5 Ways to Get More Turmeric in Your Diet
You’re sitting at your computer, scrolling through yet another article on the best ways to boost your health (and fight inflammation), when you realize there’s a problem…
They’re all saying the same thing:
Add this one secret ingredient to your diet!
Start using this ancient Indian superfood!
Eat more turmeric!
But the problem is, they’re not telling you how to do it.
Because if turmeric isn’t part of your diet already, the command to “eat more turmeric” isn’t so easy to follow.
It leaves you with a whole host of questions…
Won’t turmeric make your food taste strange? How much turmeric should you use? Is it really going to turn your hands yellow?
Maybe it’s not worth it, you think to yourself.
Yellow hands aren’t really your style, and anyway – is turmeric actually as good for you as everyone says it is?
The truth is, yes.
Yes – turmeric is a powerful ally in the fight against chronic inflammation.
Yes – eating more turmeric really could benefit your health.
And adding more turmeric to your diet doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming or messy – it can be simple, and I’ll show you how.
This guide will walk you through a review of the health benefits of turmeric, and briefly explain what it is. Then I’ll show you 5 easy ways to add more turmeric to your diet, even if you don’t like the taste!
What is Turmeric?
Turmeric is a spice…
It comes from a plant called Curcuma longa which is part of the same family as ginger. And just like ginger, the part of the plant we use in cooking is the root.
You’ll usually find turmeric available as a pre-ground yellow powder. Although if you look for it, you can sometimes find the whole fresh root, too.
Turmeric has some major health benefits…
Registered Nurse and Certified Wellness Practitioner Maria Moore, RN summarizes the many benefits of turmeric. “Extensive research has found that turmeric has numerous health benefits. It improves cardiovascular function by helping to reduce blood pressure and bad cholesterol, and by helping to control blood sugar levels. It boosts the immune system and digestive health, improves blood circulation and brain function, and reduces inflammation. It is a natural anti-depressant, reduces stress levels, and helps to prevent cancer.”
Dr. Carolyn Anderson, M.D. believes strongly in the benefits of this spice. “Its anti-inflammatory properties are incredibly powerful. In fact no other food ingredient is more effective at decreasing inflammation in the body.”
It contains an active compound called curcumin, which has been scientifically proven to:
- Fight inflammation (1)
- Help treat depression (2)
- Act as a powerful antioxidant (3)
- Protect the brain from neurodegenerative disease (4)
- Reduce risk factors for heart disease (5)
- Treat various forms of cancer (6)
And anyone suffering from painful rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease will be pleased to hear that curcumin is proven to be an effective treatment. (7,8)
How to add more Turmeric to your diet…
These are the 5 easiest ways to add more turmeric to your diet – curries, drinks, salad dressing, seasoning, supplements.
Note: Be careful when you’re handling turmeric. I’d recommend measuring it out with a teaspoon, as the powder can stain your skin yellow. (It’s easily removable with an exfoliating scrub).
1) Curries
The simplest way to eat more turmeric is to add an extra teaspoon or so into your keto-friendly curries, soups and chilis.
And don’t worry about the flavor – turmeric is very mild, and you won’t be able to taste it inside a richly flavored curry.
Try adding turmeric to these recipes:
4-Ingredient Keto Chicken Curry Recipe
Pressure Cooker Keto Beef Curry Recipe
Keto Salmon Curry Recipe
Keto Broccoli Soup Recipe
Keto Chili Recipe
2) Drinks
There are several different ways you can add a touch of turmeric to your drinks…
Make golden turmeric milk:
You can add a dash of turmeric and a little honey (if you want a sweeter taste) to a cup of warm non-dairy milk, like coconut milk or almond milk.
Dr. Kelly Brogan, M.D. recommends this toasty Turmeric Latte, citing it’s many health benefits. “The most well-referenced healers of all spices, turmeric is known for it’s many therapeutic properties, including reducing inflammation. Turmeric shows incredible promise as a natural treatment for depression, I love this amazing food!”
Some folks find turmeric helps them relax and sleep better, so try drinking your golden milk in the evening. If you like golden milk you might also enjoy this Keto Golden Milk Jello Recipe.
Create a morning turmeric elixir:
There’s a simple and healthy drink you can make with turmeric and lemon.
The recipe is straightforward:
- Pour yourself one cup of warm water or non-dairy milk – and if you’re wondering why I don’t recommend regular milk, have a peek at this article on why dairy may not be as healthy as you think.
- Stir in ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp of honey and lemon juice (squeezed from half a lemon – or more, if you’re a fiend for citrus flavors).
- Add ¼ tsp of cinnamon on top, and drink up!
