30th Jan 2015: Endometriosis can be a debilitating condition that is thought to affect around 10-20% of pre-menopausal women. Recent research has suggested that turmeric has the potential to prevent and even manage many of the symptoms of endometriosis.
The research carried out on animal studies and in culture tests shows promising results. It’s believed that turmeric has an active ingredient known as curcumin which was found in tests to reduce inflammation, particularly in endometrial lesions, resulting in a delay in the progression of endometriosis.
This is further supported by a study published within the Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics which found curcumin reduced inflammation significantly that may have been caused by endometriosis. While in the animal based study the curcumin was found to contain strong anti-endometriosis properties and could inhibit any inflammatory action on a cellular level.
One study carried out at the Hubei University of Medicine found that when curcumin is applied into endometrial cells it starts reducing the proteins that are associated with endometriosis and that the spice can also inhibit endometriosis cells from growing.
This is good news for women who experience painful periods and who long to be pain free during that time of the month. Taking curcumin supplements or turmeric could be the answer they’ve been searching for when it comes to reducing painful endometriosis symptoms.
Curcumin is known to have a low bioavailability meaning the body doesn’t absorb it so easily which is why many health experts recommend taking a curcumin supplement containing BioPerine, a black pepper extract. BioPerine extract increases the bioavailability and absorption of the curcumin within the human body.
