Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of ill-health symptoms that are increasingly common today. It would not be surprising if everyone reading this knew many people with metabolic syndrome, whether they’ve been diagnosed or not.
Metabolic syndrome symptoms include hypertension, insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, hyperlipidemia (high levels of fats in the blood, including cholesterol), and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Metabolic syndrome is linked to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, so any tools available at our fingertips to combat these symptoms are very welcome.
To that end, researchers from Iran set out to determine what effect curcumin (a key component of the spice turmeric) supplementation might have on those with metabolic syndrome and published their results in the journal Nutrition in October 2022.
The researchers randomly assigned 88 subjects to one of four groups taking different supplements: one group taking curcumin plus a placebo, a second group taking coenzyme Q10 plus a placebo, a third group taking curcumin plus coenzyme Q10, and a fourth group taking a double placebo, all over the course of twelve weeks.
After twelve weeks of supplementation, they found that only the curcumin plus placebo group yielded any significant effects. Namely, the curcumin plus placebo group showed a significant reduction in HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. No significant changes were observed in blood pressure, blood sugar, body weight, BMI, or waist circumference.
While curcumin did not show itself to be a cure-all for metabolic syndrome all by itself in this study, it is yet another indication of the positive effects curcumin can have on our health.
If these results are replicable in real life, we can only imagine the net positive benefits adding in an overall healthy lifestyle, diet, and fitness program could yield.
If you suffer from metabolic syndrome or have any other health concerns that you think may be helped by taking curcumin, be sure to talk to your licensed health care professional before starting or changing any treatment program in order to find out what is appropriate for you.
And for more information on studies conducted on curcumin and turmeric, just click here.
Reference: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-022-00816-7
Reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899900721002276
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