Lupus Sufferers Can Find Relief in These 9 Turmeric Health Benefits
7 minute read
Lupus is a non-contagious inflammatory autoimmune disease in which your own immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues within the body. This is one of those conditions where the inflammatory response is not your friend.
There is no true cause for the condition, but there is much that can be done in terms of treatment. Natural supplements, such as the curcumin found in the spice turmeric, can help to control the inflammation and keep lupus symptoms from interfering with your life.
Lupus and Your Body
Lupus is not confined to one organ in your body, as your entire immune system is affected. This leads to widespread inflammation throughout the whole body. Just as with other inflammatory conditions, individuals with lupus need to continuously monitor their condition to avoid dangerous flare-ups.
Chronic inflammation may be the same, but there are different types of lupus. Neonatal lupus develops when a mother passes autoantibodies to the child. Discoid lupus typically only affects the skin, and drug-induced lupus is the result of prescription drugs that cause lupus-like symptoms.
Genetics and environmental factors are thought to play a role in the development of lupus, but no true cause has ever been determined.
The most common symptoms of lupus include:
♦ Skin Rashes
♦ Fever
♦ Confusion
♦ Fatigue
♦ Joint pain
♦ Prolonged headaches
♦ Chest pains
It is the autoantibodies associated with the condition that cause the issues. As a regular part of your immune system, your body produces antibodies in response to invading pathogens. Sometimes these antibodies are created to attack the body’s own tissues because of an immune system error, and lupus is the result.
The most common autoantibody attacks the nucleus of your cells, which leads to their destruction.
Treating Lupus with Turmeric
Treatment for lupus typically involves anti-inflammatory medications, immunosuppressant drugs, and steroids, but each of these can come with a host of adverse side effects after prolonged use.
Research has identified that natural supplements like turmeric (curcumin), provide benefits for lupus symptoms as well as bringing relief and maintaining remission, without any potentially dangerous side effects. Here is what a turmeric supplement can do:
1. Inhibits Autoantibodies
Curcumin helps to inhibit inflammatory pathways, so the antigen-antibody interaction cannot take place. This means the inflammatory response is not released and lupus autoantibodies cannot find their target cells.
It is important to ensure that you get a supplement with the most bioavailable form of curcumin for more effective results. Regular curcumin treatment also improved life expectancy and reduced damage done to organs.
2. Immunomodulatory Actions
Turmeric has been linked to boosting the immune system, which is why, on the surface, it should be avoided for lupus. It is more accurate to note that curcumin (or turmeric) regulates the immune response and the activity of immune cells. It also reduces the production of inflammatory markers.
Curcumin is not so much an immune system booster as it is a regulator, and it interacts with your immune pathways to achieve desired results.
3. Restore Immune Function
The ability of turmeric to both suppress and stimulate the immune system makes it important in cases of lupus. With lupus, there is an imbalance of immune cells, and turmeric has the ability to restore balance.
| Related: Turmeric: The Proven Health Benefits of Curcumin |
By acting to suppress or stimulate immune cells as needed, balance can be maintained, and the progression of lupus can be significantly slowed.
4. Relieve Arthritis Symptoms
Arthritis is a common condition in those with lupus. The excess inflammation damages your joints and causes pain. Once cells are damaged by arthritis, they become resistant to cell death and trigger further inflammation.
Turmeric works to kill these cells to prevent the progression of arthritis and improve joint health. Because lupus often comes with arthritis, it is important to have turmeric at the ready and to follow a diet designed to offer arthritis relief.
5. Protects Your Skin
Those with lupus are also more prone to skin rashes and eczema. Turmeric supplements or topical applications can be used to effectively soothe irritated and damaged skin. By controlling the inflammation in and around your skin cells, turmeric provides protection detail for those at risk of developing skin conditions.
6. Repairs Your Kidney
Kidney damage is another common side effect of lupus. Systemic inflammation reaches the kidneys, causing nephritis and potentially kidney failure. Curcumin inhibits the inflammatory pathway and prevents it from reaching your kidneys, which allows time for recovery and repair.
7. Works Better Than NSAIDs
The typical go-to resource for any inflammatory-related condition is NSAIDs or other anti-inflammatory medications. The trouble is that, with prolonged use, these drugs can cause serious damage to other parts of the body.
Curcumin doesn’t cause potentially harmful side effects and serves as a potent analgesic agent, reducing pain better than the leading prescriptions.
8. Beats Depression
There are a number of studies that find depression linked to lupus, but the topic remains controversial. Studies have found that chronic pain and inflammation of the brain can trigger depressive symptoms.
| Related: What Is the Best Diet for Depression, Fatigue, & Anxiety? |
Curcumin modulates neurotransmitters and controls inflammation, helping to keep your mental health in check.
9. Fights Fatigue
The systemic inflammation associated with lupus, combined with the aches and pains, contributes to lack of sleep and overall fatigue. The analgesic qualities of turmeric help to reduce pain while the anti-inflammatory activities slow progression of the condition. Both actions work to protect you from pain and let you get the rest you need.
The Bottom Line
It is important to start treating lupus early before any complications can arise. Without proper attention, the inflammation caused can spread to your vital organs, causing endocarditis (heart inflammation), nephritis (kidney inflammation), psychosis, and more.
Starting a lupus treatment program or even a prevention program will ensure you stay healthy and can live with lupus and without the symptoms.
