Turmeric - A tasty, spicy trap
I've fallen into a trap. It's a tasty, spicy trap, but it's still a trap. You see, I've been observing a lot of interest lately in turmeric, turmeric lattes, "golden milk," etc. and the link between turmeric and human disease. My thinking goes, "Turmeric is very buzzy right now, and turmeric lattes taste like tasty, spicy chai lattes, so I'll order one and read the lit on it later." So now I'm going to do what I probably should have done a few months ago and wade into the literature and give you my thoughts on turmeric and whether or not it's really the Alzheimer's-fighting superfood that it claims to be (spoiler alert: It isn't.)
Turmeric is a golden-hued spice often used in curries, lending them a beautiful sunny, mustard color. You usually hear about turmeric in the context of Alzheimer's prevention, but it has also been praised as a therapeutic for ailments ranging from erectile dysfunction to cancer to hirstutism (yes, really). A specific compound in turmeric is curcumin, and more generally, turmeric contains compounds in the chemical family curcuminoids.
In a review of the current knowledge about curcuminoids, Nelson, et. al. identified a big problem with all the claims of curcumin's efficacy - the half life is only FIVE MINUTES (1). That means that if you take one miligram of curcumin, in five minutes, only half a miligram is even present to have an effect in the body. For reference, aspirin has a half life of 15-20 minutes (2). Additionally, since the research on dosage and efficacy is lacking, there is no consensus on how much turmeric one should take to see benefits. There were some initial studies done in cells and mice that looked promising, but for humans, the studies that have been done aren't promising. In a study of oral curcumin treatment for Alzheimer's disease, Ringman, et. al. weren't able to find evidence that curcumin had any beneficial effect on the patients that were treated (4). Ditto for a clinical study conducted by Sharma et. al. which found that curcumin had no beneficial effect in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (5).
In the above review, it is acknowledged that turmeric has long been, "...a dietary supplement marketed for many common ailments" Let me tell you about something that pisses me the hell off. Supplements are not regulated as drugs by the FDA. But since they are unregulated, supplement makers are not allowed to say that their supplement can be used to treat any diseases, since it hasn't been proven by the same clinical studies that actual drugs have. Supplements that don't back up their claims literally have to say on their labels the following: "This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease;" (3) So someone please tell me why it's an open secret that turmeric is being used to "cure" a zillion diseases? Because the FDA sure as shit isn't on board with it.
For these and other reasons, turmeric has been termed an "invalid metabolic panacea" (IMP) which is basically a term for a compound that reacts non-specifically in a bunch of different tests used to determine a chemical's usefulness. What that means is that curcumin joins the ranks of compounds that were once touted as cure-alls, proven not to be, but for some reason, health food stores keep trying to hawk capsules full of the stuff. So to sum up, turmeric isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you like how it tastes, great. Using herbs and spices to flavor healthy foods in a varied diet is a great way to avoid added fat, salt, and sugar. But if someone is telling you that one food or compound cures everything under the sun...it's probably too good to be true.
1. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00975
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278069/
3. https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/DietarySupplements/ucm070613.htm#6-46
4. http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/10/20/6847.long
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3580400/
Turmeric is a golden-hued spice often used in curries, lending them a beautiful sunny, mustard color. You usually hear about turmeric in the context of Alzheimer's prevention, but it has also been praised as a therapeutic for ailments ranging from erectile dysfunction to cancer to hirstutism (yes, really). A specific compound in turmeric is curcumin, and more generally, turmeric contains compounds in the chemical family curcuminoids.
In a review of the current knowledge about curcuminoids, Nelson, et. al. identified a big problem with all the claims of curcumin's efficacy - the half life is only FIVE MINUTES (1). That means that if you take one miligram of curcumin, in five minutes, only half a miligram is even present to have an effect in the body. For reference, aspirin has a half life of 15-20 minutes (2). Additionally, since the research on dosage and efficacy is lacking, there is no consensus on how much turmeric one should take to see benefits. There were some initial studies done in cells and mice that looked promising, but for humans, the studies that have been done aren't promising. In a study of oral curcumin treatment for Alzheimer's disease, Ringman, et. al. weren't able to find evidence that curcumin had any beneficial effect on the patients that were treated (4). Ditto for a clinical study conducted by Sharma et. al. which found that curcumin had no beneficial effect in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (5).
In the above review, it is acknowledged that turmeric has long been, "...a dietary supplement marketed for many common ailments" Let me tell you about something that pisses me the hell off. Supplements are not regulated as drugs by the FDA. But since they are unregulated, supplement makers are not allowed to say that their supplement can be used to treat any diseases, since it hasn't been proven by the same clinical studies that actual drugs have. Supplements that don't back up their claims literally have to say on their labels the following: "This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease;" (3) So someone please tell me why it's an open secret that turmeric is being used to "cure" a zillion diseases? Because the FDA sure as shit isn't on board with it.
For these and other reasons, turmeric has been termed an "invalid metabolic panacea" (IMP) which is basically a term for a compound that reacts non-specifically in a bunch of different tests used to determine a chemical's usefulness. What that means is that curcumin joins the ranks of compounds that were once touted as cure-alls, proven not to be, but for some reason, health food stores keep trying to hawk capsules full of the stuff. So to sum up, turmeric isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you like how it tastes, great. Using herbs and spices to flavor healthy foods in a varied diet is a great way to avoid added fat, salt, and sugar. But if someone is telling you that one food or compound cures everything under the sun...it's probably too good to be true.
1. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00975
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278069/
3. https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/DietarySupplements/ucm070613.htm#6-46
4. http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/10/20/6847.long
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3580400/
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