Health benefits of turmeric to vary after cooking : Read on to know more

Turmeric is one of the most important spices in the spice box that can be found in almost every Indian kitchen.

Turmeric has a number of health benefits, including naturally cooling the body and also improving immunity. A number of studies have proven the antioxidant properties of the spice as well.

Benefits of turmeric

Most of the benefits of turmeric have been credited to the presence of certain compounds called curcuminoids. In the powder, about 1 to 6 per cent curcuminoids are present, which lend the spice its antioxidant properties.

Along with curcuminoids, turmeric also has some 34 essential oils. These compounds lend turmeric its health benefits which include protecting the brain, boosting digestion and immunity, providing relief from arthritic pain and even prevention of cancer.

Most of our culinary usage of turmeric involves either cooking it at high temperatures or fermenting it in pickles.

Variation of health benefits after cooking

According to a research study conducted by the Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, boiling and pressure cooking it for long duration, may lead to a loss of curcumin compound of turmeric.

The researchers observed the effect of heat on curucumin in turmeric in three different situations- boiling for 10 minutes, boiling for 20 minutes and pressure cooking for 10 minutes. Cooking it for long duration may result in loss of curcumin.

The results of the study said that about 27 to 53 per cent of curcumin was lost due to heat processing. However, when a souring agent was present during the heat processing, the loss of curcumin came down to between 12 and 30 per cent. Tamarind was the souring agent used in this particular study. The maximum loss of curcumin was observed during pressure cooking of turmeric.

Cooking this spice has the opposite effect on curcumin than what is demonstrated by the study above. In fact, a majority of the research conducted on the effects of heat on curcumin speaks in the favour of cooking the spice.

“Curcumin becomes more bio-available once turmeric is cooked. That is due to certain enzymatic reactions that occur when the compound is subjected to heat,” says Dr. Dutta. She further said that cooking turmeric for a duration of five to 10 minutes in any type of oil enhances the absorption of curcuminoids by the body.

Cooking it for short durations of time may actually increase its health benefits by making the curcuminoids more readily absorbed by the body.