Turmeric...Is it as beneficial as people say?

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Replies

  • cqbkaju
    cqbkaju Posts: 1,011 Member
    How much do you use each day for inflammation?
    Since it is not a recognized medicinal compound, there is not a standardized dosage.
    All you can do is research and experiment; maybe talk to your doctor.

    Make sure you are not allergic to it or something.
  • KombuchaKat
    KombuchaKat Posts: 134 Member
    edited February 2017
    No amount of supplementing with anything will undo a bad diet and lifestyle. However I do think that turmeric used in cooking and taken as a supplement over time will help with reducing systemic inflammation. While the science may still be unproven depending on who you talk to it has been used in Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine for centuries with good result. When cooking use black pepper with it and also look for that in a supplement as black pepper increases it's bioavailability to the body. Just regular peppercorn you use to season food is fine. You could also ferment fresh turmeric root with whey, you can make a huge jar of it to use in cooking or make turmeric lattes and it will last for months in the fridge. Personally I love the taste and I feel like it makes my skin glow. I feel like if I don't eat/take a supplement for a while my joints start to hurt a bit (I lift heavy in CrossFit so I feel like anything I can do to easy the joints is a win).

    But for weight loss/metabolism...I don't know of any direct effect on this but I suppose decreased inflammation would over time help with that. But I certainly wouldn't start taking turmeric with this expectation in mind.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    I grabbed a large bottle of it for anti-inflammatory effects but it did nothing for me. I have spinal stenosis and arthritis in my knees and hoped it would help. Bottle lasted about three months. As I said did nothing except make my pee smell nasty lol. I never was much of a lover of Indian food either so I'm not big on it as a spice either (curry). What did help for the arthritis and spinal stenosis was Osteo Biflex. I take that daily still. It almost negates the arthritis completely for me most days. If I stop taking it the arthritis comes back within a few days.
  • simonbraunercave
    simonbraunercave Posts: 19 Member
    Apparently good as an anti-inflammatory but... it has an interesting taste and when diet food gets boring spice helps, err, spice things up. Buy the fresh stuff: good with fish and in curries.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    What kind of results are you looking for, or benefits are you hoping for?

    It's a great spice, I can say that much.

    It also makes yellow mustard that pretty color
  • lauracups
    lauracups Posts: 533 Member
    edited February 2017
    cqbkaju wrote: »
    lauracups wrote: »
    Penicillin as discovered in 1928 from a mold culture, mold, found in nature. All I'm saying a flippant disregard to a question with the "that's snake oil" isn't insightful.
    It was found, cultured, refined, tested and made widely available because Dr. Fleming, the scientific method and "big pharma" made it all possible.

    He didn't trip in to woods and say "Look! Medicine!"

    If it is not validated by the scientific method then calling it "snake oil" is about as polite as you can hope for from a scientist, pharmacist or chemist.

    My last word on this, I understand the necessity for western medicine, I immunized my kids, got them antibiotics for strep etc. I also feel there is a severe misuse of prescriptions for everything. The side effects for some of these meds are worse than the condition it's supposed to treat! A person needs to research and ask a lot of questions from their health care provider before just accepting the next pill. My own example, when I prescribed Lyrica for my nerve damage, it made me very ill. I stopped taking it, and went for physical therapy and losing weight addressed the issue better than a medicine did.
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
    cqbkaju wrote: »
    Anti-inflamatory, as @annacole94 says.

    The curcumin in tumeric is close to capsaicin. That is about it.
    Anything else is unproven and therefore pseudoscience.

    *Disclaimer: I am an Oleoresin Capsicum (OC / pepper spray) instructor, so I am rather familiar with the compounds

    THIS ALL THIS.

    My Primary doc prescribed 500mg caps to treat the swelling in what we found is an arthritic knee. I was on anti inflammatory naproxen and ibuprofen for 30 days with no relief. 7 days on Turmeric, the swelling was gone. I take it daily now.

    Turmeric does not assist with weight loss. A calorie deficit works every time.

    there is no secret or miracle to weight loss. This ACV/ Turmeric/ Drops etc QUIT with it. DO THE WORK. There is no assist from the side line. UGH
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited February 2017
    It's great in curry, curry fits my macros, if I hit my macros I lose weight. Therefore tumeric = weight loss.

