Turmeric

[Apech]

1 hour ago, Sheepdog said:

 

I would say "couple months" is a very long time for "some mild positive" effects. It's quite likely that turmeric is doing (almost) nothing at all or is even harming you and you're simply experiencing slow natural healing, not positive effect of the herb.

 

Generally don't listen to people who are saying things like "turmeric is good for inflammation". Such people are incompetent and dangerous to others (and even to themselves). Turmeric is a warm herb and it can be harmful for inflammation if the inflammation has hot nature.

 

It can be beneficial for inflammation if the cause is blood stagnation or Qi stagnation, wind, cold, damp. But it's biggest specialty is blood stagnation. 

 

Unfortunately, very often somebody has good effects with a certain herb in a specific situation to which the herb is suited, but starts to recommend the herb for a wide category like "inflammation" or "joint pain" - which includes situations to which the herb is NOT suited! 

 

Could you say which joints and muscles are affected?

 

Are the joints swollen, or maybe there is redness around them? Do they feel hot or cold?

 

Are the joints stiff? (Maybe just stiff in the morning?) Or maybe the limb feels bit numb?

 

Does the pain increase or decrease in response to warmth or cold? Or maybe in reaction to wet, rainy weather?  

 

Does the pain feel heavy or does it feel sharp, like stabbing with a sharp needle or knife?

 

Is the pain constant or maybe pulsating or changing, "jumping" from one joint to another?

 

Are you as the whole person more sensitive to hot or cold? (Which you find more tiring and unpleasant.)

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

My issues are just general stiffness and some back pain which is mostly ageing related.  I did not mean to suggest that it took two months to have an effect but that I noticed the effect for the two months.  It is not dramatic but still noticeable.  As turmeric is a herb used in food I think it unlikely that it is toxic - and I am not taking a particularly high dose.  So I feel it has had an overall positive effect especially as it has reduced the frequency with which I have taken other meds over the period.

 

But I am open to your views as you may have more knowledge than me.

 

 

[Nungali]

On 10/22/2025 at 4:25 AM, Apech said:

I bought some pills which you take two a day and have black pepper extract for absorption.  The dose is 560 mg turmeric in powder form.  I was told that eating turmeric in food was not enough because the powdered turmeric is only a few percent actual herbs.

 

I like to use the fresh root , grated into all types of mixtures , especially curries .

 

You can be assured  of 100% using the root , especially if you grow it yourself  

 

Powdered turmeric can contain harmful additives like lead chromate, Sudan dyes, and Metanil Yellow to enhance color, as well as cheap fillers like starch or other plant powders (like Curcuma zedoaria) to increase weight and profit, posing serious health risks like lead poisoning and potential cancer from illegal dyes. Always look for trusted brands or organic labels to avoid these dangerous adulterants, as contamination with heavy metals or toxic dyes is a known issue

[Nungali]

What part of back is pain in ?  

 

I have several areas of damage in mine ; lumber can be treated by targeted exercises .  Cervical by massage and manipulation - I got to the point where I can manipulate it myself  now ... mostly .  But thoracic  was always difficult .... until I discovered the wonders of  ....

 

 

pool noodle  !  

 

I LUV my pool noodle  ..... 

 

Lie on back knees bent and up , place noodle across back just under shoulder blades .Fold hands on chest , or if you also have a cervical issue put hands behind head and bring elbows close together  to support your head and neck  and lie back with head as close to floor as you can , then raise your head and shoulders  X  4 working up to X 8  . Move the noodle UP one vertebra  and another set , then UP again  for a third set   ( by then your near cervical )  - dont do it to lumbar section . 

 

Note , this is not a sit up or 'crunch ' try not to use your stomach muscles  .  Some times before I even do the first head lowering  ..... crunch ... crack .... settle  ....   ahhhhhh .   I haven't had thoracic  discomfort since . 

 

 

 

.

Edited 16 hours ago by Nungali

[Apech]

6 hours ago, Nungali said:

 

I like to use the fresh root , grated into all types of mixtures , especially curries .

