Turmeric for pain and inflammation
Turmeric has been used, primarily in South Asia as a part of Ayurvedic medicine. When it comes to proven medicinal purposes, the golden spice may be best for treating pain — specifically pain associated with inflammation. Several studies have found that curcumin is responsible for turmeric’s “wow” factor. In one study, people with arthritis pain noted that their pain levels were more reduced after taking 500 milligrams (mg) of curcumin than 50 mg of diclofenac sodium, an anti-inflammatory drug.
Mint for muscle pain and digestion
Indigestion may occur when food sits in the stomach for too long before passing into the rest of the digestive tract.
Mint is effective at relieving digestive problems such as upset stomach and indigestion.
Multiple studies have shown that food passes through the stomach quicker when people take peppermint oil with meals, which could relieve symptoms from this type of indigestion.
A clinical study in people with indigestion showed that a combination of peppermint oil and caraway oil taken in capsules had effects similar to medications used to treat indigestion. This helped improve stomach pain and other digestive symptoms.
Similar to IBS, studies highlighting mint’s ability to relieve indigestion used peppermint oil rather than fresh or dried leaves.