    Also it potentially has anti-inflammatory properties. Less pain = more working out = weight loss
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    It doesn't do anything for weight loss. It is a natural mild anti-inflammatory...I take a pill that is a combination of turmeric and bromelain for mild joint pain and it seems to have done some good. It's not something that is going to work with the onset of pain though...it's something you basically have to take regularly to keep low level inflammation down...and it's not going to do much for severe pain.
  • saintor1
    saintor1 Posts: 376 Member
    All preventive as an anti-inflammatory food. It is one of the factors identified in India to explain lower cancer rates. I use it extensively (in combination with black pepper, optimizing bio-availability as already mentioned) in my salads and vegetables (in oven or boiled).
  • FitCurves1818
    FitCurves1818 Posts: 90 Member
    Not specifically related to diet and exercise, but I've been adding it to smoothies, sauces, soups etc. and I can definitely feel the difference in my joints since using it. I've never heard of it having any connection to increased metabolism or weight loss.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Okay, now I'm interested. I'm getting up there in years (almost 52) and yeah, the joints make more noises these days. Plus I have an occasional issue with one knee.

    Is this useful in a pill form?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    Okay, now I'm interested. I'm getting up there in years (almost 52) and yeah, the joints make more noises these days. Plus I have an occasional issue with one knee.

    Is this useful in a pill form?

    I take it in pill form. I had been taking glucosamine which didn't seem to really be doing anything and my doctor suggested I try the turmeric and bromelain combo which seems to be doing the trick for the most part...not that I don't ever reach for the Aleve.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Okay, now I'm interested. I'm getting up there in years (almost 52) and yeah, the joints make more noises these days. Plus I have an occasional issue with one knee.

    Is this useful in a pill form?

    I take it in pill form. I had been taking glucosamine which didn't seem to really be doing anything and my doctor suggested I try the turmeric and bromelain combo which seems to be doing the trick for the most part...not that I don't ever reach for the Aleve.

    Thanks. I'll try it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Okay, now I'm interested. I'm getting up there in years (almost 52) and yeah, the joints make more noises these days. Plus I have an occasional issue with one knee.

    Is this useful in a pill form?

    I take it in pill form. I had been taking glucosamine which didn't seem to really be doing anything and my doctor suggested I try the turmeric and bromelain combo which seems to be doing the trick for the most part...not that I don't ever reach for the Aleve.

    Thanks. I'll try it.

    I think it has a cumulative effect in the body...early on I tried taking it only when I was starting to feel a twinge of pain and it didn't seem to do much...then I started just taking it daily and it seems to keep those twinges at bay unless I really overdo it with something...which I have a tendency to do...I can be my own worst enemy at times.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    lauracups wrote: »
    cqbkaju wrote: »
    lauracups wrote: »
    Penicillin as discovered in 1928 from a mold culture, mold, found in nature. All I'm saying a flippant disregard to a question with the "that's snake oil" isn't insightful.
    It was found, cultured, refined, tested and made widely available because Dr. Fleming, the scientific method and "big pharma" made it all possible.

    He didn't trip in to woods and say "Look! Medicine!"

    If it is not validated by the scientific method then calling it "snake oil" is about as polite as you can hope for from a scientist, pharmacist or chemist.

    My last word on this, I understand the necessity for western medicine, I immunized my kids, got them antibiotics for strep etc. I also feel there is a severe misuse of prescriptions for everything. The side effects for some of these meds are worse than the condition it's supposed to treat! A person needs to research and ask a lot of questions from their health care provider before just accepting the next pill. My own example, when I prescribed Lyrica for my nerve damage, it made me very ill. I stopped taking it, and went for physical therapy and losing weight addressed the issue better than a medicine did.

    All of this is true and each person needs to take responsibility for their healthcare.

    The issue is that, with natural medicine, you don't know what else is in what you are taking because the active ingredient has not been isolated. You also do not know how much of the active ingredient you are getting. Turmeric is a root. Like all plants, growing conditions affect how much curcumin develops in the root and there is no telling what is in the soil that gets absorbed into the plant as it grows.

    Also, instead of buying capsules which average about $10 per ounce of turmeric, I would recommend buying bulk turmeric at a quality spice merchant like Penzeys ($2 per ounce) and either take it by the spoonful or fill your own capsules. At least that way you know you are getting quality.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited February 2017
    I might try the capsules now for the anti-inflammatory properties.

    As for weight loss? Nah. This thread did remind me that it's been far too long since I've made my vegetarian version of Nigella Lawson's Thai Chicken Noodle soup. It has turmeric in it and it's fabulous. I've made that while losing weight. Does that count?
  • AFGP11
    AFGP11 Posts: 142 Member
    There are no miracle foods for weight loss. Metabolism is more controlled by your activity level and diet than anything else and it fluctuates for healthy people 200-300 calories a day at most. That means that when you have a "fast metabolism" you can still only eat one snack or light meal more than you would with a "slow" one. Metabolism is one of those snake oil salesman words that rarely means what they claim it to mean.

    Now for inflammation turmeric is really great. I have an old injury that never healed properly and when it acts up turmeric can be a miracle cure for the swelling. I guess it helps me lose water weight from inflammation, but it does nothing for fat loss.