You can use turmeric to reduce inflammation and pain related to inflammation. Make a tea from it is one of the easiest ways to consume turmeric. In fact, turmeric tea is often known as the anti-inflammatory tea! Making turmeric tea is nice and simple, and there are all sorts of variations and adaptations of the recipe, allowing you to customize it to suit your personal tastes. Whichever recipe you use (or even if you get creative and make up your own version), it’s important that you only use good quality turmeric powder, or alternatively, you can use grated fresh turmeric root for a stronger flavour. There are numerous turmeric health benefits, and you can read more about the benefits of consuming turmeric regularly, further down the page.

Turmeric should be easy to find in your local grocery store or supermarket. Additionally, Amazon has the most extensive range of turmeric powder. We use and recommend Starwest Botanicals Organic Turmeric Root Powder from Amazon as it is organic, high quality and exceptional value.

***Please note that, despite turmeric’s benefits, you shouldn’t drink tea made from turmeric, or take turmeric supplements whilst you are pregnant or breastfeeding. If in doubt please contact your doctor first.***

Turmeric Tea Recipe Infographic

Check out the recipes below and discover how to make turmeric tea. Many people are concerned that making tea with turmeric is difficult, but that is not the case at all. Give one of these anti-inflammatory tea recipes below a try and see.

Basic Turmeric Tea Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Lemon or honey (or both!) to serve

How To Make the Tea

• Heat 4 cups of water, bringing it to the boil.
• Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric.
• Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for around 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and strain using a fine sieve.
• Pour into serving cups and add lemon or honey to taste.

Turmeric Tea With A Twist Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, minced
• 2-teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 lemongrass tea bag
• 6 peppercorns (you can leave these out if you prefer!)
• Pinch of sea salt

How To Make the Tea

• Bring the water to the boil in a small saucepan.
• Add the peeled, minced ginger root, turmeric, cinnamon, peppercorns (remember, these are optional!), sliced oranges, and sea-salt.
• Allow the mixture to simmer on a medium low heat for 10-15 minutes.
• Add the lemongrass teabag and allow to steep for around 3 minutes.
• Remove the teabag and pour the mixture into a mug.

Creamy Turmeric Tea Recipe

 Why not give your tea a creamy twist with some coconut milk?

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut or almond milk
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• A pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ inch finely chopped ginger root
• 1 ½ teaspoon of honey (or an alternative sweetener)

How To Make the Tea

• In a pan, gently warm the cup of coconut or almond milk.
• Mix together the turmeric, cayenne pepper, finely chopped ginger root, and the honey.
• Add a small amount of the warmed milk and stir it into the mixture.
• Mix well until all of the lumps have disappeared.
• Add the rest of the milk and mix.
• Strain and then serve.

Sweet Turmeric Black Pepper Tea Recipe

 Ingredients

• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
• Lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper

How To Make the Tea

• Mash the turmeric and honey into a paste (you can then store this in a jar to ensure you have it on hand whenever the need arises).
• For each cup of sweet turmeric black pepper tea, take a heaped teaspoon of the turmeric and honey paste.
• Top with boiling water.
• Add a squeeze of lemon and a few generous twists of freshly ground black pepper.
• Stir and enjoy!

Turmeric Lemon Tea Recipe

 Turmeric lemon tea combines the sweet, tangy flavours of lemon and ginger, with a gentle kick from the cayenne pepper.

Ingredients

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/8 tablespoon turmeric
• Cayenne
• Honey to taste

How To Make the Tea

• In a mug, mix together the lemon juice, turmeric, ginger and cayenne.
• Top with boiling water.
• Stir well.
• Add honey to sweeten to your personal taste.

Additional Serving Suggestions

There are numerous ways to serve your turmeric tea, here are a few of our favorites…

• Add a slice of orange, a dash of honey, the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
• Turmeric also works perfectly with a slice of apple or cucumber.
• If you want a milder taste why not add extra water.
• Serve chilled in the summer for a refreshing and healthy drink.

Now that you have some turmeric tea recipes to try, let’s find out a bit more about turmeric itself and the many health benefits of turmeric.

What Is Turmeric?

For centuries, turmeric has been widely used as a spice, medicine, food, and coloring agent across large parts of Asia. In India, it has been considered holy and auspicious for hundreds of thousands of years, not only due to its eye-catching color and unique flavor, but also because of the extensive range of health benefits that are associated with it. In fact, it is often referred to as the ‘Queen of Spices’!

Recent research has seen it promoted in the eyes of western science and it has been deemed as highly effective for treating osteoarthritis and various other health issues such as Crohn’s disease, stomach ulcers, skin wounds, kidney inflammation, and many, many more. It is also full of plenty of healthy nutrients such as protein, dietary fiber, niacin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, and zinc.

A member of the ginger family, turmeric is a root that usually comes in a powdered form, although it is also available in capsules, tincture, fluid extracts, and tea.

Turmeric Root

Turmeric is used in many recipes, especially in curries and other Asian dishes but it’s earthy, spicy, and often bitter taste can be an acquired taste for some (although once they’ve acquired the taste, many people become addicted!). Additionally turmeric can be consumed as a super healthy, anti-inflammatory drink – turmeric tea!

Turmeric Benefits

 

Turmeric contains curcumin, which is a potent antioxidant with many health benefits, most notably its anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric and tea made from turmeric are renowned for the multiple health benefits it offers, particularly when it comes to inflammation and many people use turmeric for inflammation related pain relief – helping to treat health issues such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. It can also help patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and high cholesterol, to name but a few.

