Science Confirms - Turmeric To Be As Effective As Drugs
Turmeric is one the most thoroughly researched plants in existence today. Its medicinal properties and components (primarily curcumin) have been the subject of over 5600 peer-reviewed and published biomedical studies.
According to Sayer Ji of GreenMedInfo, their five-year long research project on this spice revealed over 600 potential preventive and therapeutic applications as well as 175 distinct beneficial physiological effects. An entire database of 1,585 NCBI-hyperlinked turmeric abstracts can be found on their website.
Given the sheer density of research performed on it, it is no wonder that a growing number of studies have concluded that it compares favorably to a variety of conventional medications, including the following:
1. Lipitor/Atorvastatin (Cholesterol Medication)
A 2008 study published in the journal Drugs in R & D found the following. A standardized preparation of curcuminoids from turmeric, compared favorably to the drug atorvastatin (trade name Lipitor) on endothelial dysfunction, the underlying pathology of the blood vessels that drives atherosclerosis. In association with reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients.
2. Corticosteroids (Steroid Medications)
A 1999 study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research found that the primary polyphenol in turmeric, the saffron-colored pigment known as curcumin, compared favorably to steroids in the management of chronic anterior uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease.
A 2008 study published in Critical Care Medicine found that curcumin compared favorably to the corticosteroid drug dexamethasone in the animal model as an alternative therapy for protecting lung-transplantation-associated injury by down-regulating inflammatory genes.
An earlier 2003 study published in Cancer Letters found that the same drug also compared favourably to dexamethasone in a lung ischaemia-reperfusion injury model.
3. Prozac/Fluoxetine And Imipramine (Antidepressants)
A 2011 study published in the journal Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica found that curcumin compared favourably to both drugs in reducing depressive behaviour in an animal model.
4. Aspirin (Blood Thinner)
1968 in vitro and ex vivo study published journal Arzneimittelforschung found that Curcumin has anti-platelet and prostacyclin modulating effects compared to aspirin, indicating it may have value in patients prone to vascular thrombosis and requiring anti-arthritis therapy.
5. Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
A 2004 study published in the journal Oncogene found that curcumin (as well as resveratrol) was an effective alternative to the drugs aspirin, ibuprofen, sulindac, phenylbutazone, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac, dexamethasone, celecoxib, and tamoxifen in exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity against tumour cells.
6. Oxaliplatin (Chemotherapy Drug)
A 2007 study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that curcumin compares favourably with oxaliplatin as an antiproliferative agent in colorectal cell lines
7. Metformin (Diabetes Drug)
A 2009 study published in the journal Biochemistry and Biophysical Research Community explored how curcumin might be valuable in treating diabetes, finding that it activates AMPK (which increases glucose uptake) and suppresses gluconeogenic gene expression (which suppresses glucose production in the liver) in hepatoma cells.
Interestingly, they found curcumin, in the form of tetrahydro curcuminoids (THC), to be 500 to 100,000 times more potent than metformin in activating AMPK and its downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC).
Benefits Of Turmeric In Cancer Therapy
Turmeric and its components reveal their remarkable therapeutic properties in research on drug-resistant and multi-drug-resistant cancers.
We found no less than 54 studies indicating that curcumin can induce cell death or sensitise drug-resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment. We also identified 27 studies on curcumin’s ability to either induce cell death or sensitise multidrug resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment.
Considering how strong a track record turmeric (curcumin) has, having been used as both food and medicine in a wide range of cultures for thousands of years, a strong argument can be made for using curcumin as a drug alternative or adjuvant in cancer treatment.
Ideal Turmeric Dosage – How Much Turmeric Can You Take in a Day?
Okay, so lately there has been a lot of confusion on how much turmeric one can take in a day and how many times one should take it.
The primary reason for the confusion on “how much” arises from the fact that one can take turmeric (and thus its active ingredient) in so many ways:
Fresh turmeric root
Turmeric dried root powder
Supplement with various % of curcumin present
Fluid extract
Tincture
Now the fundamental difference in each of them is the quantity of curcumin. So how much of this one can take in a day?
I also found that people have a different opinion on the dosage of turmeric. Thus, I have relied upon some authentic sources only for the research here.
Here is what we found from various sources.
How much turmeric can I take in a Day?
Rather than using one source, we tried collecting info from multiple reliable sources.
According to University of Maryland Medical Center
The permissible dosages of various forms of turmeric (for adults):
Cut root: 1.5 – 3 g per day
Dried, powdered root: 1 – 3 g per day
Standardized powder (curcumin): 400 – 600 mg, 2-3 times per day
Fluid extract (1:1) 30 – 90 drops a day
Tincture (1:2): 15 – 30 drops, 4 times per day
Both fluid Extracts and Tinctures are not commonly used, so we will concentrate on the rest of the three and what they mean:
Cut root: This is basically fresh turmeric, it will have moisture too in it. Cut root is great to make pickles and adding to salads.
