Indian food is incomplete without turmeric, a spice, and food dye that belongs to the ginger family. There is a popular belief that turmeric also has medicinal properties and due to this many people use the spice to treat conditions that involve pain and inflammation.
Although there is no scientific evidence to support most of these uses, some people use turmeric for osteoarthritis. It is also used for hay fever, depression, high cholesterol, a type of liver disease, and itching.
“Turmeric is not a preventive medicine. It is a kitchen spice that helps flavor and color food. It has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, and multiple other supposedly beneficial properties only inside lab experiments on cells and tissues which has never been conclusively proven in humans. A pinch of turmeric in milk does not benefit anyone. It just makes the white milk turn yellow. When turmeric is consumed directly, like with milk, 99% of it is excreted in feces. Only the 1% is absorbed in the body,” Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, a senior consultant, The Liver Institute, Center of Excellence in Gastrointestinal Sciences Rajagiri Hospital, Chunangamvely, Aluva – Kerala – India told Financial Express.com.
According to Dr. Philips, the 1 percent has very short half-life, meaning, it is then excreted out of the body within minutes,
“…which means, the 1% is not good enough to have any meaningful action inside the human body, which is like traditional classical Homeopathy formulation, where “nothing” is marketed as ‘medicine’,” he added.
Dr. Philips explained that for humans to have some meaningful absorption of turmeric in the body, “one should consume turmeric weighing as much as an infant.”
“Turmeric is also a pan-assay interference compound – meaning it shows different types of activity in cell and tissue experiments which is wrongly attributed to its “benefits” when in fact, no such benefits can be derived from quality, well-designed and controlled human studies. There have never been any conclusively effective patient outcomes demonstrated in any randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial for any clinical indication for turmeric,” he pointed out.
He also said that all of this is makes turmeric a part of a group called “invalid metabolic panaceas or IMPs.” IMPs are compounds that show false promise in early experiments; but have very feeble or no effects when performed in a controlled environment, such as a clinical study, he added.
To make things worse, when turmeric is added with substances that help increase its absorption, it acts differently – like a highly liver-toxic agent that can cause severe hepatitis or even death due to liver failure in rare cases, he said.
The Australian Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care, Therapeutic Goods Administration recently issued a warning letter on the safety advisory on turmeric supplements and the risk of liver injury.
Moreover, the United States Drug-induced Liver Injury Network has previously warned about turmeric liver injury. Late last year, Italy’s Ministry of Health ordered warnings be added to turmeric-based supplements and banned health claims following hepatitis cases relating to their use.
“In the end, turmeric has no health benefits and potential toxicity which makes it an ineffective supplement for any healthcare intervention,” he added.
What are the side effects of turmeric?
Some people often experience the following side effects when they take them in large doses as supplements:
- Consuming turmeric in excess may lead to mild side effects such as stomach upset, nausea, dizziness, or diarrhea.
- As turmeric contains around 2 percent oxalate, eating way too much may contribute to kidney stones.
- Some turmeric powders may also be high in lead which is highly toxic to nervous system.
- Turmeric extracts can trigger biliary colic (abdominal pain) in people with gallstones.
How much turmeric you should have in a day?
Several studies suggest that turmeric could be beneficial in doses ranging from 500–2,000 milligrams (mg) per day.
