Curry Spice May Suppress Urge to Gamble

Q. All my life my knees have ached at night. I would use Aleve, arthritis-strength aspirin or Tylenol and usually woke up and had to take more about 3 am.
I read in your column about using turmeric for arthritis pain and I bought some turmeric capsules. I took one with milk and a cookie at bedtime and slept pain-free all night and every night since then. It is almost miraculous.
There is another interesting effect. I used to enjoy playing the slot machines. With video slot machines in bars and restaurants here in Oregon, I was playing the slots once or twice a week. I felt I was a little too interested in the slots but I’d still find myself spending more on them than I intended.
Since that first capsule of turmeric, I have had no interest whatsoever in gambling. It was like flipping off a switch.
I’d think this was simply an odd coincidence, but I recall reading about a prescription drug with the opposite effect. It triggered a gambling compulsion that went away when the drug was discontinued.
Gambling is hard to kick, so I thought you might be interested in my experience. Turmeric has been a godsend to me on two fronts.
A. We are intrigued with your story. Studies show that turmeric, the yellow spice in curry, has anti-inflammatory activity. We have never seen any previous indication that it would help against gambling!
We discuss the pros and cons of arthritis pain relievers and a number of non-drug options including turmeric in our Guide to Alternatives for Arthritis. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (no. 10) stamped (63 cents), self-addressed envelope: Graedons’ The People’s Pharmacy®, No. AA-2, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. You can also download it for $2 at www.peoplespharmacy.com.