According to spice expert Kanchan Koya, Ph.D., turmeric may be a great way to curb those premenstrual symptoms. She spoke with us about the health benefits of the spice, and when you can take it to optimize those benefits for PMS. For why this could be the case, Koya points to the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric. In fact, many of the negative symptoms of PMS can be linked to inflammation, she says. A 2016 study found a link between the severity of a person’s PMS and a specific inflammation biomarker, called high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Koya cites cooking as a way to get that turmeric in if necessary but says that supplementation is the best method when it comes to treating PMS. “You can definitely embrace turmeric in cooking, but it would be hard to reach that level of curcumin (200 mg daily) without supplementation,” she says. “I recommend a whole turmeric-based supplement with curcumin but also the other bioactive curcuminoids.” Here are some simple tricks to add turmeric to your diet, plus a recipe for turmeric tea.
