Most people use painkillers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen to relieve aches and pains.

Pain medication can be a quick and easy solution to headaches, muscle aches, and joint pain.

However, it doesn’t offer a long-term solution to the problem. It may relieve the pain for a few hours, but the pain can easily come back. Taking painkillers like ibuprofen frequently can also eventually cause unpleasant side effects like hypertension, kidney cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding, and an increased risk of a heart attack.

Many people who experience frequent headaches, muscle aches, or other pains want a safe, natural, and long-term solution. Fortunately, a great natural alternative to pain medications is turmeric.

Turmeric is a popular spice often found in curry and other Asian foods.

The turmeric root plant, which the turmeric spice originates from, has a long history of being used for healing and pain relief. It contains curcumin, a compound that can decrease inflammation.

Turmeric tea is an effective and popular remedy for joint pain and muscle aches.

To make turmeric tea, use four cups of water and two tablespoons of grated fresh turmeric root or one teaspoon of ground turmeric. Boil the water on your stove and add the turmeric once it starts bubbling.

If you’re using ground turmeric instead of fresh turmeric, leave the spice to boil in the water for about 20 minutes. Then, strain the tea and add either lemon or honey.

Turmeric tea is an easy, natural, and healthy solution to many types of pain, and enjoying it once a day can do wonders to relieve pain.

Turmeric has been a staple in Indian cuisine and culture for centuries, but it has caught on recently in the West. Turmeric is part of the ginger family and although it looks like a root, it's actually a rhizome. Biophysicist Ajay Goel said, "We're doing clinical trials on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis, diabetes." Goel claims that turmeric has worked on every patient they've tried. Despite its clear antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cancer-fighting properties, Goel said, "What we're trying to understand is, what are the processes, what are the mechanisms of how it functions?"