How Turmeric Benefits Gut Health

By Cindy Wilson

BS, Dietetics and Nutrition

Updated Apr 4, 2021 · 5 min read

Your gut may not be the part of your body you think about the most, but it is one of the most important parts. Your gut houses trillions of bacteria, which help to support healthy digestion and a healthy immune system.

If you don’t already think about the best ways to care for your gut, you may want to start now.  Serious diseases, like diabetes, obesity, depression, autism, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic fatigue syndrome can all be linked to unhealthy digestive systems, specifically inflammation.

There is a simple solution to keeping your gut in good health, and ultimately boosting your overall health and wellness. By improving your gastrointestinal health, you can do more than benefit digestive processes.

The absorption of nutrients will be dramatically improved, which means your body gets everything it needs. Your gut barrier also becomes strengthened and restored from any damage, which is important in preventing “leaky gut” syndrome.

Unfortunately, modern lifestyle and diet choices promote bad intestinal flora, which can cause leaky gut. This means that pathogenic bacteria are free to roam the body causing chronic, out-of-control inflammation.

There are several things you can do to help restore and maintain a healthy digestive system:

• Remove all known food toxins from your diet
• Increase intake of fermented foods, like kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, and kimchi
• Add a high-quality probiotics supplement to your daily plan
• Get plenty of fermentable fibers (found in yams and sweet potatoes)
• Treat any intestinal pathogens once they have been identified
• Seek ways to control and regulate stress in your life

Spice Up Your Life

Along with leaky gut syndrome, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) also affects a large number of Americans. Both of these digestive ailments cause severe discomfort as well as irregular bowel movements, gas, and bloating.

While it is possible to address these symptoms with a multitude of medications or treatments, some people add turmeric to their meals instead, although we don't know enough to say if turmeric or curcumin is beneficial for any health purposes. Adding turmeric to your meals or taking a supplemental capsule is promoted for numerous benefits to your gut and your health.

Turmeric is mostly known for its vibrant golden color and use in curries, but it contains vitamins, minerals, and additional compounds that fight inflammation and help to reduce abnormal muscle movements. Cutting down these movements allows your digestive tissues to relax and recover.

Specifically, it is the compound curcumin that provides the health benefits. There isn't enough evidence to say whether turmeric or curcumin can prevent IBS or other digestive symptoms.

Factors, such as stress, genetics, and food allergies or intolerances, contribute to upset digestive systems too. If you are prone to certain reactions because of allergies, talk with your health care provider about any complementary health approaches you use.

Taking turmeric three times a day means you get some delicious flavor added to your foods, but if you take any type of medicine, talk with your health care provider first, because some herbs and medicines interact in harmful ways. Turmeric offers a more natural solution to your ailments and helps to keep you hydrated at the same time as fighting inflammation.

What Turmeric Does for You

Now that you understand why you need to add turmeric to your diet, you can focus on the specific ways it will help your body. Most people think of fermented foods and probiotics as the go-to source for curing an unhappy digestive tract, but turmeric is one spice you shouldn’t count out.

Turmeric is often promoted for digestion, but oral turmeric can itself cause adverse effects such as nausea and vomiting, acid reflux, stomach upset, diarrhea, or constipation.

Every organ get a little help from turmeric to keep them functioning at optimal levels.

• Stomach: Turmeric helps your stomach lining by inhibiting the enzymes that compromise stomach health. At the same time, the compounds in turmeric boost the secretion of stomach mucous, which is the stomach lining’s best defense against corrosive stomach acid.
• Intestines: Curcumin supports the process of digestion by relaxing the smooth muscles in your intestinal walls, which allows for food to be gently pushed through the intestines. With regular intake, it can also help to prevent gas and bloating.
• Colon: It may be at the end of your digestive tract, but your colon is essential for efficient gut function. It also plays a role in the promotion and growth of friendly gut bacteria.
  Turmeric facilitates the balance between your gut flora and the immune response. But there isn't enough evidence to say whether turmeric or curcumin helps IBS or other gut conditions.
• Liver: Curcumin also possesses properties that help to increase the elimination of cholesterol by boosting the production of bile.
  Note that highly bioavailable formulations of curcumin, which enhance the body's ability to absorb the curcumin, may harm your liver.

Turmeric (or curcumin) has been used in traditional medicine for indigestion, but we don't know enough to say if turmeric or curcumin is beneficial for any health purposes. Turmeric is also promoted for other conditions.

• As a strong anti-inflammatory agent, curcumin is beneficial for relieving gout and muscle pain and soreness.
• The anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric also deliver relief to women suffering from unpleasant symptoms as a result of their menstrual cycle.
• Liver damage has been reported in some people who took bioavailable curcumin products. If you notice fatigue, nausea, poor appetite, dark urine, or jaundice, stop consuming turmeric or curcumin products immediately and talk with your health care provider.
• Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties also make it ideal for the relief of arthritis pain.
• There isn't enough evidence to say whether turmeric or curcumin helps blood pressure or heart health. If you take any type of medicine, talk with your health care provider before using any herbal product; some herbs and medicines interact in harmful ways.
• Many studies have looked at turmeric or curcumin for high cholesterol, but we don't know enough yet to say if it helps.

Final Thoughts

Turmeric is a popular culinary spice, but its health benefits are not yet clear, and the use of turmeric supplements during pregnancy may be unsafe.