Turmeric Benefits: Health Uses & Anti-Inflammatory Properties

I have tried multiple ways to get 1 teaspoon of turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper into me at once; but it's just too much for me. However, I can easily reach that goal by LIGHTLY sprinkling turmeric and black pepper on many things I eat throughout the day: cereal, hot or cold; vegetables; protein sources; after reading a suggestion here, I even tried it on ice cream - and that worked too.

When I have an acute pain, I mix turmeric and black pepper, with organic, raw (unpasteurized) honey* and spread it on, or mash it up with, a banana.**

Add in some peanut butter and cinnamon to help control blood sugar, and increase the "yum".

*I don't buy manuka honey, because honey, as described, works wonders for me. So much so, that sometimes a heaping teaspoon of honey, taken alone, will alleviate acute, non-chronic pain.

**You have to experiment with the amounts at which it is palpable to you or children.

We're already using coconut oil in our coffee. So I went one step further-and added a good sprinkle of turmeric, which was barely noticeable. We'll also add it to our scrambled eggs-which I also use coconut oil and black pepper anyways. It can also be added into smoothies/frappes type drinks. There are many ways to get it into the diet all day long without it being distasteful, the other night I added it to our rice. I also have some capsules, but it seems even easier to add it to food than trying to remember to take a pill...

I just wanted to share two side effects I have had in trying to use turmeric orally. The first is severe constapation. I would imagine this might benefit someone with Crohn's or IBS, but I definately have a problem.

The second is that it causes my face and scalp tend to break out. After two days, it feels like my face is falling apart with acne. I've tried turmeric on and off again at least six times, and this happens everytime. This happens with just 500 mg a day, so a relatively small amount. I know a lot of people have been trying this for acne, but it tends to make things much, much worse for me.

For some people, the other benefits might be worth the side effect, but it's a bit too much for me, which is disappointing, as I really wanted to like this herb.

FYI: I eat a healthy, low-gluten, low fat diet that incorporates several gentle cleansing herbs daily, so I do not think this is a detox reaction.

Try cooking grade grocery store turmeric powder. Don't use the capsules. Start from a quarter teaspoon.

In South India, some women used to apply turmeric in their face and body during their bath. But it is a different turmeric variety exclusively for applying in skin. Of course, cooking variety of turmeric powder can also be applied on the skin.

I agree some people experience the rash when applying turmeric on their skin. May be because if they rince with soap directly with applied turmeric, as soap reacts with turmeric. Better idea is, cleanse with water and then wash with soap.

When taking internally, try food grade turmeric. Good Health

I read that 1/2 tsp of turmeric will cause constipation. Try 1/4 tsp with 1/8 tsp ginger.

For those who think turmeric is causing them problems, try taking it without the capsule.

Just an update...been experimenting with equal parts of turmeric, ginger and garlic powder or chopping up a garlic clove, swallowing tiny parts whole with a tea made from ginger and/or turmeric.

No reply for combining garlic and cayenne so I alternate cayenne with ginger and turmeric. My insides are not normal due to adhesions...trying to keep things moving and avoid infection because of lesions and ruptured lining.

If anyone knows if this is not a wise thing to do, please let me know.

Kt, I can't see why they can't all be taken together, they are all "sauce ingredients"!

Maybe you could read up on Serrapeptase for adhesions.

Thank you Mmsg, I have some Serrapeptase and I had taken it for awhile, but I got a bad feeling about it because I have implants so I stopped. I'll look into it again.

Ok I will give a recipe to drink Turmeric Powder, a delicioius drink.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tsp - Turmeric Powder
• 250 ml - Butter Milk (incase you don't get butter milk, make your own by mixing 100 ml yoghurt and 150 ml of water)
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin Powder - Optional
• 1/4 tsp - Black Pepper Powder - Optional
• Salt to taste

Mix everything throughly, so flavours of all the herbs blends well. Sprinkle finely chopped Coriander Leaves. Delicious drink is ready. You can change the ratios according to the desired taste.

Get Well Soon.

I found a way to take tumeric that I think is yummy. I warm some almond milk on the stove, pour into a mug, add 1/2 tsp. Turmeric, a dash of pure ground cinnamon and 2 drops vanilla extract and drink before bedtime. It tastes like custard.

I am sorry for all the pain your daughter is going thru and good for you not giving up and for being such a great mom.

I don't know if this would help, and please check to make sure it is safe for her to do the following. I had a tooth infection and I put goldenseal, sprinkled from a capsule on it, and brushed the area, and put some in a tea bag and put it on the infection. ( I also brushed the area with kosher salt and gargled with salt water, however it only got better when I used goldenseal. ) In 2 or 3 days infection was gone.

She might want to also take it internally, but make sure it is safe for her to do so.

Good luck to you both and I will keep you in my prayers.

Gillian

I was told by a woman fro Inida that in India they take tumeric with a heated glass of milk. It works and tastes great! Two or three tablespoons a day. Add Lecithin if you choose to.

