Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin – which is essentially its active ingredient.
Curcumin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, wound healing and anticancer activities. It can help fight diseases like arthritis, diabetes, cancer, liver disease, gastrointestinal issues and more.
One study even called it “Cure-cumin” because of its long list of promising therapeutic and clinical uses.
So let’s look at the Top 5 Ways turmeric can help your dog … and how it compares to conventional drugs:
You may be thinking inflammation is only a problem for dogs with joint disease … but chronic, hidden inflammation is a silent killer. It’s the root of nearly all disease.
Cancer, arthritis, allergies, kidney disease, dental disease, digestive disease … are all caused by inflammation.
Not all inflammation in the body is a bad thing.
If your dog is exposed to viruses or bacteria, acute inflammation will release white blood cells to the body tissues and start the healing process.
But chronic inflammation … the kind of low-grade inflammation that stays for weeks, months and even years … is the true cause of most degenerative and inflammatory health issues in your dog.
Researchers recently found that heart disease can be linked to dental disease. Chronic bladder infections can lead to bladder cancer.
And they’re finding that chronic low-grade inflammation is a major driver of arthritis and joint degeneration.
A 2014 study found that the curcumin found in turmeric (its active ingredient) outperformed ibuprofen in people with arthritis.
But turmeric doesn’t just control the inflammation in joint disease …
Another 2004 study in Oncogene found that curcumin (as well as resveratrol) worked just as well as anti-inflammatory drugs.
And turmeric worked better than both aspirin and ibuprofen.
Inflammation is the key driver of most disease in the body …
And turmeric is one of the best natural anti-inflammatories either nature or medicine has to offer.
Keep this in mind as we look at the next few reasons to give your dog turmeric …
So we know that chronic inflammation can lead to cancer … and we know turmeric is a powerful antioxidant.
A UK study showed that curcumin could stop the precancerous changes from becoming cancer. So turmeric can help prevent cancer.
But turmeric can also treat cancer naturally.
Nearly 1/3 of the studies done on turmeric are cancer research … and the results are very promising.
Turmeric has been shown to kill cancer cells and prevent more from growing.
The American Cancer Society claims, “Curcumin interferes with cancer development, growth, and spread. Recently, curcumin has received a great deal of focus because of it’s ability to reduce tumor size and kill cancer cells.“
Half of adult dogs today will get cancer … so turmeric could be a great way to protect your dog from cancer and the inflammation that causes it.
We know that arthritis is the result of inflammation … and turmeric can decrease inflammation in the body.
Turmeric can also relieve the pain and stiffness in arthritis … better than conventional pain medications.
In 2014 a group of researchers in Thailand published a study comparing the effects of curcumin vs ibuprofen treatment in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
They found that curcumin worked just as well as ibuprofen to reduce pain …
But without the gastrointestinal side effects experienced by the patients who took ibuprofen.
Which brings us to the next benefit …
Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory effects can be helpful in treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) as well as other gastrointestinal disorders.
It’s been shown in several preclinical studies and uncontrolled clinical trials as having positive effects on gut inflammation and gut permeability.
Researchers at Hamamatsu South Hospital in Japan commented that curcumin’s “inhibitory effects on major inflammatory mechanisms […] and its unrivaled safety profile suggest it has bright prospects in the treatment of IBD.”
Many dogs are on steroids for allergies and joint pain – but some studies show curcumin is just as effective as steroids.
The authors note: “The lack of side effects with curcumin is its greatest advantage compared with corticosteroids.”
Another study published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology shows that combining curcumin with a steroid reduced the side effects of this dangerous medication.
And that’s the main benefit of turmeric … not only can it work just as well as many prescription and over-the-counter drugs, it doesn’t carry the same nasty, unwanted side effects.
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Gavin Coutts
Author