Curcumin | Arthritis Information
Curcumin is supposed to help inflammation. Does anyone take it? I added it to my regimen but I always wonder if I'm taking the right amount when it come to natural remedies. Jodi, isn't that from a spice like Indian curry? I wonder if it makes you stink like people who eat a lot of curry always do? It would be great to have a natural anti-inflammatory, but GI side-effects also scare me away. I'll be interested to read here about any experiences with it. Tumeric/Curcumin
Tumeric has a long and venerable medicinal history for gastrointestinal discomfort, lethargy, and arthritic pain.
I have never noticed that people who eat a lot of curry "stink"; perhaps my olfactory senses are out of whack or I eat so much garlic and so many peppers that I too stink!
I have GI issues. I take nexium daily, and I seem to have developed a more sensitive stomach when I eat certain foods like tomato sauce . However the 2 capsules of curcumin and one cinnamon I take don't bother me- at least not yet. and I don't think there is an oder issue)Shug, thanks for the GI warning... I don't need to worsen the symptoms of my other AI condition!
The sense of smell is interesting. It's strength varies for people. It can trigger a memory instantly and yet it weakens quickly; we adjust and don't notice even a bad smell after a short time of exposure (might not apply for really bad smells like of a rotting corpse--ick). And that's why some women put on too much perfume... they just don't smell it's strength anymore. So, considering that, maybe it's true that a person who injests something that exudes from skin pores, just doesn't notice it anymore. That's why a person will ask a loved one if she needs a mint; she can't tell if she has bad breath.
As I have a bad GI disease, I'd better not take take this, however, I'm still interested to hear if curcumin works as an anti-inflammatory.
In ayurveda curcumin is uesd not ony as antiinflamatory but also known to have heaing properties. When I was young my mom used to give me If I got a scrape or broken fractured bones and muscle issues. I still use it. Over a period of time I figured that it will help if taken with proper consultation. There is no harm if u use it. My mother used to give it in really hot milk before going to bed or early in the morning.
I do not believe in tablets. I get it in powder form from indian store and it is called "haldi". It won't create any GI issues. As sombody have mentioned above, ayurveda says to have some mint with food and it reduces upset stomach problems. I have GI issues too most of it is acidity. I took nexium. It did not work. I am on panzoparle now. It is working.
[QUOTE=CathyMarie]Shug, thanks for the GI warning... I don't need to worsen the symptoms of my other AI condition![/quote]
It seems we have a miscommunication taking place. Tumeric/curcumin is not a warning regarding GI symptoms at low doses rather it is a HEALING herb and has been shown to ease the symptoms of GI distress.
Oops, sorry 'bout that... I guess I read it backwards about the GI reaction. I get it now; it helps GI system, not causes problems.
Unfortunately, I have an auto-immune colon disease so what I need is for some genius scientist to get rid of my lousy gene or whatever causing that and RA.
As far as the smell thing, I don't think it's as much cultural differences as simply individual differences. For example, in all my 40yrs nursing, the only smell that hit me hard was that of gangrene and believe me, there are a lot of bad smells with ill and injured people. Body odor from sweating is natural and ok, though I prefer it to not be noticeable from anyone. I also don't seem to mind people smelling like their garlic too much, but for me, curry is an overwhelming thing no matter how much I like the woman (of course, I just try to ignore it). And although perfume is supposed to be pretty, I only consider it to be pleasant if it's light. That's an applied smell though and can trigger people to have migraines or asthma attacks. And think about how tolerance or enjoyment of smells changes in pregnancy. Oh, another example; I had a really bad 2 months of being convinced that I was mysteriously smelling really bad, despite my family & friends insisting I didn't. Somebody here said it could be the fish oil I had started and my RD agreed so I stopped it just to see. One day I noticed I was no longer obsessing over my smell, in fact I never thought about it at all. So for me, for some unknown reason, fish oil tricks my brain... but only if it's me taking it. Go figure. Our eyes and ears don't mess with us this badly. Somebody somewhere has probably done a big study of all this.
Anyway, I'm glad to learn about curcumin and it's helpful properties. I'd never heard of it before.
I can't stand the smell of curry either! I've got a few Indian friends (go figure - computer programmer/project manager!), and when they've been hitting the curry pretty hard I have to keep some extra distance between us.
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