Note: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve supplements for safety or effectiveness. Talk to a healthcare professional about whether a supplement is the right fit for your individual health, and about any potential drug interactions or safety concerns. Individually, turmeric and cayenne pepper are both popular culinary ingredients and dietary supplements. Besides adding spicy flavor to a variety of dishes, each may have several health benefits, often linked to lowering inflammation.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762949a217bf-3711-4155-922a-0cdc6d63f60c Combining turmeric and cayenne pepper may have a positive impact on digestion, metabolism , and blood pressure, but more research is needed.
Benefits of Turmeric 3 Possible Health Benefits of Turmeric You Should Know About Turmeric is the golden yellow spice long used in curries and complementary and alternative medicine. It contains curcumin, a natural compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric May Reduce Inflammation If you’ve taken turmeric as a supplement, you may have done so to tame inflammation. One meta-analysis found that curcumin helped reduce four out of five pro-inflammatory markers in the blood.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629859575e0-8703-48de-8c87-a47badca6b7d Researchers concluded that turmeric supplementation may be a useful way to improve oxidative stress, which is an imbalance of unstable molecules in the body that can lead to cell damage.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762986258580-c9b8-440a-a6a7-ccc2d504feb7 Turmeric May Ease Joint Pain Although turmeric is a spice, it could have a cooling influence on your joints. “I believe we have moderate to strong evidence supporting the effectiveness of turmeric for easing joint pain associated with arthritis ,” says Jenna Volpe, RDN, LD, CLT , founder of Whole-istic Living in Austin, Texas. One small systematic review showed turmeric and curcumin extracts were comparable to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for alleviating knee pain in people with osteoarthritis.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629fc4896d4-12fe-43b3-966d-a0c1ab0de958 Turmeric May Improve Depression Depression may be related to inflammation in the brain, making turmeric supplementation a potential way to manage its symptoms.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976292a49dcae-f331-4977-9af6-9a8a2f1a186e Although this spice isn’t a replacement for conventional depression treatments, one meta-analysis did find that turmeric may alleviate depression and anxiety in people with major depressive disorder.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629480d96f4-7509-4f40-9c91-715667a8ba68
Benefits of Cayenne Pepper 3 Possible Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper You Should Know About Cayenne pepper is the red, skinny pepper frequently used in curries and Mexican food. It’s considered good for your health because it contains capsaicin, the compound that gives this spice its heat.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297cb83ed0-3fae-4a2b-bc27-0fb12bed8efe Cayenne Pepper May Boost Weight Loss Cayenne may help improve metabolism. One review of studies found that capsaicin might be beneficial for small reductions in body weight, body mass index (BMI) , and waist circumference, particularly for people who are overweight or have obesity.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629bd2d1ed1-1306-424e-ad3e-d695d4f2e253 Cayenne Pepper May Improve Digestion While some studies suggest that cayenne pepper may have a positive impact on digestion, others say the opposite. More research is needed on cayenne’s effects on digestion, says Dr. Simran Malhotra, MD , a lifestyle medicine physician in Bethesda, Maryland. “There’s modest evidence suggesting that capsaicin can be an effective tool in supporting digestion while optimizing gut and metabolic health,” she says.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976294394e7da-aef2-4233-b354-f114cb325980 Cayenne Pepper May Help Heart Health Capsaicin is thought to be beneficial for heart health due to its potential to improve blood circulation, reduce inflammation, and help lower blood pressure numbers.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762968e2a237-833b-483f-9e57-c713e8db9734 Eating them in recipes once a week may lower your heart disease risk by 11 percent.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629811b6035-29a8-479a-a0b4-8ac630c1b2d0
Why Combine Turmeric and Cayenne Pepper? Why Combine Turmeric and Cayenne Pepper? Some health blogs claim that pairing turmeric and cayenne pepper could have a synergistic effect, creating a stronger anti-inflammatory punch. But Dr. Malhotra notes the science isn’t settled on whether turmeric and cayenne pepper are truly the dynamic duo that some people want it to be. “There isn’t any clear human evidence specifically on this combination, so more research would be needed to confirm their synergistic benefits,” she says. In one small study, a spice mix that included turmeric and cayenne pepper (as well as several other spices) increased the diversity of the gut microbiome in 15 healthy men.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297752f15b-cc45-4e88-a43f-28cd1729b1df Volpe says these gut-level changes could optimize anti-inflammatory activity. A diverse microbiome produces short-chain fatty acids, which are known for helping regulate inflammation.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629d1902054-5483-416d-ac1d-523b7a288c6e Other research has found that combining spices, including turmeric and cayenne, could inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria in the gut, which is another important factor in keeping inflammation at bay.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629149ff1b1-799c-4fe3-ad53-f633eaa57f53 People who are sensitive to either should be careful with the combination, as it may irritate the stomach or GI tract , Malhotra says. Excess turmeric has been linked to liver damage, and Volpe says this spice isn’t a great choice for people with gallstones or kidney stones, as it can aggravate these conditions.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762949907e59-1954-4b49-9757-7ea7201ba488
Tips for Combining Them How to Combine Turmeric and Cayenne Pepper If you’d like to test the merits of combining turmeric and cayenne pepper, Volpe says it may be easier to do that through diet rather than supplements. “Turmeric and cayenne pepper can be blended and added to a variety of savory dishes such as stir-fries, omelets, or noodle bowls,” she says. “They can also be integrated into curry recipes.” She suggests starting with small amounts to test your spice tolerance. You may also be able to enhance your absorption of turmeric by adding a source of fat (since curcumin is fat-soluble) and some black pepper, which increases curcumin’s bioavailability . If you prefer to take these spices in supplement form, health experts recommend up to 3 milligrams (mg) of turmeric per kilogram of body weight.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976292b552f9f-16aa-44b9-8346-d9885430f217 There’s no set dosage for cayenne pepper , but studies suggest that 2 mg to 8 mg is safe daily.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629a65fbaf9-b249-4964-9182-217f16b84385
The Takeaway Turmeric and cayenne pepper are flavorful spices that are valued for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory compounds. As individual supplements, turmeric and cayenne pepper may have health benefits like reducing inflammation, easing joint pain, boosting weight loss, and alleviating depression. It’s possible that these spices could have a synergistic effect on lowering inflammation when taken together, but more research is needed. You can experiment with these spices in your recipes, or you can take them as dietary supplements.
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