Dried root: This is the most common way of using turmeric. This is how turmeric spice/powder is made – by drying cut root and then making a powder. Drying will cause loss of moisture and maybe of some beneficial aspects of turmeric, but no serious damage is done.
Standardized powder (curcumin): This is basically what we call as supplements. Supplement manufacturers extract curcumin from turmeric and then concentrate it to make standardised powders. These are then sold as turmeric supplements in the market. Based on the brand the concentration may change.
According to WebMD:
For upset stomach (dyspepsia): 500 mg of turmeric four times daily.
For osteoarthritis: 500 mg twice daily of a specific turmeric extract (Meriva, Indena); 500 mg four times daily of a non-commercial product has also been used.
For rheumatoid arthritis (RA): 500mg twice daily of a specific formulation of the turmeric constituent, curcumin (BCM-95®, Arjuna Natural Extracts, India), has been used.
The first two are related to natural turmeric powder and the third one – BCM-95®, Arjuna Natural Extracts – with a 95% standardized powder.
As you can see the dosage is within 2g range.
According to Dr Weil:
One can take 400mg – 600 mg supercritical extracts 2 times a day. This, of course, he is talking about supplements (standardized powder).
Summary of info from the above 2 sources
WebMD and Dr. Weil fall under the range specified by University of Maryland Medical Center. Thus dosages by University of Maryland Medical Center represent all the three.
If you are using powder, We would like to mention that you can take 1 tsp of powder on a daily basis without any issues. Regarding gems, the figures are mentioned below:
These are very conservative numbers and taking up to 4-5 gms per day is also fine.
Regarding tsp – typical turmeric dosage is thus around 1 tsp per day.
But then why some research study use high dosages?
While researching over dosages We found a absorbing thing and looking back and thinking about it, We are just wondering why a thing so simple and logical did not strike me!
While We were researching over dosages, We came across studies where researchers were giving dosages as high as 8 g per day to patients. This We observed in several studies. But then why University of Maryland Medical Center and others suggest such a small dosage?The answer may lie in the fact that the dosages are high when we need them i.e. when we are not well. For example, if you have back pain, you may want to take a high dosage for a day or two and get well. But once you do, you come to the regular “preventive” dosage.
Thus, in our opinion, there are two kinds of turmeric dosages we can take:
Preventive – which are low and which we can continue for lifetime
Curative – required when we have some issues. For example, some of the studies mentioned multiple dosages to chemo therapy patients, and it makes all the sense to do so as we need quick action here.
So when you are suffering from say Age-related pain, and you take multiple dosages, it acts as a potent painkiller and helps you. This can go on for some time and then one should get back to preventive dosage as soon as our body is back in shape.
Turmeric dose – what experience tells us
Turmeric has been used in India for thousands of years. Millions of people take milk with turmeric on a daily basis, and it is included in almost every curry/vegetable we make.
Thus, experience tells that taking even 1 tsp turmeric a day will not have any issues. Of course, if you are new to it, start small – maybe 1/4 tsp and then increase.
Possible side effects – large dosage for an extended time - There are no side effects when you use turmeric as a spice, why? Because the dosage is always limited. But things may be different when you take supplements or large amounts of turmeric powder for an extended period of time.
It is important to understand that the side effects occur when you take them for a long time. Thus we can always take therapeutic dosages whenever we require and shift to preventive ones when fine. Also when the preventive dosage limit says 3.0 g per day, We very sure nothing wrong is going to happen if you take 6-8 g per day. Most of the times the dosages mentioned are on a much safer side.
Typical side effects are related to digestive system – stomach upset, diarrhoea, ulcers. The side effects may also vary from person to person too. We were not able to find any “very” serious side effects though except ulcers.
Key takeaway:
It is safe to take up to 1 tsp good quality turmeric powder a day
There are indeed some limits of turmeric usage on a daily basis if you are taking a preventive dose. (see details above). Regarding turmeric powder (and not supplements) – you can exceed them to a certain extent with no issues at all.
In a case of disorder, a therapeutic dosage can be as high as 8-10g per day (note – this is not prescribed dosage, but we found this to be the greatest quantity among all the used dosage in research studies we analysed).
Turmeric (powder) is very safe to use, and side effects only occur when high dosages are taken for long duration of time
Or, better yet, use certified organic (non-irradiated) turmeric in lower culinary doses on a daily basis so that heroic doses won’t be necessary later in life after a severe disease set in. Nourishing yourself, rather than self-medicating with “nutraceuticals” should be the goal of a healthy diet.
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article source: curejoy / http://www.curejoy.com/
