So powerful it can hurt.
Turmeric supplements (Photo: ShutterStock)
Dietary supplements provide an offer that is hard to refuse: on the one hand, they promise to improve health in a long list of aspects, and those who market them boast of studies that support their many benefits.
On the other hand, they are given without a prescription, and anyone can purchase them, because they contain only natural ingredients, which may increase the feeling of security and make us believe that this decision will not put us at risk.
In practice, many doctors warn against taking nutritional supplements unnecessarily, and clarify that in some cases it is a decision that will waste your money at best, or even harm your health in extreme cases.
The stories we will present here now illustrate exactly why it is so dangerous.
Dozens of hospitalization cases
Turmeric is a spice that is very well known in Israeli cuisine and in recent years has become one of the most popular dietary supplements in the world.
We also told you quite a bit about the benefits attributed to this spice, and even presented data showing that in some cases, its effectiveness is similar to that of prescription drugs.
However, precisely this powerful effect of turmeric can make it, in some cases, dangerous, just like drugs that can cause side effects and complications.
More in Walla!
These are the nutritional supplements that send the most people to the emergency room
To the full article
The most significant complication that may result from excessive intake of turmeric is probably liver damage.
On October 22, a national conference of experts in gastrology (ACG 22) was held in the United States, during which data were presented on five new cases of liver disease that appeared after consumption of supplements containing curcumin.
This is after in May 2021, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in the United States, presented data on more than a dozen other similar cases.
Even tea with turmeric can harm the liver
At the conference in question, among other things, the story of a 49-year-old woman who did not suffer from any significant medical problems and arrived at a hospital in Las Vegas after she started experiencing unexplained nausea and vomiting was presented.
According to her, she took a regular dose of curcumin supplement for three months, according to the instructions attached to the product she purchased.
At the same time as the digestive system problems, the woman noticed the yellowing of the skin tone and the eyelids (the white areas).
At the hospital, the doctors discovered that she was suffering from severe liver damage.
This injury manifests itself, among other things, in the yellowing of the skin and eyelids because when the liver does not function properly, it has difficulty breaking down a substance called bilirubin, which is a yellow-tinged chemical produced during the breakdown of red blood cells.
In this case, the woman eventually recovered after being treated with steroids and a drug commonly used to treat paracetamol overdose.
She was released after three weeks in the hospital and eventually her liver returned to a normal level of function.
Three weeks of turmeric tea led to liver damage.
A woman holding a cup (Photo: ShutterStock)
In another case, much more strange and surprising, a 62-year-old woman developed nausea, abdominal pain and yellowing of the eyelids - but not because she took a nutritional supplement, but simply drank tea with turmeric for three weeks.
After a series of tests, the doctors confirmed that the woman suffered from liver damage - but she also recovered after a few weeks of hospital treatment.
And not only turmeric can cause unexpected side effects.
Cases of liver damage as a result of additional nutritional supplements were also presented at the conference.
In one case, a 19-year-old developed severe itching and yellowing of the skin as a result of taking supplements containing the Ashwagandha plant.
In another case, a 55-year-old woman suffered itching, dark urine, and loss of appetite after drinking herbal tea with rhubarb (South African red tea), Chinese scutella, and jasmine gardenia.
So should turmeric and other additives really cause concern?
Turmeric may still have a positive effect on the health of the body in certain aspects.
First and foremost, curcumin, its active ingredient, may reduce inflammation in the body and help people who suffer from joint pain and certain inflammatory diseases.
Experts estimate that the vast majority of people who take turmeric supplements, or drink tea containing the spice, will not develop liver damage, but as we know, each person is unique and different substances can affect different people in a different and unpredictable way.
Dr. Ken Liu, an Australian gastrologist, explained it this way in an interview with New Scientist magazine: "When you take nutritional supplements, they are digested and absorbed into the bloodstream and then absorbed by the liver to undergo metabolism before the various components in them move into the body's cells.
This metabolism is done by enzymes that are genetically different in different people.
If for a certain person this process will be conducted in a normal manner, for other people it may be toxic and dangerous."
Dr. Liu even refined and emphasized that if you like to add turmeric to the meals you cook, there is probably no particular reason for concern, but in dietary supplements, the active ingredient curcumin is consumed in high quantities and sometimes additional ingredients are added to it that greatly enhance its absorption, such as black pepper which may increase the 30 times the absorption.
As mentioned, the risk of liver damage due to taking curcumin is still considered rare - but it is still important to know and treat it. In any case, if you take supplements and drugs of any kind, it is important to do so after consulting a doctor and to perform routine tests to understand whether and how All of these affect your health - for better or for worse.
health
my health
Pharmacy
Tags
Supplements
turmeric
liver