For People with Metabolic Syndrome, Curcumin Crushes Cholesterol
Metabolic syndrome may be the defining disease of our time. It is the dangerous place where our modern lifestyle that leads to heart disease, diabetes and obesity meets. Curcumin may play a part in the solution.
Metabolic Syndrome is the increasingly common constellation of any three of abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, low HDL-cholesterol, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar. It now affects a whopping 25% of all adults in the world. Treating it is important in the prevention of diabetes and heart disease.
Curcumin is the major active ingredient in the herb turmeric. A just published meta-analysis and systematic review of controlled studies has shown that curcumin significantly lowers total and LDL cholesterol in people with metabolic syndrome.
Though, in this study, curcumin did not lower triglycerides, a previous meta-analysis of 7 controlled studies (5 of them double-blind) did find that turmeric or curcumin significantly lowers both LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (Nutr J 2017;16(1):68).
And a systematic review and meta-analysis of 7 controlled studies of curcumin and turmeric on metabolic factors in people with metabolic syndrome found that curcumin significantly improves fasting blood glucose, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol (Phytother Res May 2019;33(5):289-1301).
Taken together, these studies suggest that curcumin can improve lipid profiles and other features of metabolic syndrome, making it a potentially valuable herb for this disease of our time.
Phytother Res. 2023 Mar;37(3):1212-1224
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