The spice turmeric is good for more than just spicing up curries. Turmeric can be purchased as a ground spice or fresh root and added to food, or it can be bought in powder, fluid or tincture form. While many of the potentially beneficial properties of turmeric need further study, clear connections are being drawn between the ingestion of this herb and a reduction in indigestion symptoms.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a yellow spice widely used in curries and other Indian and South Asian dishes. Related to ginger, turmeric has also been a staple of traditional medicine in South Asia for thousands of years. The main bioactive component of turmeric is a phytochemical called curcumin. Turmeric, and the curcumin it contains, may have a wide range of beneficial properties, most of which are still under investigation. Turmeric has shown promise for fighting some types of cancer, preventing and healing infections, reducing inflammation, and relieving digestive upset.
Indigestion
One health benefit of turmeric is its ability to reduce symptoms in people with indigestion. Also called dyspepsia, indigestion is characterized by feelings of bloating, burning or discomfort in the upper abdomen that may come and go or may be chronic. A proposed mechanism for the indigestion-relieving activity of turmeric is that curcumin stimulates bile production in the gallbladder, which may boost digestion. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, at least one double-blind placebo-controlled study found that turmeric worked better than a placebo for treating indigestion.
Dosage
When using turmeric for indigestion, you can use 1.5 to 3 g of fresh or dried, powdered root a day in food or taken on its own. Standardized curcumin powder that has been extracted from whole turmeric can be taken in doses of 400 to 600 mg each, three times a day. Alternatively, you can take 30 to 90 drops of fluid extract or four doses of 30 drops each of tincture every day.
Considerations
Turmeric is generally considered safe in food doses as well as when it is used medicinally at doses below about 3 g a day. However, ulcers may form in some people when turmeric is used over long periods of time. Because turmeric may cause a rapid drop in blood sugar, diabetics should not take turmeric without notifying a doctor first. Turmeric may also make gallstones worse in people who have them.
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