Turmeric

Denny55

Hi. Has anyone found Turneric helpful with Arthritis pain please?

Brynmor

Hi @Denny55

Tumeric does seem to bring some relief for some people and may be worth a go. There is a little research being done on this and you can see the information about tumeric here:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/types-of-complementary-treatments/turmeric/

You may also like to check out this previous discussion about tumeric, just one of many with the Online Community..

Arthuritis

I agree with Brynmor, although there is little research on it, there is indeed some, if you look around, there are some clinical studies, however as it cannot be patented, there are no pharma companies prepared to sponsor big double blind controlled trials on something which can’t turn a profit, simply no business case for it.

However the absence of such trials does not mean there are no benefits, you may simply have to look harder. Check out Prof Tim Spector’s book from your local library (Spoonfed). At least as a common food item you are unlikely to have any issues with overdosing!

I suspect the benefits of turmeric arise from the complex of nutrients, not just the active extract, curcumin. That said, I know one Aussie university research lab used curcumin in vitro to treat rat immune cells to “calm them down” and reinjected these treated cells to eliminate arthritis in those rats. Not a practical general treatment, but at least some ratties are walking better in Australia as a result.

You might also want to read up on the benefits of Vit D3, there is a recent paper on a large 5 year study, lancet I think, to try and determine which of the two, Omega 3 or D3 made the biggest contribution to inflammation marker reduction. (Vitamins are big business so there are some studies, but you need a pinch of salt when reading them, perhaps with your doc. )

In short, it was D3 over 5 years, but omega 3 over first 3 years.

However Turmeric like vit D is subtle and works over a long period, with any excess disposed of, so more is not better, but longer period is.

Like the powerful immunosuppressors we take, (apart from steroids), take time to restructure the immune army. I liken steroids to allowing the immune army to amass, but ordered not to attack, if you stop taking it suddenly without consulting your doc, all hell breaks loose, (which is why you are advised never to do that, and carry a steroid card if you are on them). MTX, slows the production of new soldiers, so when the current ones die in 3 months, they are not so easily replaced, which is how you feel better, and why it takes 3 months to take effect.