View Full Version : Question about tumeric
It seems to be the new "it" herb. My question is: Do you take it? Do you feel you benefit from it? And if so, how do you take it and how much?
I've been taking turmeric supplements for a few years now, for arthritis. I also take lots of others, under the care of a Naturopathic oncologist & my PCP. I also take glucosamine, & my knees have improved a lot. Will look at dose tomorrow & update post.
ApatheticNoMore
1-5-14, 1:50am
Yes, in spice form. This spice jar I'm using now of turmeric is Penzy's says it's 5% curcumin FWIW - I guess that's good? I do use it for it's medicinal value, so not just in Indian dishes, I use it sometimes in a vinaigrette salad dressing, I also put it in rice. I've used it in eggs before. Always with black pepper with more turmeric than black pepper. Black pepper massively increases the potency of turmeric.
"To be assimilated by the body, turmeric must be mixed with black pepper. Ideally, it must also be dissolved in oil"
"Recommendations for use: Mix 1/4 teaspoon tumeric powder with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and a generous pinch of black pepper. Add to vegetables, soups, salad dressings"
Anticancer David Servan-Schreiber
So yea it's supposedly one of the major superfoods against cancer (some also say Alzheimers). Probably best prepared in actual traditional recipes that call for it with the full spice combination, as theres often more synergy in recipes than ever imagined. But I've decided probably worth taking regardless, hence I'm putting it in salad dressing etc. in a western diet. And I don't like supplements, but it disguises itself as a food :~)
Hmmmm and the flavor of tumeric? I mean I don't care for the flavor of "curry powder" a mix of herbs. One of which is tumeric. I'm meeting people who are all sweating by tumeric and dropping tumeric powder into their morning tea. I'm not sure I could stomach a tea that tasted like curry powder.
ApatheticNoMore
1-5-14, 2:14am
It doesn't have a great deal of flavor, kind of dusty (and yea this is good quality, so it has as much flavor as it's ever going to probably). I've actually grown to like it a lot in salad dressing especially, it's different, adds interest (but I make salad dressing sometimes without it too, I don't want to grow to hate it). The curry powder tea doesn't sound appealing - it's not chai afterall :).
Doesn't seem like something I can just dissolve in hot water really quick. Oil? Pepper?
Yes, spice form with black pepper. I put it in on salad and in foods such as chili but have to be careful of the type of serving bowl I use as it stains plastic. I wonder what it is doing to my teeth but have not notice any staining yet. The taste is not strong, my husband doesn't know I use it and doesn't notice it at all.
ApatheticNoMore
1-5-14, 5:42am
2000% more effective when combined with black pepper.
It's really delicious in turkey burgers. Thanks for the info on the black pepper, we didn't know that, but we do use a lot of black pepper. Will have to try it on salads since I eat a lot of them. Our approach has been along the lines of, "Hey, this stuff tastes good and it's supposed to be good for us too. Throw some in!" So we're not so much taking it as incorporating some into our diet. Cumin is another one we have just started using recently. Love cumin in chicken stews, risottos, etc.
My physician just had me start taking turmeric to try to support remodeling after arthritis stemming from tendinitis in my foot. She wants me to take it in ghee (natural curcumin is fat soluble, not water soluble) with black pepper, but instead I started taking it in capsule form because I cannot imagine drinking fat. Does anyone have any citation to efficacy of black pepper in this regard? My physician also indicated that the remodeling is reliant on consistently exercising, something which in -11F temperature I have yet to commit to.
Turmeric has a somewhat bitter taste though I suppose that it isn't really noticeable except when you overuse it in a food recipe. (I thought that that would be a way of getting the turmeric, black pepper and ghee thing going - by just adding the three to the food we prepare. Nope. That's a non-starter.)
Turmeric tastes much better after cooking (as opposed to just dissolving in hot water).
Look up "turmeric tea" - a traditional remedy for respiratory illnesses - this should be cooked, too, not just dissolved. Turmeric with honey in hot water, milk optional.
I use turmeric in many foods - most bean dishes, Mexican and Indian foods, etc.
