One of the best supplements to help heal your body is curcumin. Do you know why? I am here today to share the details behind this magical supplement. But before we get into the details of that, the other day I was organizing and cleaning out my home office. I’m sure you all have done that. Cleaned out your closets, pulled stuff out, and started going through it. We recently rearranged the bedrooms with the kids so I could move my home office from the basement to the upstairs. Of course, I had a lot of boxes and stuff all over the place. But I had a little bit of time so I started pulling things out and organizing them. As I was doing so, I ran across some old photos from my time in the Army.
It was interesting because I found my old basic training group photo taken at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri back in 1989. Then there was a group photo of my Medical Platoon we took just at the end of the Ground War during Operation Desert Storm in February of 1991. I looked at these photos and they just brought back a flood of memories. Some of those memories are really good and some are not so good. One of those memories was when I entered the US Army Basic Training in July of 1989. As I thought about that, it was a complete culture shock to me. I was young, 18-years-old and this was the first time I had really been away from home. I found myself being challenged in so many different ways.
Challenges
I was challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally during those eight weeks in Basic Training. The drill instructors were breaking me down and building me back up. I still remember laying in my bunk each night thinking “Oh no, I have made a huge mistake enlisting in the Army. What have I done? I have four years of this. What am I going to do?” I didn’t realize at the time that my regular Duty Station would not be like Basic Training. Eventually, I made it to Graduation Day.
Another memory that came back to me was when I arrived in Saudi Arabia on December 24th, 1990. I had no idea what was going to happen. They had taken my entire division out of Germany and shipped us down to Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield. At that time, no one knew how long we would be there and no one could answer questions as to when we would get back home. There was one thing we knew for sure, in order for us to go home, we were going to have to go through Iraq.
That is exactly what happened when the Ground War started. We moved up through Southern Iraq and ended up just outside of Basra, Iraq at the end of the Ground War which was where that photo was taken. After that, we were sent down into Northern Kuwait to help with the post-war cleanup and the preparations for us to return to Germany.
Reflections
As I thought about those experiences, it really got me thinking. When you’re facing a difficult or painful experience, the fastest way out of it is to go through it. Don’t spend time and energy worrying and thinking about all of the different ways to get out of the difficult situation or thinking about the what ifs… What if this happens? How am I going to handle this? How am I going to handle that? It’s a waste of energy. If you just accept where you are at the time and realize just by going through it, you can get through it faster. Not only will you get through it faster, what you receive on the other end can bring amazing rewards for your life.
Both of those experiences taught me so much about myself that I would have never learned without going through them. As a result, I grew and became a different person. I became who I am today as a result of those experiences. They molded me, formed me, and shaped me into who I am today. Sometimes, we just want so much to get out of things that we fail to see life is trying to teach us something about ourselves. Even though the experience or situation can be very painful or unpleasant, there are always positives we can take from it.
Don’t Back Down
That kind of reminds me of the lyrics from a country song I really like written and sung by Rodney Atkins, If You’re Going Through Hell. I just want to share a few verses from the song. “If you’re going through hell, keep on going. Don’t slow down. If you’re scared don’t show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there.” Think about this the next time you are faced with a difficult or painful situation. The fasted way out of it is to go through it. Despite what you might think, there is a blessing for you in that experience.
Speaking of experiences, something else I want to share with you guys. This weekend I ran in my first 5K race. I know this may not seem like much for some of you. I know there is people that have run half-marathons and full-marathons. You may be like, “Mike, come on, a 5K? That is 3.1 miles. That’s nothing.” But for me, this was a huge milestone.
Trials I’ve Had to Overcome
First of all, it marked the furthest distance I have ran since 1990, if you can believe that. This is because I should not be able to run right now. I’ve had injuries and some things have happened that kept me from being able to run. My body shouldn’t be able to sustain the impact and load that occurs with running. I have had an articular cartilage defect in my right knee that required surgery. They had to peel off some of the torn cartilage and drill into the bone. A procedure they call a Microfracture Procedure. My left Achilles Tendon has also been torn and repaired.
I should not be running, but now I can do it, thanks to the power of Joint Nutra Care. Taking Joint Nutra Care is the one thing I have been taking on a regular basis. It has really made the difference for my joints and has helped keep them healthy. It’s allowed me the ability to get back into an activity level I shouldn’t be able to perform at based on these injuries.
One of the ingredients in the Joint Nutra Care formula two we’re going to talk about today is Curcumin.
What Exactly is Curcumin and How Does it Help Heal Your Body?
Curcumin is the spice turmeric. Turmeric’s medicinal properties has been known for thousands of years but only recently has it really been studied. The result of these studies is absolutely amazing. In a nutshell, turmeric has been shown to reduce oxidative and inflammatory conditions. It has been shown to help with metabolic syndrome, arthritis, high cholesterol, anxiety, and (believe it or not) can help calm down people’s moods. We’ll talk more about that shortly. It has been shown to reduce the inflammation and muscle soreness from exercise, which can actually help you recover quicker from your workouts.
We’re going to talk about this and dive in deeper. Curcumin is absolutely awesome. There are two main ways curcumin works.