You’ll want to drink this fairly quickly (not too quickly – don’t give yourself hiccups!) as otherwise, the turmeric will all settle on the bottom of the cup.
For another great morning drink, Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D. recommends Turmeric Tea. “Okinawans drink copious quantities of turmeric tea. Some brew it fresh, but others simply buy cans or powdered instant versions of unsweetened tea from their local stores.”
Add turmeric to your smoothies:
Health coach and Registered Dietician Jessica Cording, RD, INHC, says, “Turmeric’s antioxidant properties also benefit our appearance too by protecting the skin from free-radical damage like environmental pollutants. Add a teaspoon to your favorite green juice or smoothie for an antioxidant boost.”
If you can find fresh turmeric, adding a half-inch piece to your favorite smoothie recipes (along with a pinch of ground black pepper) is a great way to get more turmeric into your diet.
Don’t have fresh turmeric? No problem, simply use the ground version. But whatever you do, add a pinch of black pepper too – it helps your body absorb curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) more easily.
And if you don’t have any favorite smoothie recipes, I’ve got you covered…
Ketogenic Green Smoothie Recipe
28 Keto Smoothie Recipes To Start Your Day With
3) Salad Dressings
Add an anti-inflammatory boost to your salads by using a teaspoon of turmeric in your salad dressings.
Make your own simple turmeric salad dressing:
Just follow these three easy steps…
- Place ½ cup of olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp of turmeric, ½ tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp of honey in a bowl.
- Mix them together until they’re well combined.
- Drizzle the mixture over a bowl of leafy greens (like kale or spinach).
Add turmeric to your favorite salad dishes:
You’re unlikely to notice the flavor of turmeric when it’s mixed in with lots of other ingredients. So you can easily slip a teaspoon unnoticed into the dressing of pretty much any salad!
Like one of these, for example…
5-Minute Keto Curried Tuna Salad Recipe
Keto Greek Meatballs Salad Recipe
Keto Chicken Salad Recipe with Lemon and Strawberries
Keto Waldorf Salad Recipe
5-Minute Keto Sardines Salad Recipe
4) Seasoning
Turmeric makes a great seasoning, especially combined with other spices!
Create a turmeric rub for meats and veggies:
Here’s a simple recipe to get you started…
- Mix together turmeric, black pepper, salt and other spices you love, like cumin or chili powder.
- Combine your spice mix with 2 tbsp of olive oil or coconut oil.
- Rub the mixture onto meat (chicken, beef or lamb are good options) or use it to coat a mixture of low-carb vegetables.
- Then grill them, saute them or roast them in the oven!
Use turmeric to season your eggs:
Add a touch of turmeric to your eggs as they cook in the pan, or mix it into your omelettes before cooking.
You’ll find they take on an eye-catching yellow color, making your breakfast (and your morning) just a little brighter!
Add turmeric to your cauliflower rice:
If you want to spice up a bowl of bland and boring cauliflower rice, adding a teaspoon of turmeric will do the trick.
Use this simple keto cauliflower rice recipe, with the addition of 1 tsp of turmeric and ¼ tsp of black pepper.
5) Supplements
Supplements are a helpful way to increase your turmeric intake.
They’re probably the most simple method of all!
They’re usually made of concentrated levels of the active ingredient in turmeric – curcumin – which has all the great health benefits I mentioned at the start of this article.
And the best supplements will also contain piperine (the active ingredient in black pepper), which helps increase your body’s absorption of curcumin. We know how important this is so we added it to our own Turmeric Soothe supplement.
You might be wondering why you need to add turmeric-the-spice to your diet at all if you can just rely on curcumin-the-supplement…
But the truth is, although curcumin is the most well-studied compound in turmeric, the spice does contain other active compounds too.
For instance, the oil in turmeric has been used to treat viruses and respiratory disorders. (9)
Also, curcumin is only one of a family of compounds in turmeric known as curcuminoids – and the others have antioxidant effects too. (10) It’s been demonstrated that these active compounds all work together, having a greater impact collectively than they do individually. (11)
So even if you’re taking curcumin supplements, make sure you get some natural turmeric into your diet too!
And if you need advice on which other supplements could benefit your Keto diet, have a read through this article on the most essential Keto Diet Supplements.
Add more Turmeric to your dishes and get its powerful health benefits
The small effort will be well worth it…
Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory substance which can help with many health conditions.
And it really is easy to add more turmeric to your daily diet…
Just use it to season your meals and make sure you take it with black pepper to increase its bioavailability.
So now that I’ve given you some simple suggestions to follow, it’s up to you to try them out!
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