Turmeric This magic ingredient

Why did Terre de Mars include turmeric powder in its Luminance Scrub?

For thousands of years, people around the world have associated turmeric with these healing properties and cosmetic benefits. Turmeric is the spice that gives curry its yellow color. It has been used in India for thousands of years as both a spice and a medicinal herb. More recently, science has confirmed what Indians have long claimed ... turmeric really does contain compounds with remarkable medicinal properties. These compounds are called curcuminoids, the most important of which is curcumin: the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. This bright yellow-orange spice is a cousin of ginger. Modern scientific research is only just beginning to study turmeric's positive impact, and it confirms the many beneficial properties of this spice for the skin.

That is why we have included it in our featured scrub.

Turmeric and its benefits when applied directly to the skin:

Turmeric contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. These properties give the skin a glow and radiance. It refreshes your skin by bringing out its natural luminosity.

– Curcumin from turmeric helps wounds heal by reducing inflammation and oxidation. It also shortens the body's response time to skin wounds. This leads to faster wound healing. Studies have shown that turmeric positively affects epidermal tissue and collagen. The journal Life Sciences recommends applying curcumin as an optimized formula for better treatment of skin wounds.

– Turmeric protects the skin from sun damage. In a 2009 study, researchers applied turmeric extract to skin damaged by long-term, low-dose ultraviolet radiation. They found that it protected the skin from UV rays, prevented wrinkle formation, helped retain skin elasticity, and reduced the appearance of dark spots.

– Curcumin reduces the risk of skin cancer. Many studies show that this natural ingredient helps slow the growth of cancer cells and even shrinks tumors.

– Turmeric helps heal wounds; it has a long history as a healer. Whether it was a bruise, an insect bite, or an infected wound, turmeric was the solution. Modern research has confirmed this. A 2005 study found that turmeric was just as effective as honey in wound healing, helping the skin heal faster than it would without the application of either substance. An earlier 1999 study compared turmeric with coconut oil and proved that turmeric was more effective in helping the wound close and heal.

– Thanks to its powerful antioxidants, turmeric delays the appearance of skin aging by protecting cells against free radical damage. In a 2014 study, researchers reported that curcumin protected cells from oxidative damage. An earlier 2010 study also reported that curcumin could be a remarkable anti-aging substance. It not only potentially reduces the risk of many deadly diseases of today, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease, but it can improve the health of older people because of its powerful anti-inflammatory properties. We now know that inflammation underlies many of our modern diseases, and that anti-inflammation can improve and extend life. “Curcumin may counteract the pro-inflammatory state,” the researchers wrote, “which is believed to play a part in many age-related diseases.” It makes sense that applying turmeric may also help delay the appearance of aging on the skin.

– Turmeric helps fade age spots and treat melasma. The spice appears to be able to affect melanin, which is the substance in the skin responsible for pigmentation. If you have melasma, you have too much melanin on your cheeks, chin and forehead. Age spots are also created by too much melanin in one area. The curcumin in turmeric appears to block the activation of proteins that increase and regulate melanin production. In a 2009 study mentioned earlier, researchers found that curcumin extract not only protected against UV rays, but also prevented the formation of pigmentation caused by UV radiation.

– Turmeric's anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties can reduce psoriasis by controlling flare-ups and other symptoms.

– Turmeric may help reduce acne and the resulting scars. Its anti-inflammatory properties target pores and calm the skin. Turmeric is also known to reduce scars. This combination of uses helps clear the face of acne breakouts.

– Turmeric is used to treat scabies. In a study conducted in India, a combination of turmeric and neem, a plant native to India, was effective in treating scabies. This disease is caused by microscopic mites that leave a rash. Turmeric can also treat other skin conditions such as eczema, alopecia, lichen planus and other skin problems.

Turmeric is also a very effective nutritional supplement. Many high-quality studies show that it has major benefits for the body and the brain.

Turmeric's health benefits:

– Curcumin is a natural anti-inflammatory compound. It helps the body fight off foreign invaders and also plays a role in repairing damage. Without inflammation, pathogens such as bacteria could easily take over our bodies and kill us. Although acute (short-term) inflammation is beneficial, it can become a major problem when it is chronic (long-term) and inappropriately directed against the body's own tissues. Low-level chronic inflammation is now thought to play a major role in almost every Western chronic disease. This includes heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and various degenerative disorders. Therefore, anything that can help fight chronic inflammation is of the utmost importance in the prevention and even treatment of these diseases.

