Sep 07, 2021

Does Turmeric Lower Blood Pressure? A Comprehensive Review

Turmeric, that wonder of ancient Ayurvedic healing, might be one of the most useful herbs in existence. This famous golden-yellow spice carries a pungent kick of flavor – and a powerful boost to your immune system, too. From snatching up pesky free radicals to boosting your cognitive abilities, early clinical evidence suggests that turmeric has a hand to play in your health from head to toe. ¹

That’s why we’re exploring the possible applications of turmeric one by one, from its role in heart disease to its anti-inflammatory prowess. This time, our question (or rather, the answer to our question) is more nuanced: does turmeric lower blood pressure?

The answer may surprise you.

Turmeric and Your Body

It’s important to note that raw turmeric is actually not very practical (though it's certainly delicious!). This is because curcumin, the main active compound in turmeric, has very low bioavailability. In other words, curcumin has low absorption and a rapid rate of metabolism and elimination. As a result, your body is unable to take full advantage of its medicinal properties. ¹ ²

However, taking curcumin with black pepper or a turmeric supplement with piperine (the main ingredient in black pepper) can boost its bioavailability. We mention this to say that many of the clinical studies on the effects of turmeric use these or other methods and high doses to achieve their results. Thus, raw turmeric is not a miracle cure by any means – but consuming turmeric long-term may help protect your health. ¹²

Potential Health Benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric – via curcumin – carries many titles and abilities to its name. One of the most well-known of these is that it’s a potent antioxidant. Multiple studies have shown that curcumin can improve systemic markers of oxidative stress, which in turn reduces oxidative damage to your cells and DNA. ¹²

Curcumin accomplishes its antioxidative powers by way of several methods. For instance, it can help improve the production of antioxidant enzymes and serums in your bloodstream. Additionally, curcumin can scavenge free radicals – highly reactive molecules or oxidants – from its environment. This reduces the number of oxidants in your body, which can reduce overall oxidative stress. ¹²

But it’s not just turmeric’s oxidative abilities that make it such a powerful medicinal compound. Turmeric is also a potent anti-inflammatory agent – and in fact, its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory abilities often work hand-in-hand.

Inflammation and oxidative stress are closely linked via several pathological processes and diseases. In fact, increased inflammation can cause your body to release more reactive molecules at the site of inflammation. This process leads to increased oxidative stress in your body. Thus, any compound that reduces inflammation can also help ease oxidative stress at the same time. ¹

Turmeric’s anti-inflammatory abilities primarily occur by blocking NF-kB. This transcription factor helps your cells create or build several gene-regulated products. (To oversimplify the process, NF-kB works with your DNA to create enzymes and molecules.) Unfortunately, the actions of NF-kB can also lead to increased inflammation in the body in some people. Thus, any molecule – like turmeric – that blocks NF-kB activation can help reduce inflammation. ¹

Of course, turmeric has many other health benefits. But it's these two that we want to focus on because they relate to our question: does turmeric lower blood pressure?

Before we answer that, we have to take a closer look at the role of inflammation.

The Role of Inflammation in Blood Pressure

Scientists have known for years that hypertension – high blood pressure – and inflammation go hand-in-hand. But what hasn't been clear until recently is whether hypertension causes high blood pressure or the other way around.

To that end, we’ve broken down two studies that tackle the subject more in-depth. While we know that this is a lot of information to absorb, it's useful to illustrate how inflammation affects hypertension.

Study #1: The Connection Between Inflammation & High Blood Pressure

(https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/406960/)

This comprehensive review examined evidence from multiple human and animal studies that dealt with both hypertension and inflammation. The goal was to determine what role – if any – inflammation played in high blood pressure.

First, the authors looked at the role of inflammation in other diseases and how inflammation relates to hypertension. They determined that both animal and human models suggest that inflammation and hypertension correlate, but most studies were unclear as to which caused the other.

Next, the authors dissected how inflammation relates to endothelial dysfunction. (The endothelium is a single-cell layer that lines your blood vessels. Among other duties, it’s responsible for helping your blood vessels keep their shape and structure.)

