Worth trying tumeric?

Is it worth trying. Currently flaring 2 to 3 bowel motions a day. On pentasa supps 1g OD and azathioprine 125mg OD, balsalazide 1.5g BD and pred foam nocte

I would agree with iPoop. It appears very unlikely to hurt. There are some studies showing it works as well as mesalamines for mild to moderate colitis.

Hi PharmacistwithUC. Of all of the supplements that I've tried since I was diagnosed in 2004 (became ill 2003) the one that I am confident makes a difference is slippery elm powder.

I mix a teaspoon with a little cold water, then add warm water (so it doesn't congeal) and drink it. It forms a mucilage which coats the lining of the gut. To me it's the same as putting Bonjela on an ulcer. It acts as a barrier to aid healing.

I'm taking turmeric daily, but if I had to choose one over the other I'd go for the slippery elm.

beave said...
Well, actually, it sorta *can* hurt to try! ;-)

Studies that have shown it works as well as mesalamines required so much turmeric that the study participants had a really hard time tolerating it. They were having acid reflux, upset stomach, abdominal cramps, gas pains, etc.

Last I heard some researchers were working on a way to formulate it so that it can be better tolerated at the doses needed for it to be therapeutic.

the review I read does not support this. www.altmedrev.com/publications/16/2/152.pdf

it seems very safe

Thanks for the link.

I don't have a link that rebuts it. I'm repeating what was said by a researcher at an IBD conference I attended in 2016. The research has not been published yet, as far as I know.

Two things:

1. In your link, it does mention this: "Side effects reported by study subjects included abdominal bloating, nausea, hypertension (one patient), diarrhea, and elevated γ-guanosine."

2. The doses of curcumin in the link you shared are much lower than the doses in the study talked about at the conference. The study I heard about found that somewhere around 8000mg/day was needed to equal effectiveness of mesalamines. And at those doses, side effects mentioned in 1. above became far more common and more troublesome.

I had side effects from curcumin capsules after taking them for a year, replacing my RX Balsalazide. I took 2 to 4 grams a day (2000 to 4000 mg) of 95% curcumin.

It worked great for my gut, better than Balsalazide IMO but I developed skin problems, multiple infections, one of which I went to ER for. How do I know curcumin was the reason? I never had skin infections previously and after stopping the curcumin (after ER trip) I haven't had any other skin infection.

I still use turmeric in cooking for curries but will not take that high a dose of refined curcumin in the future.