Turmeric has a long history of being used as a spicy, food coloring, and even as body paint in religious rituals. Its medical use also dates back a very long time – approximately 4000 years. However, it is only recently that the world has been made aware of the health benefits of turmeric and how many nutrients are packed into it.
Turmeric Nutrition Profile
(Per 1 tablespoon of turmeric/7 grams)
Energy and Protein:
- Calories: 23.9
- Carbohydrates: 4.4 g
- Fat: 0.7 g
- Omega 3: 32.5 mg
- Protein: 0.5 g
Vitamins:
- Vitamin C: 1.7 mg (3% DV)
- Vitamin E: 0.2 mg (1% DV)
- Vitamin K: 0.9 mcg (1% DV)
- Niacin: 0.3 mg (2% DV)
- Vitamin B6: 0.1 mg (6% DV)
- Folate: 2.6 mcg (1% DV)
- Choline: 3.3 mg
- Betaine: 0.7 mg
*Insignificant levels of vitamin A, D, thiamine, riboflavin, and B12)
Minerals:
- Calcium: 12.4 mg (1% DV)
- Iron: 2.6 mg (16% DV)
- Magnesium: 13 mg (3% DV)
- Phosphorus: 18.1 mg (2% DV)
- Potassium: 170 mg (5% DV)
- Zinc: 0.3 mg (2% DV)
- Manganese: 0.5 mg (26% DV)
You’ll note that turmeric contains a lot of iron. Bear in mind that these levels are for just 1 tbsp. You’d have to eat 2 ½ cups of kale to get that much iron! Thus, turmeric is a great supplement for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone else who is at risk of not getting enough iron.
The potassium level of turmeric is also notable. On a per-gram basis, this is 7x more potassium than bananas have.
But This Is Just the Start of Turmeric’s Nutrient Profile
When looking at the nutrition of turmeric, keep in mind that most nutrition labels only include macronutrients and some micronutrients.
The labels do NOT include levels of nutrients like antioxidants, fatty acids, or the many natural compounds with health benefits.
To give you an idea why this is important, consider that more than 100 components have been isolated from turmeric.
Many of these compounds are what give turmeric its health benefits, such as:
- Fighting depression
- Reducing cholesterol
- Regulating blood sugar
- Reducing inflammation
- Improving digestive health
- Fighting infections
- Fighting cancer
Honestly though, I doubt anyone outside of a really good nutritionist would know what all of these turmeric compounds are. Food nutrition labels are complicated enough without adding terms like termerone and sesquiterpenes to the label!
What you DO need to know is that taking turmeric is a super-easy way to get extra nutrients and boost your health.
Compared to other superfoods, turmeric is really cheap and can easily be incorporated into meals. Or, you can just add some turmeric to honey-sweetened water every day to sip.
This is my favorite brand of turmeric because it is fresh, organic, high-quality yet still cheap enough to use every day.
***You can buy it here.***
Want to learn more about turmeric nutrition? Read:
- Scientifically-Proven Health Benefits of Turmeric
- How to Take Turmeric to Maximize Bioavailability
- Turmeric Tea Recipes
Article Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92752/
http://nutritiondata.self.com/
Image credits:
“Turmeric” (CC BY 2.0) by missy & the universe
“turmeric and the sky” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by JonathanCohen
“Turmeric” (CC BY 2.0) by Kai Hendry