First: it’s an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It has been shown to improve the systemic markers of oxidative stress. Basically, what that does is reduces the free radicals in the body. The oxidative stress contributes to many chronic diseases and is very closely related to inflammation. Both of these processes can easily be induced by each other. The inflammatory cells release a number of reactive cells at the point of inflammation that can lead to oxidative stress. The way this works is really quite complicated and quite honestly, if I go into it, I am going to bore the socks off of you. Unless you’re really into research and that kind of stuff, it is very complicated and boring. Just know this, curcumin has been shown to suppress inflammation through many different mechanisms.
Curcumin has also been proven to alleviate arthritis with several studies showing it’s effectiveness in reducing pain and stiffness with inflammation that occurs from arthritis and arthritic wear and tear.
Curcumin Studies
In one study they had 50 people who had osteoarthritis and assigned them to two different groups. One group, received the standard treatment by their physician and the other group the received the standard treatment by their physician plus a curcumin supplement. The group receiving the curcumin supplement showed greater reduction in all markers of inflammation. How amazing is that? That group got better faster. Their inflammation went down quicker than it did with the standard group.
There was another study where they took a larger group of people, 367, with osteoarthritis. The subjects were divided into two different groups. One group received ibuprofen only and the other received only curcumin. We know ibuprofen helps with the symptoms of arthritis. It’s a known fact. But both groups, when they were measured for their function and pain levels, had improved by the same level. That just blew me away. The interesting thing was the group taking ibuprofen had more stomach problems with reports of ulcers and gastrointestinal distress. The curcumin group did not have any of that. So, this study showed curcumin can work just as effectively as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, but without the side effects.
The FDA has warned us about the fact that NSAID’s such as Aleve, ibuprofen, and Celebrex have a very high risk for contributing to strokes, heart attacks, and gastrointestinal problems. Given that knowledge, which would you rather take? Ibuprofen that’s going to eat a hole in your stomach, give you a stroke or heart attack, or take curcumin.
I don’t know about you, but to me, curcumin is a better choice.
Another study showed curcumin worked just as effectively as acetaminophen. This tells us that curcumin can replace your nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and pain pills. How amazing is that?
Another Benefit of Curcumin
Curcumin can improve metabolic syndrome. What is metabolic syndrome? I’m glad you asked! It is a condition characterized by widespread systemic inflammation and causes high blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and increases central abdominal fat the body stores around your midsection. I’m not talking about the fat just under the skin. This is the visceral fat underneath the musculature that is intertwined in and around your organs and intestines. This is the worst and unhealthiest kind of fat you can have. It is the highest predictor of those who could have a heart attack or stroke. We’ve seen folks with a very large, protruding abdomen that is hard when you push on it. There is no body fat subcutaneous under the skin because all the body fat is intertwined into the intestines and organs.
It’s pushing out against the abdominal wall, which is distending the musculature and creates that protruding type of abdomen. It almost makes them look like they are pregnant or have a bowling ball underneath their belly. That’s a characteristic of metabolic syndrome and is extremely dangerous and unhealthy. The interesting thing in these studies is curcumin was shown to improve insulin sensitivity. It was shown to suppress the formation of body fat. Kept people from forming body fat. Reduced blood pressure, inflammation, and oxidative stress in those with metabolic syndrome. Both overweight and obesity is linked directly to low grade inflammation. Addressing this inflammation is not just important for losing weight, but for your overall health by reducing your risk of heart attack, stroke, and diabetes.
Inflammation is Bad
If your body is in a chronic state of systemic inflammation, you are going to have a very hard time losing weight no matter how hard you work out. We’ve seen people do this. They have come to me saying I have worked out. I have done everything I can do. I literally feel like I’m starving myself. I’m working out five times a week, running and sweating, I’m doing it and I can’t lose any weight. That’s because their body is in a low grade of inflammation. The inflammation is preventing the weight loss process from being able to happen.
Still More Benefits!
Another benefit of curcumin supplementation is that it has been show to improve attention, memory, and mood! Those taking curcumin in these studies were shown to have a greater sense of calmness, less mental fatigue, and better memory.
Curcumin also has benefits for those who enjoy working out. You may be healthy. You may think, well, I don’t have any joint problems. I’m not diabetic. I’m in shape and I workout a lot. Curcumin cab help you too. In these other studies, it was shown to reduce muscle soreness and inflammation after working out allowing those who were taking it to recover faster. You all know if you recover faster from your workouts, you can get back to the next one much quicker. Curcumin was very effective at helping people do that!
Curcumin has so many amazing health benefits. The potential to replace many of those harmful medications treating arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, the list can go on and on.
The take home here I want to emphasize is the fact there are supplements that can help you heal and manage your pain and inflammation. Speaking of healing naturally, are you suffering from a low back or hip pain? Because if so, I want you to know about Backpain Breakthrough Session. This is a one-on-one session with one of my licensed therapists. They will help you get to the root cause of your problem, and it will help you feel better in just the first session. All you’ve got to do is just go to this LINK to find out more and book your session.
Inspiration Quote
Charles Spurgeon said “Trials teach us what we are. They dig up the soil and let us see what we are made of.” I want you to think about that when things get tough.
Until next time. Power Your Life and keep moving forward.
