Your Wellness Lifestyle Starts HereTurmeric is a plant that grows mainly in India, Asia and Central America, and is related to the ginger family. The ground root of the plant is used as a spice, and turmeric is an ingredient in curry powder. Its main ingredients, curcuminoids, are yellow and are often used to color foods and products like cosmetics.
Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric and is used widely in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for many health conditions, including breathing problems, skin diseases, wounds, gastrointestinal distress, liver disease, inflammation, and pain. Other bioactive components include demethoxycurcumin, bis-demethoxycurcumin, and turmeric essential oils. The typical turmeric product used for treatment is an extract that is standardized to between 80% and 95% curcuminoids, most of it is curcumin.
Curcumin is a safe and effective natural compound for treating pain related to common musculoskeletal disorders. Turmeric and curcumin do not modulate COX-1 activity, but instead modify the action of COX-2 enzymes, affect NF-κB signaling, and reduce production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin and phospholipase A2.
Many studies have documented the efficacy of curcumin for pain relief and lowering inflammation. For example:
A study including 107 patients with knee osteoarthritis randomized to take 800 mg ibuprofen or 2 g curcumin daily for 6 weeks showed that curcumin was as effective as ibuprofen for reducing pain.
Three months of treatment with curcumin resulted in improvement in pain and mobility, and reduction in treatment costs for patients with osteoarthritis.
A study in which patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomized to take 500 mg curcuminoids 3 times per day or matched placebo showed that those taking curcumin had significantly greater reductions in pain and improvements in physical function as compared to those taking placebo.
A double-blind crossover study in which rheumatoid arthritis patients were randomized to take 1.2 g of curcumin per day or phenylbutazone (NSAID) for 2 weeks showed that curcumin was just as effective as phenylbutazone for reducing joint swelling and morning stiffness and improving walking time. There were no adverse side effects reported.
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies concluded that 8-12 weeks of treatment with 1000 mg/day of curcumin can reduce pain and inflammation for patients with arthritis, especially osteoarthritis, with improvement similar to the results of treatment with ibuprofen and diclofenac sodium.
Curcuminoids are considered by the FDA as GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) and clinical trials confirm that it is safe, even at high doses of up to 12,000 mg.
The most common drug treatments for joint and musculoskeletal pain are analgesics and NSAIDS, but these drugs have serious gastrointestinal and cardiovascular side effects. Curcumin is a viable alternative that is at least as effective without these side effects.
It is important to remember that a limitation of both drugs and supplements is that they do not resolve the cause of pain. Thus, in most cases, they should be temporary measures to provide relief while physical therapy, exercise and other modalities are used to permanently resolve pain.
The objective of Nurture Your Health is to learn how to remain or become a healthy person, rather than to remain or become a sick patient. Most people do not pay attention to their health until they are sick. It is important to prioritize learning about health and investing time and resources in adopting the right diet, engaging in the right exercise, and paying attention to other factors that lead to optimal health. Make learning about health interesting and fun. Use this information to take control of your health and make better and informed decisions about what you eat, which lifestyle choices you make, and the medical care you receive.
This information is not a substitute for medical advice.
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
Peddaka KV, Peddaka KV, Shukla SK, Mishra A, Verma V. “Role of Curcumin in Common Musculoskeletal Disorders: a Review of Current a, Translational, and Clinical Data.” Orthop Surg 2015 Aug;7(3):222-231
Appelboom, T, Maes N, Albert A. “A new curcuma extract (flexofytol) in osteoarthritis: results from a belgian real-life experience.” Open Rheumatol J 2014 Oct;8:77-81
Prasad S, Gupta SC, Tyagi AK, Aggarwal BB. “Curcumin, a component of golden spice: from bedside to bench and back.” Biotechnol Adv 2014 Nov;32(6):1053-1064
Kuptnirasaikul V, thanakhumtorn S, Chinswangwatanakul P, Wattanamongkonsil L, Thamlikitkul V. “Efficacy and safety ot Curcuma domestica extracts I patients with knee osteoarthritis.” J Altern Complement Med 2009 Aug;15(8):891-897
registry of Merivac, a curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex, for the complementary management of osteoarthritis.” Panminerva Med 2010 Jun;52(2 Supple 1):55-62
Pnahi Y, Rahimnia AR, Sharafi M, Alishiri G, Saburi A, Sahebkar A. “Curcuminoid treatment for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.” Phytother Res 2014 Nov;28(11):1625-1631
Deodhar SD, Sethi R, Srimal RC. “Preliminary study on antirheumatic activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane)” Indian J Med Res. 1980 Apr;71:632–634.
Daily JW, Yang M, Park S. “Efficacy of Turmeric Extracts and Curcumin for Alleviating the Symptoms of Joint Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.” J Med Food 2016 Aug;19(8):717-729
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?set=GrASNotices&sort=Date_of_closure&order=ASC&showAll=true&type=basic&search=
Lao CD, Ruffin Mt 4th, Normelle D et al. “Dose escalation of a curcuminoid formulation.” BMC Complement Altern Med 2006 Mar;6:10
Schnitzer TJ. “Update on guidelines for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain.” Clin Rheumatol 2006;25 Suppl 1:S22-229
0 Comments