Turmeric: Spice Away Depression and More!

It's been a strange week. Maybe it's the tail end effects of mercury retrograde, I don't know. But it seems many around me hava a good reason to be depressed about something lately. I had a challenging week myself and didn't get to blog much, mostly because my 4-year-old son has been so hectic. And during this strange interplanetary time, he was the complete opposite of depression. Though he's normally happy and excitable in his natural state, he was uber-happy then, and so  high strung, he was wearing me out.

Then I came across this article, which presents a new study revealing that turmeric is more powerful than Prozac for treating depression. "Whoa," I thought to myself." Maybe I better stop giving my boy turmeric supplements every day. He might be high on the spice!!"  But seriously, once I stopped giving it to him a few days ago, he's calmed down quite a bit and is not so crazy-happy all the time, just normal happy again. So maybe there IS some truth to these results.

So for those of you who need a little crazy happy in your lives and are looking for something natural with many "side benefits," rather than the usual side-effects we get from prescription drugs, you might consider adding turmeric to your diet. 

Here are some more "side benefits" of turmeric.

1. Boosts your antioxidant protection against free radicals
2. Helps promote your healthy skin
3. Supports your overall eye health
4. Provides you immune system support
5. Aids your skeletal system and joint health
6. Encourages your healthy liver function
7. Helps you maintain healthy cells with support against free radicals
8. Balances the health of your digestive system
9. Aids you in support of healthy blood and your circulatory system
10. Helps you maintain normal cholesterol levels to support your cardiovascular system
11. Assists your neurological system's healthy response to stress
12. Promotes a healthy female reproductive system
13. Helps you maintain blood sugar levels already within the normal range
14. Turmeric DROPS are the absolute best relief for ear aches and throat infections. This I know for sure from personal experience...but it can leave you with unattractively yellow ears if you're not careful putting the drops in.

Turmeric can be taken as a supplement, eaten fresh, and taken in tincture or spice form. At home, aside from adding the spice in rice-cooking, one of our favorite ways to get turmeric in our diet is to make "golden milk" with almond oil and drink it daily in the morning. Here's a video that shows how to make it. We use coconut milk instead of cow milk and add a dash of cinnamon, cardamom, and a splash of almond extract for even more flavor. 

Come to think of it, just looking at that golden color in the steamy cup is enough to lift the mood.

Stay tuned...