The authors found that endothelial dysfunction could lead to developing hypertension, as constricted blood vessels lead to higher blood pressure. They also determined that the studies in question showed that inflammation could lead to an increased risk of endothelial dysfunction. Thus, the review concluded that inflammation could lead to hypertension in individuals with endothelial dysfunction by way of correlation.

Lastly (for our purposes), the authors examined the role of inflammation and oxidative stress in hypertension. The study found that oxidative stress could lead to increased hypertension in some individuals. Additionally, they reaffirmed that increased inflammation could increase oxidative stress, which further exacerbated high blood pressure. Thus, again, inflammation led to hypertension by way of increasing a secondary response.

The authors concluded their study by stating that the evidence was unclear whether inflammation directly caused or was caused by hypertension. However, they noted, there is a lot of evidence that inflammation can lead to hypertension by causing other responses, which in turn can cause hypertension.

Study #2: The Relationship Between Inflammation Ailments & Blood Pressure

(https://arthritis-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13075-018-1597-9)

This second study examined the relationship between inflammation and blood pressure in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). (RA is a chronic inflammatory disorder that primarily affects the joints. This leads to inflammation in the hands, feet, and even internal organs.)

The authors studied over 24,000 outpatient subjects, of whom over 1,800 had RA. To determine the relationship between RA and blood pressure, the authors took three consecutive blood pressure measurements after the individuals had rested quietly for a period of five minutes. They then conducted multiple statistical analyses to examine how RA related to blood pressure.

The authors concluded that individuals with RA had, on average, higher blood pressure than the general population. They also found that those RA patients with more pain or inflammation had increasingly higher blood pressure. While increased pain can lead to high blood pressure, elevated blood pressure presented in individuals with increased inflammation suggests that inflammation can at least contribute to the issue.

Does Turmeric Lower Blood Pressure?

Now that we understand the relationship between turmeric and inflammation and how inflammation relates to blood pressure, we can finally address our pivotal question.

The evidence thus far would seem to suggest that, yes, turmeric does lower blood pressure.

We can see that turmeric (again, via curcumin) leads to reduced oxidation and inflammation in clinical settings. We also covered how there appears to be a solid link between increased inflammation and increased blood pressure.

However, instead of just making a cause-and-effect conjecture, we have decided once more to consult the science.

Study #3: Curcumin & Lowering Blood Pressure

(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23146777/)

This study examined the effects of aerobic exercise and curcumin on vascular endothelial function. A total of 32 postmenopausal women were assigned to either control, exercise, or curcumin supplement group for eight weeks. Throughout this time, each group was monitored for vasodilation – the size of their blood vessels. (Larger blood vessels lead to reduced blood pressure, as there is more space for blood to flow.)

At the end of this time, the authors found that both curcumin and exercise led to increased flow-mediated dilation compared to the control group. This suggests that a lifestyle rich in curcumin and exercise can lead to reduced blood pressure via increased endothelial function.

Study #4: Curcumin & Turmeric for Blood Pressure

(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31647981/)

This meta-analysis examined the effects of curcumin and turmeric supplements on blood pressure based on multiple scientific databases. The authors found 11 studies comprised of 734 participants that addressed their questions with proper clinical protocols.

Results indicated that in studies lasting longer than 12 weeks, individuals who consumed either curcumin or turmeric presented with improved blood pressure. However, the authors also added that more controlled and targeted studies are needed to confirm these results.

So, Does Turmeric Lower Blood Pressure, Really?

We've thrown a lot of science at you in this article – we know! – but for a good cause. Unfortunately, there is limited data that directly discusses the effect of turmeric on blood pressure. However, by examining meta-analyses and review studies, we have found that early clinical evidence suggests:

Inflammation and oxidation play a role in hypertension
Turmeric can reduce both inflammation and oxidation
By reducing inflammation and oxidation, turmeric can lower your blood pressure
Turmeric (or curcumin) are most effective when taken long-term

So, while eating raw turmeric won’t cure you, adding in a dash of spice to your curry – or taking a piperine-laced turmeric supplement – may improve your health (and lower your blood pressure) in the long run.

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