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Turmuric - Its use and Effect

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Rambler1

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Hi,
I apologise up front if I'm going over old ground but I could only find 1 ref to Turmuric when I searched. I was diagnosed as "Borderline" about 16 years ago and was put on Metformin. Within a couple of months I found it impossible to get any sleep due to repeated severe muscle cramps, which I concluded were due to the Metformin. I stopped the metformin and the cramps stopped, so the doctor put me on Gliclazide which appears to work well.
About 4 years ago I heard on a BBC prog (Trust Me I'm A Doctor) that a mix of Turmuric and Black Pepper had the effect of reducing bg levels, so I started taking 1 teaspoon of each mixed together each day. The nett result of this has been that my annual HBA1c test reading has gone from 62 down to 51 last Sept. I don't do anything special other than virtually stopping booze, taking this mix and being "sensible" about my eating, which keeps me in the 82 to 85Kg range. At my annual check-up the Medics are always amazed at the "progress" with my bg level.
My question is; has anyone else had experience of taking Turmuric and if so how did it work out for you?
Cheers
Rambler1
 
Hi @Rambler1 , and welcome to the forum!
Rambler1 said:
I could only find 1 ref to Turmuric when I searched.
Click to expand...
I don't know about turmeric being beneficial for diabetes, but I use both turmeric and black pepper regularly in my cooking, so who knows :)

When you put 'turmeric' instead of 'turmuric' in the search bar you'll get 30 pages of results, although many will be recipes where turmeric is added for taste.
Enjoy!
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/search/190757211/?q=turmeric&o=relevance
 
I've had a look back at some (not all) of the references to Turmeric as suggested and I've noticed that a high percentage of the references are to cooking with it or taking capsules/tabs.

I came to hear of it about 4 years ago through the BBC prog. "Trust Me I'm A Doctor". In that Michael Mosley goes to pains to make it clear that the tests that they did for the program showed that the best results were found in terms of lowering BG, when one teaspoon full of ground Turmeric was taken with one teaspoon full of ground Black Pepper each day without cooking. He suggested taking it in a cold dip, shake, drink (not hot or boiled) or mixed into other cold food. For anyone who is interested I believe that the programs are still available on the BBC I Player.

Personally, I take it in a variety of other cold foods depending on how I feel, but if you don't get the right mix the Pepper can rather "focus your attention" as it can be a bit HOT.

Also like some others have mentioned, Turmeric does have the effect of thinning your blood, which I discovered when I used to take Asprin each day and got a small cut that wouldn't heal. I stopped the Turmeric and hey presto it healed. I then opted to stop the Asprin and continue with the Turmeric and I'm glad that I did.
 
The turmeric I have at the moment had a warning on the packet to cook it, not use it in the raw state.
I usually use the smallest amount of it - like the tip of a teaspoon, and similarly with black pepper - a teaspoon of each would be impossible.
 
When I told my dentist I can't use Ibuprofen for tooth pain when flying, she told me to try turmeric in food or capsules. She warned me to brush my teeth after eating turmeric food, or my teeth would turn yellow. I decided to try the capsules and had pain free flights on holiday. I also noticed that the pain in my shoulder I'd had for years disappeared. I have since read that many people treat their arthritis with turmeric as it is a natural anti inflammatory. When my hip was acting up during the first lockdown, I increased my daily dose of turmeric and it did help the pain.
Obviously as a Type 1 I wouldn't attempt to treat my diabetes with turmeric.
 
I can confirm the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric. I have used this remedy many a times as I don't like taking painkillers and it does help.

The BG coming down part I don't know much about as I did not really observe the effects on my BG of taking it.
 
I've always used turmeric in my cooking and drink as a "herbal" tea, but I haven't been aware of any beneficial effects that I can specifically attribute to it.

Only downside is that it can be a bit of a nuisance as it has a tendency to stain things yellow...
 
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