Examine.com lists curcumin as having “anti-inflammatory properties and decent evidence for indications from chronic pain to depression,” though in a forum post here, Jordan’s response to the potential beneficial properties of turmeric is a simple “no”.
I was wondering if you could expand on that a little, as I’m skeptical when it comes to supplementation, but my experience with turmeric has been fairly positive, reducing my elbow tendinitis entirely within a few days of dosing it while maintaining the same level of lifting output.
Hopefully I’m not retreading well worn ground with this post, but after Google searching the site that singular post is all I found on the subject.
I don’t think curcumin has reliable evidence indicating it improves meaningful health outcomes- especially complicated ones like pain. For example, your tendinitis is unlikely to be related to inflammation, as is most pain, and the improvement you saw is likely rooted in some expectation of benefit rather than some complex pharmacology.
I started dosing it thinking it wouldn’t work, but I imagine there was a subconscious desperation that lead to the placebo effect. I’m going to stop taking it to see what happens.
Is the placebo effect necessarily a negative? I assume the turmeric side effects are minimal.
It depends on the risks associated with the intervention directly and indirectly. I agree the direct side effects of tumeric are relatively minor, but the indirect narrative surrounding the “inflammation” in your joints and your “need” for something to temper that (along with other ideas perpetuated with this sort of management) may be decidedly high risk.
Turmeric in reasonable amounts is probably benign. I recently saw someone, however, hospitalized with serotonin syndrome (very bad, potentially fatal) from taking “lots” (that’s the best he could quantify) of turmeric to treat his depression, in addition to his prescribed antidepressant. If a supplement “works,”(ie it does something) then it has potential side effects and sometimes drug interactions, and you should discuss with your physician.
BTW, the “lots” of turmeric didn’t appear to help the depression, in his case.