What Happens to Your Inflammation and Immunity When You Drink Carrot and Turmeric Juice

Drinking carrot juice and turmeric can help reduce inflammation and support your immune system. You can also add ginger and a pinch of black pepper to the drink to enhance the flavor and reap even more health benefits from this nutrient-packed beverage.

Your Inflammation Decreases

Turmeric is best known for its active compound, curcumin, a potent antioxidant with powerful anti-inflammatory effects at high doses. It offers the following benefits:

• It alleviates chronic inflammation in conditions like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.
• It may prevent cognitive decline or dementia due to its positive effect on oxidative stress (though more research is needed to confirm this effect).
• It may help lower cholesterol by preventing arterial plaque build-up and protect against cardiovascular diseases.
  

Your Immune System Gets a Boost

Carrots are rich in alpha- and beta-carotene, antioxidants that the body converts to vitamin A. Research suggests that beta-carotene helps protect cells from oxidative stress (an imbalance of antioxidants and unstable compounds called “free radicals” in your body).

Compounds like falcarinol, also found in carrots, help reduce inflammation by limiting the release of inflammatory proteins.

How to Enhance the Benefits of Carrot-Turmeric Juice

Many people drink carrot and turmeric juice as is, with carrot juice and fresh or ground turmeric.

However, opting for carrot and turmeric juice with additional ingredients like ginger, black pepper, and orange juice offers greater health benefits when consumed together, said Jamie Mok, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The benefits of each additional ingredient are as follows:

• Black pepper: Pairing turmeric with black pepper is beneficial because black pepper contains piperine, a compound that can help the body absorb curcumin more effectively.
  
• Ginger: When combined, turmeric and ginger contain two powerful phytonutrients (plant compounds), curcumin and shogaol, forming an antioxidant elixir with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.
• Orange juice: Oranges are high in vitamin C, which can help strengthen the immune system by producing more antibodies.

Like turmeric, ginger is considered an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. “It also has antimicrobial properties, meaning ginger can also help prevent bacteria from growing,” said Mok.

Who Should Avoid Carrot-Turmeric Juice

Since turmeric has blood-thinning effects, Mok warned that people taking warfarin or those on chemotherapy or immunosuppressive drugs may want to avoid it.

People with gallbladder issues may find that turmeric can exacerbate their symptoms, so drinking it daily may not be a good idea.

For everyone else, taking a shot of this nutrient-packed juice could have a number of health benefits. According to experts, trying carrot, turmeric, and ginger juice is a pretty safe bet for most people. Your body and immune system may thank you.