To learn research-backed specifics I suggest two sources:
pubmed.com (easily searched)
nutritionfacts.org (summaries of peer-reviewed research)
I have recently been more conscious of adding turmeric to some recipes because of its benefits.
Here they are from World's Healthiest Foods. (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78)
I didn't know much about turmeric and this is the first time I saw the website world's healthiest foods. Thanks for the info.
rosarugosa
1-5-14, 10:02am
Nice to see you, Rosemary! It's been awhile!
Catherine: Thanks for that link. I had never seen that website before either.
Gardenarian
1-5-14, 2:32pm
Yes, we use it a lot in cooking.
Agreed that it tastes much better cooked! Usually when we use it we heat it in the cooking oil until it blooms. We don't use it in a real medicinal way (don't add heaps to everything) - just hope that all the anti-inflammatory foods we eat will work together to create better health. It has a mild flavor.
One unusual way we've found to use it is to put it in the water you soak and cook beans in. It colors the beans but doesn't have a lot of effect on the flavor (it does improves the texture of dried garbanzos, making them less mealy.)
I do occasionally take turmeric capsules for headaches or aches and pains. It is as effective as Tylenol for me.
ANM - interesting about the black pepper connection! I didn't know that. My capsules do not contain black pepper.
As much as I love curry in all its forms, I think raw turmeric tastes like wood shavings. That said, I should use more of it. I have a huge container of it just sitting around unused.
Well, I had DH sprinkle it on my eggs this morning, after reading this post. I could barely taste it, so if sprinkling a little on is going to help, and my eggs are going to pretty much taste the same, I say, why not do it?
Spurred on by this thread, I incorporated turmeric and pepper (with ras al hanout) into my stuffed eggplant. And ghee, among other things. I do take curcumin off and on, but I need to use up that pound of turmeric before it goes bad (and how would you tell?:~))
A few years ago I started making a tumeric tincture and have been taking it. Supposedly, there are MANY reasons to take tumeric, one being that it helps prevent tumors, arthritis... on and on. I despise curry and many of the pills have so much other "stuff" in them that it just seems easier to take a tincture.
Tussiemussies
1-5-14, 10:37pm
Take it in capsule form so there is no taste, but didn't realize that black pepper helps it to assimilate. Also need to take glucosamine too. The turmeric I take is by Nature Made and it says to eat with meals, maybe there is black pepper in capsule form? Thanks for the information!
In the Sikh religion here in the US they have been making a paste of this and eating regularly for arthritis prevention, quite awhile before there was any scientific backing...chris
The reason why I ask, is because I definitely taste turmeric. I'm not a fan of Indian curries. I like Cumin and coriander, and cayenne, and black pepper, mustard, horse radish and even small amounts of 'curry powder'. But I don't like tumeric. It's interesting that people say it has no flavor. I taste it. But, perhaps I should try using it more, with pepper and oil? Worried the taste will put me off. I do have knee problems. Glucosamine has never done anything for me. I'm always looking at new ideas.
A few years ago I started making a tumeric tincture and have been taking it. Supposedly, there are MANY reasons to take tumeric, one being that it helps prevent tumors, arthritis... on and on. I despise curry and many of the pills have so much other "stuff" in them that it just seems easier to take a tincture.
Tincture? What do people have to say about the tincture form?
I'm not a fan of Indian curries. I like Cumin and coriander, and cayenne, and black pepper, mustard, horse radish and even small amounts of 'curry powder'. But I don't like tumeric. It's interesting that people say it has no flavor. I taste it.
Tiam, a common ingredient in many curry powders and foods from the Indian subcontinent is fenugreek, a spice which many people can taste -- and which not all of them like. Could that be what you're picking up as a flavor? Cooking makes a big difference in the way spices taste; I'd keep giving it a try. But perhaps it's like cilantro, which many people like but which some people find tastes like soap to them.
"Tincture? What do people have to say about the tincture form?"
Same ... except with no additives (unless you add them) .... liquid assimilates into your system easier.
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