It turns out that curcumin is strongly anti-inflammatory; it is so powerful that it rivals the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs. Curcumin actually targets several steps in the inflammatory pathway at the molecular level. Curcumin blocks NF-KB, a molecule that moves into cell nuclei and activates genes associated with inflammation. NF-KB is thought to play a major role in many chronic diseases. Without going into detail, the key point here is that curcumin is a bioactive substance that fights inflammation at the molecular level.

In several studies, its potency compares favorably with anti-inflammatory prescription drugs ... except without the side effects.

– Turmeric significantly increases the body's antioxidant capacity. Oxidative damage is considered one of the mechanisms behind aging and many diseases. It involves free radicals, highly reactive molecules with unpaired electrons. Free radicals tend to react with important organic substances such as fatty acids, proteins or DNA. The main reason antioxidants are so beneficial is that they protect our bodies against free radicals. Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant capable of neutralizing free radicals because of its chemical structure. But curcumin also stimulates the activity of the body's antioxidant enzymes. In this way, curcumin fights free radicals. It blocks them directly, then stimulates the body's antioxidant mechanisms.

– Curcumin stimulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor, improving brain function and reducing brain diseases. At the time, it was believed that neurons were unable to divide and multiply after early childhood. We now know that this is false. Neurons are capable of forming new connections, but in certain regions of the brain, they can also multiply and increase in number.

One of the main drivers of this process is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is a type of growth hormone that works in the brain. Many common brain disorders have been linked to reduced levels of this hormone. This includes depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Curcumin can increase BDNF levels in the brain. By doing so, it may be effective in delaying or even reversing many brain diseases and age-related declines in brain function. There is also the possibility that this could help improve memory.

– Curcumin brings about various improvements that reduce the risk of heart disease. Curcumin may help reverse many steps in the heart disease process. The main benefit of curcumin with regard to heart disease is the improvement of endothelial function, which is the lining of blood vessels. It is well known that endothelial dysfunction is an important factor in heart disease and involves the endothelium's inability to regulate blood pressure, blood clotting and various other factors. Several studies suggest that curcumin leads to improvements in endothelial function. One study shows that it is as effective as exercise, another shows that it works as well as some medications. But curcumin also reduces inflammation and oxidation (as explained above), which are also important factors in heart disease.

– Turmeric may also help prevent (and perhaps even treat) cancer. This terrible disease is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. There are many different forms of cancer, but they share several features, some of which appear to be affected by curcumin supplementation. Researchers have studied curcumin as a beneficial plant in cancer treatment. It can affect the growth, development and spread of cancer at the molecular level. Studies have shown that it can reduce angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels in tumors), metastasis (spread of cancer), as well as contribute to cancer cell death.

Many studies have shown that curcumin can reduce the growth of cancer cells in the lab and inhibit tumor growth.

– Curcumin may also be useful in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. This disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease in the world and one of the leading causes of dementia. Unfortunately, no good treatment is currently available. Therefore, preventing it from appearing is of the utmost importance. Curcumin has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier. It is known that inflammation and oxidative damage play a role in Alzheimer's disease. As we know, curcumin has beneficial effects on both. But a key feature of Alzheimer's disease is an accumulation of tangled protein deposits called amyloid plaques. Studies show that curcumin may help clear these plaques.

– Arthritis is a common problem in Western countries. It exists in several different types, but most involve some form of inflammation in the joints. Since curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory, it makes sense that it could help against arthritis. Several studies show this: in a study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, curcumin was even more effective than an anti-inflammatory drug. Many other studies have looked at the effects of curcumin on arthritis and noted improvements in various symptoms.

– Other studies show that curcumin has incredible benefits against depression. Curcumin has shown promise in the treatment of depression. In a controlled trial, 60 patients were randomized into three groups (45). One group took prozac, another group took one gram of curcumin and the third group took prozac and curcumin. After 6 weeks, curcumin led to similar improvements as prozac. The group that took both prozac and curcumin did best. According to this study, curcumin is as effective as an antidepressant. Depression is also linked to reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and shrinking of the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in learning and memory. Curcumin increases BNDF levels, which may reverse some of these changes. There is also evidence that curcumin can stimulate the brain neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine.

– Finally, curcumin may help delay aging and fight age-related chronic diseases. If curcumin can really help prevent heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease ... that would clearly have benefits for longevity. For this reason, curcumin has become very popular as an anti-aging ingredient. But since oxidation and inflammation play a role in aging, curcumin may have effects that go far beyond simple disease prevention.