I saw the idea of turmeric for weight loss and followed the suggestion on 1/2 teaspoon turmeric in water. It was just before 10 am, about an hour later my heart start beating very violently and I felt so unwell, like very high bloodpreasure, or if I had taken a lot of coffeine. All night I suffered till 5am then I drank a big glass of water and walked a bit and slowly it calmed down. Anybody know what happened?

Gurlith, maybe it was something else, not the turmeric. You seem to be from India so I suppose you eat turmeric often, so it might not be the turmeric that gave you that reaction.

Gurlith, Hi. I am having a similar reaction and I know it was the tumeric. I took 1 teaspoon three times in one day with almond milk and a sprinkle of pepper. The next day I took 1 teaspoon the same way. By 2:00pm I started experiencing fatigue and then muscle pain, diahhrea, constipation and felt wretched. I saw that Gavin ( a frequent poster) mentioned that too much tumeric can cause symptoms similar to mild chemo. And that's definitely how bad I feel. That was Sunday and it's Monday evening and I still feel pretty rough. I couldn't even go in to work today. Drinking distilled water and hope to be better soon. I wanted to reply to Gavin's post (from 2011 I think) but couldn't find it. No offence to tumeric, I'm still going to use it... once I recover, but scaling way back to like 1/2- 1tsp 3x/wk. FYI I'm female age 43, 110lbs. Best wishes everyone.

Re: Turmeric Side Effects: And Robyn, as always, I would add, start SMALL. As in a TINY dosis at a time.

I too have bad inflammation from badly treated std. Main inflammation is on lingual lymphs, right testicle, pain on wrist and head/neck nerve pain

WARNING!

Hello All ~ I am so happy to hear that tumeric has helped nearly all of you... It is a very beneficial herb. However, I must tell you that if you are using tumeric, never, ever get the powder into your eyes. I did that accidentally while putting tumeric into capsules for a friend of mine, and apparently I did not wash my hands thoroughly enough, and I started rubbing my eyes and it took a week for me to finally find some relief. It resulted in swelling, burning and itching! You may ingest it fine with no problem, but never let it get into your eyes especially via rubbing with unwashed hands! Overall though it is a very important beneficial herb. Hope this helps you... God bless and good health to all!!!

Folks, use caution when taking Curcumin. While the benefits are amazing, it has been proven to cause something called gall bladder squeezing (quite painful) and hair loss! My husband and I were taking one 500 mg capsule per day (with food) for about a year when I started experiencing the gall bladder squeezing sensation (as well as noticeable hair loss). I was afraid I had gallstones but an ultrasound showed no issues? My hairdresser was also alarmed at the amount of hair loss I was experiencing. I even had blood panels done to check my thyroid levels (which were completely normal). By fluke, I stumbled across an article on the possible side effects of the Curcumin, and once we cut back our dosage to three 500 mg capsules per week, the negative symptoms completely disappeared. Just be cautious about your dosing....

. I remember, my childhood in India, if I get hurt, mom used to put turmeric paste on wound. Also now if I have, bad cold/infection, I put turmeric in milk and in meal as well.

You can also add Turmeric to tomato pasta sauces, soups and stews.

Just a pinch of pepper will do, and it is best to take turmeric with a fat as it is more soluble that way so take it in warm milk or coconut milk or almond milk with a little honey... One more thing, I don't know if you have this where you are but the only thing that has turned my hands and feet around is an ointment called Bag Balm. It is used by farmers for cows, but humans use it too, and I have to say it was soothing, calming, and healing from the first use. I hope this helps you, sara

I am, in Ayurvedic lingo, pitta, even pitta imbalanced. If I take turmeric, it makes my pitta imbalance worse and I become irritable and my insomnia is aggravated and I get all kinds of other symptoms typical of pitta imbalance. For my wife, who is pitta weak, turmeric is perfect and balances her and helps her a lot.

Oh, and you you aren't that fond of mustard, you can hide a tsp or two in a cheese omlet or make deviled eggs without noticing it!

That is genius! Garlic would be good, too.

Turmeric is great against arthritis pain, but also for headache or other pains.

My spouse and I take daily turmeric with bromelain (2) capsules and experience no symptoms of arthritis. If we run out of them, we notice the difference right away. (450 each combo capsule from nat fac)

When a headache comes along or a sore throat we use 2 capsules, instead of aspirin or ibuprofen (in addition to our daily regimen).

Conventional medical providers acknowledge turmeric is equal to ibuprofen in pain relief. (And lots less side effects to worry about! )

I have taken tumeric with a glass of warm milk for heartburn which I used to get often. Almond milk actually works much better and goat milk is the best.

Hello! I drink turmeric all day long, mixed with water and apple cider vinegar.

I'd like to know how I can create a concentrated turmeric substance so that I do not have to consume as much product/have a more potent substance that I can use. Any ideas? Thanks!