Turmeric can also help to prevent the blood from clotting and reduces the often-painful inflammation caused by wounds, acne, and various other skin conditions. In fact as research progresses, more and more turmeric health benefits are being discovered.

Anti-inflammatory

When it comes to pain relief, so many people across the globe call upon anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin, to relieve the symptoms of everything from headaches, backaches, and other muscular aches and pains. Whilst these medicines are really effective at relieving the pain and inflammation caused by a whole range of conditions, they can cause many adverse side effects, especially with long-term use.

In fact, the side effects of the long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs include, but are by no means limited to, nausea, diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding, hypertension (high blood pressure), increased risk of heart attack, increased risk of kidney cancer, and erectile dysfunction.

But the truth is, natural home remedies such as turmeric (anti-inflammatory tea) for pain relief can often deliver the same effects as these medications, without many of the potential side effects.

Turmeric powder used for the tea

So, how does Turmeric help with inflammation?

Well, in exactly the same way as anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. These drugs work by inhibiting an enzyme, COX-2 (Cyclooxygenase 2), which causes inflamed areas of the body to become painful and more inflamed. By blocking this enzyme, the medication blocks the pain and reduces the inflammation.

Turmeric works so well because it contains high levels of a compound called curcumin, which is a COX-2 inhibitor too. Curcumin is a potent antioxidant with many health benefits, most notably its anti-inflammatory properties. However, whilst turmeric has the same positive effects as the anti-inflammatory drugs, it rarely causes side effects. After all, it has been eaten and drunk across most of Southeast Asia for thousands of years without causing any problems. These anti-inflammatory properties are also at least partly responsible for all the other turmeric health benefits listed below.

Liver cleansing

As well as being a great anti-inflammatory, another turmeric health benefit is that it is also a powerful liver cleansing spice. In today’s toxin and chemical filled world, it’s easy for your liver to become stressed and overworked. Think about it, there are toxins all around us, in our air, our food, and our water. If your liver can’t keep up with the level of toxins feeding into it, they start to accumulate in the body and can have a serious effect on your health.

As well as avoiding processed foods and using lots of natural personal care and cleaning products, you can also help your liver out by incorporating herbs and spices into your diet to support your body’s detox pathways. As well as being a great anti-inflammatory, turmeric is also a powerful liver cleansing spice. So, if you’re looking to give your liver a boost, then a daily cup of this anti-inflammatory tea could offer the perfect solution.

Prevents Cancer

It is believed that turmeric can help to prevent prostate cancer, slow or even stop the growth of existing prostate cancer, and even destroy cancer cells. Research has also shown that the active components in turmeric make it one of the best protectors against radiation-induced tumors, and it is also has preventive effect against

Relieves Arthritis

Turmeric has also been linked to arthritis, providing an effective form of pain relief to those who suffer from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as many other forms of the disease. This is because the anti-inflammatory properties that can be found in turmeric work to destroy the free radicals in the body that are renowned for damaging body cells. In fact, case studies have proven that those suffering from arthritis who consume turmeric on a daily or regular basis, experienced far more relief from symptoms such as joint pain and inflammation, compared to those who didn’t consume turmeric. Given the benefits of turmeric for those with arthritis, it is definitely worth trying turmeric tea for a week or two to see if symptoms improve.

Controls Diabetes

Turmeric is also regularly used to treat diabetes. It works by helping to moderate and control insulin levels in the body. But not only does it assist in the moderation of insulin levels, it is also renowned for improving glucose control, whilst increasing the effect of the medications that are used to treat diabetes.

Another significant benefit of turmeric in treating diabetes is that it is able to reduce insulin resistance in the body, and it’s also been suggested that it could even prevent the onset of Type-2 diabetes! It’s important to note though that, if combined with other strong medications, turmeric can cause low blood sugar, so it’s always best to check with your doctor before using it alongside any other medications.

Reduces Cholesterol Levels

It’s highly likely that, at some point in your lifetime, you will suffer from high cholesterol, especially as you grow older. However, research has proven that, by regularly using turmeric as a food seasoning, it can significantly decrease cholesterol levels. Maintaining a healthy cholesterol level is paramount, as it is a well known fact that high cholesterol notoriously leads to a whole host of serious health problems such heart disease and stroke. If you have high cholesterol, it may be time to start seasoning your food with turmeric, or drinking some turmeric tea, especially given all the other turmeric health benefits list here.

Immunity Booster

Also known as lipopolysaccharide, turmeric can help to stimulate and strengthen your body’s immune system. This is because it is full of antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agents that work together to fight against colds, flu and coughs, ensuring that your immune system is healthy and strong.

If you do find yourself suffering from cold or flu like symptoms, try one of the turmeric tea recipes above, or simply mix one teaspoon of turmeric powder into a glass of warm milk, and drink daily until you feel better.

Heals Wounds

It’s inevitable that, from time to time, we all find ourselves nursing a cut or graze caused by a silly accident. However, even the smallest cuts or grazes can cause infection or take a long time to heal.

Both a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent, turmeric can also be used as a highly effective disinfectant, protecting your skin or graze against infection whilst speeding up the healing process. All you need to do is sprinkle a small amount of turmeric powder onto the affected areas and you will instantly be protected. But that’s not all, turmeric can also be used to help to repair damaged skin, treat burns and even be used to effectively treat psoriasis along with a whole host of other common inflammatory skin conditions. See also: How To Stop Bleeding With Black Pepper.

(Turmeric tea image credit: Jules)