Many people suffer from digestive disorders such as indigestion, stomach ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease. Often these disorders are painful and chronic, requiring lifelong prescription medications. Many people opt to look for natural or herbal supplements instead of prescription medications. For thousands of years, herbalists and traditional Chinese practitioners have used turmeric to treat digestive upset and liver problems as well as to treat skin diseases and wounds. If you think that turmeric may help with a digestive disorder, discuss the risks and benefits with your physician before use.
Turmeric
Curcuma longa, or turmeric, is a flowering perennial and a relative of ginger. You can find turmeric in the tropical regions of Southern Asia with the majority of turmeric grown in India, where it is a main ingredient in curry. Turmeric serves as a food coloring and strong spice as well as a medicinal plant. The active ingredient in turmeric is an ingredient known as curcumin.
Curcumin
Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants circulate throughout the body looking for free radicals that damage cell membranes, cause cell death and tamper with DNA. Antioxidants can neutralize these free radicals and possibly help reduce cell damage. Curcumin also reduces inflammation by lowering levels of two enzymes known for causing inflammation, COX-2 and 5-LOX, which may help people with chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease.
Digestive Uses
Curcumin stimulates the gallbladder, causing it to produce bile. Researchers believe this may help with indigestion, and in Germany, it is already used for this purpose. The University of Maryland Medical Center explains that in one double blind, placebo-controlled study turmeric reduced bloating and gas in people suffering from indigestion. While turmeric does not appear to help treat stomach ulcers, early research shows that it may help reduce the amount of stomach acid, keeping ulcers from becoming worse.
Turmeric may help in preventing relapses of ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease that affects the rectum and colon. The disease often causes repeated inflammation of the intestines that leads to thickening of the intestinal wall, causing scar tissue to form in the rectum. This can often lead to tissue death in the colon or a systemic infection known as sepsis. Early research shows that people who take turmeric are less likely to have a relapse over a six-month period. However, more research is still required before scientists can make a definitive conclusion.
Warnings
Though turmeric is considered safe for consumption in foods, using the plant medicinally may interfere with medications or have adverse effects. Turmeric may interfere with your body's ability to clot blood, if taken with antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications such as warfarin, aspirin or clopidogrel. Turmeric may also interfere with drugs that reduce stomach acid such as cimetidine, omeprazole, lansoprazole, ranitidine and famotidine. Diabetics should consult their physician before using turmeric as it may increase the effects of medications that lower blood sugar leading to hypoglycemia. Women who are pregnant or nursing may ingest turmeric in food but should avoid using the supplements, according to UMMC. Always consult your physician before using this or any other supplement.
