Turmeric Can Turn High Blood Pressure Around
If you have high blood pressure, turmeric supplements might help. Tumeric is being researched more and more for its health benefits ranging from fighting cancer and inflammation to protecting against diabetes to protecting the heart and cardiovascular system.
What is Turmeric?
You may have heard of curcumin but maybe not turmeric. Curcumin is the main biologically active ingredient in turmeric. Turmeric is a yellow spice used in Indian cuisine. Turmeric comes from the Curcumin domestica plant. The roots and underground stems contain the medicinal part of the plant.
Turmeric has effects that protect the liver, lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, and are anti-inflammatory. Its anticancer effects are being studied at leading cancer institutions. It has also been used as an insect repellant and to treat fertility problems. Turmeric also has weak estrogen activity. So it seems to have many health benefits.
Turmeric and Blood Pressure
Through its anti-inflammatory effects and effects on preventing blood clots and lowering cholesterol turmeric improves cardiovascular health. There’s another way it benefits the cardiovascular system and that is through its blood pressuring lowering effects.
Turmeric improves endothelial dysfunction. The endothelium is a one cell thick inner lining of blood vessels. When healthy it should function like a Teflon coating and not allow anything to stick to it. Hundreds of biochemical processes take place within the endothelium some of which regulate the diameter of  blood vessels and thus blood pressure.
When blood vessels constrict blood pressure goes up and when they dilate blood pressure goes down. Turmeric helps to keep blood vessels dilated improving blood flow and oxygenation to tissues.
Kidneys are important organs that also regulate blood pressure. Turmeric has been shown to lower blood pressure in patients with kidney disease.
High Blood Pressure Turmeric Supplements
Turmeric is readily available in health food stores in supplement form and more and more health benefits are ascribed to it. Since curcumin is the main active ingredient we suggest you simply by a curcumin supplement. Curcumin is not readily absorbed unless in it is a special formula. Look for BCM-95 on the label. The typical dose is 500 mg a day. Up to a 1,000 mg has been shown to help depression probably related to turmeric’s anti-inflammatory effects.
