression.
Research in 2014 found that curcumin supplementation was as effective as fluoxetine (Prozac) after 6 weeks of treatment.
The study also looked at Prozac by itself and the combination of curcumin and Prozac.
The combination treatment showed better response than the solo treatment (curcumin or Prozac), but the extra improvement wasn’t statistically significant.
A 2019 review pooled 10 different studies together to see if curcumin was an effective treatment for depression.
They concluded that it could help improve symptoms of depression.
They also noted that the curcumin was well tolerated. Also worth highlighting is that they found that the curcumin was also beneficial for anxiety.
Researchers suspect that the curcumin may be having an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant effect, but more research is needed.
The overall number of human studies that have been done are still small in number.
But as recently as 2022, CANMAT (Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments) has listed curcumin in its guidelines as a solo or complementary treatment for depression.
More research is needed to fully understand how turmeric may help with depression in humans.
But it shows a lot of promise.
If you’re dealing with depression, you might be wondering whether or not this is something you can add to your diet and get benefit.
First, let’s be clear that the studies we looked at above used supplements, not food.
However, we do have another study that used diet and made the additional recommendation to focus on spices like turmeric and cinnamon.
Therefore, I do think there’s benefit to food sources as part of a greater Mediterranean pattern for foods that fight depression, but I wouldn’t think of culinary turmeric as a substitution for supplementation.
For some recipe ideas, take a look at some of my favorites below:
Other Benefits Of Turmeric
We touched on a few of turmeric’s many benefits at the beginning, but let’s take a closer look at more of them. Here are some, but not all, of its many benefits:
It helps reduce inflammation
It has antioxidant properties
It may lower your risk of heart disease
It can help manage the symptoms of arthritis
Are Turmeric And Ginger The Same Thing?
Turmeric and ginger are not the same thing, although they are related.
Both turmeric and ginger come from the same plant family, which is why they share some similarities. If you see the two of them side by side at your local market, you’ll notice they’re both roots with similar shapes.
But they’ve got quite a few differences between each other as well.
First of all, turmeric is bright yellow on the inside, and ginger is more of a light brown.
They also have different flavor profiles. Turmeric is warm, pungent, and bitter, while ginger is spicy with a hint of sweetness.
Both are commonly used in Southeast Asian foods, but ginger is also more popular in Chinese, Japanese, and Middle Eastern cuisine.
Is It Good To Take Turmeric Every Day?
Turmeric is generally considered safe to consume in small amounts every day.
Remember it’s a culinary spice! You’ll want to consult with your own healthcare practitioner as doses can range depending on the therapeutic benefit you’re trying to achieve.
For example, the dosing for depression may be different than osteoarthritis. If you’re using it for cooking, source it from a reputable vendor or from a bulk section that has high turnover.
This is because spices will oxidize with time and exposure to light.
I, personally, love the spices at Curio Spice Co.
Who Should Not Use Turmeric?
Overall, turmeric is well tolerated.
Adding turmeric into your diet is unlikely to cause any issues.
However, if you’re interested in turmeric or curcumin supplements, you want to take into consideration your entire health picture.
In particular, there may be certain interactions that aren’t strict contraindications, but worthy considerations.
For example, those who have type 2 diabetes and are on insulin may see that curcumin also drops blood sugar.
As well, turmeric or curcumin supplements can interact with certain pharmaceutical drugs.
If you’re taking warfarin or other blood thinners, it may lessen their effectiveness.
Turmeric can have a similar effect on indomethacin, a drug used to manage arthritis related pain and inflammation.
This is also true for certain chemotherapy drugs, like camptothecin and mechlorethamine.
If you’re taking tacrolimus, a drug used to manage eczema, turmeric supplements might make your side effects worse. Note that this is not an exhaustive list.
But this is not to scare you! In general, turmeric and curcumin appear to be very safe and well tolerated and do have health benefits.
But if you do have an existing health condition, it’s always a good idea to speak to your naturopathic doctor before starting a new supplement.
They can help orient that supplement within your complete health history and goals.
Speaking of which...
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