Turmeric for autoimmune, inflammation

I have a family member who takes it in pill form and swears it makes her sleep much better (she takes it right before bed). I don't know if it's a placebo affect but it's helping her either way

I use it a lot in cooking. I have a chronic autoimmune disorder but don't think it helps - I just like it!
I tried high strength supplements once and with me they caused internal bleeding and anaemia but, my chronic illness is gut related so it may be that most people are OK with it. Just be aware it has blood thinning properties!

I use it in cooking and take tablets. Im not sure if it helps because I havent been consistent with it and dont have autoimmune disease. I believe that eating antioxidant rich foods is important though and it cant hurt. I know a few people who swear by turmeric supplements.

LZMiner wrote: »

Our doctor recommended this spice for an autoimmune disorder/inflammation. I just used it on a zoodle and salmon stir fry and it was great. Going to roast cauliflower with it later. Does anyone have experience with it for health purposes? Or take a pill form?

I screwed up my knee a couple weeks before my marathon, it was huge purple and swollen. I tried lots of things, including curry with tons of tumeric in it. I don’t know if it actually helped, heck it may have been just the Advil, ice, rest or a combination and multitude of other things. I was desperate to try anything I could to help the inflammation including broscience. But I went from not being able to walk to running 26.2 miles. I also have hasimotos disease, raynauds and srojens. I figure, it tastes great especially in curry and it can’t hurt right?

LZMiner wrote: »

Thanks everyone, for the insight! We will probably start using it as one of our regular spices because it has so many positives. My daughter has Graves’ disease and is now being tested for Celiac. Sucks when your own immune system is working against you.

Hugs for your daughter - mine has a variety of diseases/disorders, including celiac disease. It's hard to see them have to deal with all this crud, yeah?

Re: celiac disease, just in case you are like my family and don't get an expert in celiac disease diagnosing your daughter... If everyone else in the family has not been tested for celiac disease (if your daughter tests positive, or there is someone else in the family positive), experts recommend that you do so. The recommendation is actually getting tested every 3-5 years or so, or if someone starts having symptoms. Mostly because it can trigger at any time, it can do damage for years before showing outward symptoms, and people closely related to another celiac are at a much higher risk of developing it themselves, eventually.

We didn't know this, but after finding out and testing, we had every person but one, for three generations of a blood line, come back positive. 0.o Half had symptoms, half didn't. and the one who was negative turned out to be gluten intolerant anyway. It was pretty crazy.

Re: turmeric
I am allergic to some common fillers in anti-inflammatories, so I can't take them. My regular doctor recommended turmeric. But he also said that in the one medical study he saw done in the western world, it's not, like, a wonder anti-inflammatory. Pretty much if you took 1 pill of powdered turmeric, it'd be worth about 1 regular ibuprofen, you know?

Also, you want to make sure and take turmeric solids - while the color will come out in water if you try to make tea with it, the components you actually want, that deal with inflammation, don't - they stay in the flesh of the turmeric.

That said - I have a lot of disorders that can involve inflammation, pain, etc... (including celiac disease, too), and as I said, I can't take OTC or prescribed anti-inflammatories, so I can pass along what I've learned. :-)

1. bioflavonoids
Ones that have been shown to be mast cell stabilizing can be of some use, sometimes. Quercetin, luteolin, and rutin are the three I'm most familiar with. Quercetin you can even find in supplement form now, but you can get foods high in it as well (like, some folks might get a bunch of fresh thyme, and juice it, and take a shot on a really bad day, as something that helps. Or olive leaf tea or guava leaf tea are high in these). There are lists online sometimes about what foods are high in these, or you can simply look up the bioflavonoid and start researching. :-)

These can help because the some of the mediators that cause inflammation are released by degranulating mast cells. If you can stabilize the cells a little more, then they may release less of their contents and it can reduce inflammation. I have a mast cell disorder, so my mast cells are more likely to degranulate than normal, so adding these bioflavonoids has actually allowed me to avoid severe reactions and lessen pain and inflammation. I have to take them frequently, though, and for many people, it can take a week or two before things really start to calm down (me, I notice a difference in hours, but I'm told that's not normal for most people).

2. Food journal and possible food elimination diet.
One thing I've found with a lot of folks with a variety of auto-immune disorders and other diseases (there's a whole cornucopia of the things in my family, so I get to meet lots of people with a variety of illnesses. >_<) - we have problems with things we eat. I know so many people who have found out that certain foods, or certain chemicals in foods (like sulfite preservatives, say), cause their symptoms to worsen. There are some that seem more common (dairy, gluten or all grains, nightshades - tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant - artificial dyes, preservatives, or coffee), but some are very individual. I know two people who reacted terribly to carrots. I know a few who have problems with brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower - the things people often eat to HELP with inflammation, you know?). Know some who had problems with blueberries, or kiwi, or papaya, or lemons. There does not seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason.

But figuring out problematic foods really made a lot of difference for them. Like me - corn seems to be inflammatory to me. I don't get much of a reaction otherwise, but if I eat corn, the next day my joints all hurt and my nerve pain starts flaring up. It's wacky. But enough of an issue, I'd highly recommend exploring the issue, anyway, you know?


3. There's this gal, Yasmina, who has a site called healing histamine, I think. She has some cookbooks that are all aimed at lowering inflammation or histamine levels (she has histamine intolerance). Her site looks really snake oils salesman, but I know she is a person who really went through a lot of crap, and researched a lot to get where she is - I first heard of her before she was selling stuff, when she was on support groups I was in, for the same issues. I've tried some of her anti-inflammatory suggestions and at least for me, they did seem to have a positive effect., for what it's worth.

Wishing you and yours good luck.

LZMiner wrote: »

Thanks everyone, for the insight! We will probably start using it as one of our regular spices because it has so many positives. My daughter has Graves’ disease and is now being tested for Celiac. Sucks when your own immune system is working against you. There are no easy answers or wonder drugs, that’s for sure.

The amount you use in a dish as a seasoning has a negligible amount of the active ingredient, especially if you buy a mass produced grocery store brand. If you want to see if it has any benefits you really need to purchase it in supplement form from a reputable company.

On the other hand, turmeric is a spice many people are afraid of but it really adds to many dishes, especially soups and stews.

Turmeric in supplement form absorbs better since formulations can be made to include black pepper extracts or use hydro-soluble forms. Turmeric as a spice in food has poor solubility in its natural state.

I use Tumeric in capsule form, I love it. Times that I do not take it I hurt and ache all over i may have some early arthritis in my hands, legs and back, I also have frequent headaches and asthma. I used Tumeric every day for 8 months straight and never once got sick with, cold, flu, stomach bug, strep, asthma attacks, nothing. I stopped taking it a few months ago (financial reasons) and I have been sick with asthma 3 times, 2 resulting in ER visits, I have had a cold or some type of sinus infection or URI as well resulting in antibiotics, steroids and other meds.

I can tell you from experience that this works for me, I have ordered some more so I can get back on track and feel better soon, I always recommend it to my family and friends.
Good luck!

I have been using curcumin supplements for over two years now. I have arthritis on my cervical spine and in my feet. I feel that the supplements have greatly helped the pain. when I do experience pain, the recovery time is far shorter. And the pain is no longer daily for me. My general practitioner said that he sees a lot of positive results in his older patients.

I use turmeric in many of my foods & recently added it to a not very traditional "kimchi" I made that is wonderful both for all its health benefits but also as a super flavorful alternative to salad "dressing". I love golden milk & make it with cashew milk. I have many inflammation issues that I believe the turmeric addresses naturally, so I highly recommend it.