Q. I have osteoarthritis and recently became unable to take NSAIDs due to a spike in my liver enzymes and a family history of heart disease. Then I read in a recent column of People’s Pharmacy that turmeric has “powerful anti-inflammatory” action.
I have been taking 1200 mg a day on a full stomach for almost a month now and feel as well as I did on NSAIDs with no side effects. My rheumatologist, of course, is skeptical and wants more information on the spice. All I can find is culinary related.
Can you tell me any known side effects of the spice other than stomach related?
I greatly appreciate your column and have learned a great deal from it. The thyme tea really works better than any cough medicine I’ve tried, and the cornmeal mask has cleared up the dermatitis on my face.
I’ve worked in the medical field all my life and am very aware that pharmaceutical companies are not altruistic when it come to their bottom line.
A. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with these simple remedies. Turmeric is getting a lot of attention in the research community for its potential against inflammation and arthritis, cancer and even Alzheimer’s disease. At last count, there were nearly 3,000 citations in PubMed, the online abstract repository of the National Library of Medicine. The active ingredient in turmeric has over 7,000 citations in PubMed.
You can read about how people have used turmeric to treat arthritis, back pain, bursitis, diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, IBS, cramps, nerve pain, psoriasis and warts in our book, Quick & Handy Home Remedies from The People’s Pharmacy. Some cautions:
Turmeric Side Effects
- Some people are allergic to turmeric and break out in a nasty rash.
- People taking the anticoagulant warfarin (Coumadin) may find that turmeric or curcumin increases the risk for bleeding. Discuss any use of turmeric or curcumin prior to surgery.
- Stomach upset has been reported along with reflux, nausea and diarrhea.
- Reports of gallbladder problems suggest that people with a history of gallbladder symptoms should avoid turmeric. The same may hold true for those with a history of kidney stones.
- Turmeric should not be taken while pregnant.
Thyme Tea for Coughs
We are so glad you had success with thyme tea. We have been writing about this cough remedy for years and our own experience suggests that it is amazingly effective. Here are just a couple of stories:
“I’ve had a good old-fashioned cold this past week and when that dry, tickle cough started on Wednesday I reached for your book and brewed up some of your thyme tea potion and just two doses on Thursday stopped the coughing completely. Thanks!” Jane
“Thank you for writing about thyme as a cough remedy. I am getting over a nasty cold. When I’m up I feel fine, but as soon as I lie down I develop a violent cough. This has kept me awake for several nights.
“Last night I ran out of cough medicine and had a horrible coughing fit at 2 am. I didn’t know what to do until my husband reminded me of your column about thyme tea.
“I made myself a cup with a teaspoon of thyme leaves from my spice rack. Although I hardly believed it would work, I got a good night’s sleep without coughing the rest of the night.”
Cornmeal for Dermatitis?
We have searched high and low for something we wrote about a “cornmeal mask” and came up empty. We have written about cornmeal mush foot soaks against nail fungus. Here is Q&A from nearly a decade ago:
Q. You have responded to many questions about curing toenail fungus with home remedies, but here’s one you’ve never mentioned. Put about an inch of cornmeal in a plastic dishpan. Pour in hot water, stir it so the cornmeal gets dissolved and when it is cool enough not to hurt, soak your feet for an hour.
If you do this regularly, it will get rid of the fungus. You can also sprinkle dry cornmeal on the dirt around roses to ward off black spot fungus infection.
A. Cornmeal has been used for centuries to make cornbread, hushpuppies and muffins. Using this grain to fight fungus is a fascinating adaptation.
Gardeners have also tried cornmeal to fight fungus (black spot disease) on roses. They sprinkle cornmeal on the soil around the plant in the early spring and then water it in.
Soaking feet in cornmeal glop is certainly a low-tech, low-cost approach to nail fungus. We don’t know how effective it is or how frequently you’d have to do it.
Since that question and answer we have heard from others that cornmeal seems to fight fungal infections on the skin. Whether a cornmeal mask would help dermatitis is not clear. Then again, if the skin is inflamed because of seborrheic dermatitis, a fungal infection brought on by overgrowth of the yeast Malassezia, cornmeal might just do the trick.
If you love simple health remedies for common ailments you will find our book, Quick & Handy Home Remedies a wonderful resource. You may even want to take advantage of our special holiday gift bundle in which you can get 50% off a companion volume, Recipes and Remedies from The People’s Pharmacy (174 pages). Wouldn’t this combination make a great holiday gift?
