Q. I want to thank you. A couple of months ago you wrote about taking turmeric for knee pain. I immediately went out and bought some.
I have had constant knee pain for many years. After taking turmeric once a day for about two months, I can honestly say that it has helped immensely. I tell everyone about the results and advise them to try it.
A. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. Research has shown that it has powerful anti-inflammatory activity (Food and Chemical Toxicology, Sept., 2015).
The medicinal use of curcumin has been limited because it is not absorbed efficiently from the digestive tract. Japanese researchers reported last year on a more bio-available formulation called Theracurmin. In a placebo-controlled trial, they found it significantly reduced knee pain due to osteoarthritis (Journal of Orthopaedic Science, online Oct. 13, 2014).
Turmeric Treatment Works for Others:
You are not the first person to report success with turmeric treatment.
Stan Says:
“Turmeric (curcumin) has relieved my knee pain completely.”
This from Joe:
“The last time I went to my doctor for lower back pain he would not prescribe Vicodin again. I then researched for products that were natural and worked well for inflammation and found two that brought inflammation down and helped with pain without any side effects. They are Boswellia and Turmeric (curcumin).”
Linda adds a dandruff benefit:
“I make my own capsules of turmeric. I take 2 in a.m. and 2 in p.m. My osteoarthritis has greatly improved. A second benefit that I wasn’t expecting was the cure of my dandruff. Amazing!”
Beware Turmeric Treatment (Curcumin) Side Effects:
A couple of cautions: some people develop allergic reactions to natural products such as turmeric.
Laura reports:
“I heard good things about the turmeric treatment to help with joint pain and thought I’d give it a try. I took the recommended dose of 2 capsules daily (500 mg each). The first night I woke with an itchy rash around my armpits but didn’t make the connection until the following night when the raised itchy rash started travelling down my arm and onto my torso. I immediately took an allergy med and after an hour the rash subsided. Feel fine now but am staying away from turmeric.”
In addition, people taking warfarin (Coumadin) should not start using turmeric or curcumin. We have received a number of reports indicating the interaction interferes with appropriate blood clotting time.
If you would like to learn more about turmeric treatment (curcumin) and its many uses, including an anticancer effect, you may wish to consider our book, Quick & Handy Home Remedies. In it we discuss a number of non-drug approaches for overcoming osteoarthritis and other inflammatory conditions. There are also recipes using turmeric, such as our “Anti-Inflammatory Curcumin Scramble.” Should you wish to combine Quick & Handy with our Recipes & Remedies book, here is a special offer that’s hard to beat.
Share your own turmeric treatment story below.