 

You can be assured  of 100% using the root , especially if you grow it yourself  

 

Powdered turmeric can contain harmful additives like lead chromate, Sudan dyes, and Metanil Yellow to enhance color, as well as cheap fillers like starch or other plant powders (like Curcuma zedoaria) to increase weight and profit, posing serious health risks like lead poisoning and potential cancer from illegal dyes. Always look for trusted brands or organic labels to avoid these dangerous adulterants, as contamination with heavy metals or toxic dyes is a known issue

I take capsules which apart from powdered turmeric and pepper the only additive is acacia gum and 100% vegetable cellulose.

 

 

[Sheepdog]

19 hours ago, Apech said:

My issues are just general stiffness and some back pain which is mostly ageing related.

 

This suggests turmeric is likely beneficial for you. 🙂 Stiffness likely means blood and/or Qi stagnation and turmeric is a  anti-stagnation herb, so it's good for such cases. 

 

Before, when you wrote "inflammation", I was afraid you might be trying to treat a "hot" type joint inflammation with turmeric, which would be problematic. 

 

19 hours ago, Apech said:

As turmeric is a herb used in food I think it unlikely that it is toxic

 

It's not toxic. I was worried about something else - the thermal nature, hot vs cold axis. Some people have too much heat in their bodies, some have too much cold. Also different body parts can have their own thermal situations - somebody can have too much cold in one part of body, too much hot in another part of body. 

 

Some herbs are warming, some are cooling (and some are thermally neutral). One should use warm herbs to counter cold, cold herbs to counter heat. If it's the other way around, the herbs become harmful - not because they're toxic, but because it's heating what's already too hot or cooling something that's already too cold. 

 

This also applies to common kitchen items. For example garlic is hot and is harmful for people who have too much heat in their bodies. Milk is cold and is harmful for people who have cold.

 

If you have stiffness and back pain from aging, then turmeric is likely beneficial for you, but also not a very effective treatment.

 

I can't prescribe you anything, this is not a prescription, but if I were you, I would take interest in, research these two herbs:

 

- Du Huo (Radix Angelicae Pubescentis)

- Xu Duan (Radix Dipsaci)

 

Du Huo clears joints, Xu Duan repairs them. Both herbs are especially targeted for lower back. 

 

These two greatly helped with my mother's lower back pain, but of course different people have different situations and results can vary. 

 

BTW I don't know what is the availability of Chinese herbs in your country. Initially I was worried they would be hard to get or expensive here in Poland, but it turned out there are multiple local online shops which deliver them without problems and at reasonable price. 

[Apech]

5 minutes ago, Sheepdog said:

 

This suggests turmeric is likely beneficial for you. 🙂 Stiffness likely means blood and/or Qi stagnation and turmeric is a  anti-stagnation herb, so it's good for such cases. 

 

Before, when you wrote "inflammation", I was afraid you might be trying to treat a "hot" type joint inflammation with turmeric, which would be problematic. 

 

 

It's not toxic. I was worried about something else - the thermal nature, hot vs cold axis. Some people have too much heat in their bodies, some have too much cold. Also different body parts can have their own thermal situations - somebody can have too much cold in one part of body, too much hot in another part of body. 

 

Some herbs are warming, some are cooling (and some are thermally neutral). One should use warm herbs to counter cold, cold herbs to counter heat. If it's the other way around, the herbs become harmful - not because they're toxic, but because it's heating what's already too hot or cooling something that's already too cold. 

 

This also applies to common kitchen items. For example garlic is hot and is harmful for people who have too much heat in their bodies. Milk is cold and is harmful for people who have cold.

 

If you have stiffness and back pain from aging, then turmeric is likely beneficial for you, but also not a very effective treatment.

 

I can't prescribe you anything, this is not a prescription, but if I were you, I would take interest in, research these two herbs:

 

- Du Huo (Radix Angelicae Pubescentis)

- Xu Duan (Radix Dipsaci)

 

Du Huo clears joints, Xu Duan repairs them. Both herbs are especially targeted for lower back. 

 

These two greatly helped with my mother's lower back pain, but of course different people have different situations and results can vary. 

 

BTW I don't know what is the availability of Chinese herbs in your country. Initially I was worried they would be hard to get or expensive here in Poland, but it turned out there are multiple local online shops which deliver them without problems and at reasonable price. 

Thanks that’s very helpful.  There’s a woman in the next village who does acupuncture and sells some herbs - I’ll see if she has got these.