Howdy folks,
Anyone have any luck taking curcumin (turmeric extract) as an anti-inflammatory for general joint inflammation? I'm talking about hips, elbows, knees but especially finger joints (rock climbing overuse).
I guess my question is twofold: how has it worked for you for inflammation already present? If it has worked, how as it worked as an inflammation preventative post injury?
I've been taking plain turmeric powder for several weeks, without any apparent change. Though I realize it's supposed to take a couple of months for affects to become apparent. Just recently I've been looking at curcumin as it's more concentrated and (perhaps) more effective than plain turmeric with faster results.

I'd be curious about your experience both positive and negative. Thank you for any information you may provide.

Best,
JM

I've been taking curcumin. As you mentioned and unlike, say, Ibuprofen, it's not instant gratification. seems like you need to take it regularly over time to notice the benefits. also, I don' really know how much the benefits might even be due to other factors, perhaps even the placebo effect. But, there are a host of other health benefits with curcumin, so it sure seems like it can't hurt!

I like Dr. Mercola Curcumin Power. I guess the curcumin in turmeric form has low bio-availability, i.e. your body only abosrbs a tiny percent of what you consume. Supposedly "mixes" like his are supposed to increase absorption of the curcumin. You can also try various turmeric teas, which are also supposed to help here.

I also take Astaxanthin, another natural and supposedly powerful anti-inflammatory (again, relatively speaking).

My wife has been consuming fresh turmeric root for about a week as part of a cleansing/anti-inflammatory diet her nutritionist recommended. She feels a lot better though it's hard to definitely ascribe the effect to the turmeric and not the other dietary changes. At least she isn't experiencing obvious side effects from it so far. I also have no idea what the equivalent fresh dose vs powder dose would be. If you're interested in trying the fresh kind, Whole Foods carries it.

Curcumin also has cancer protective properties. There are a number of curcumin derived anti-cancer drugs in clinical trials right now.

I don't have any first-hand experience for you, but I researched curcumin a while ago, because I plan to start taking it in the spring. One thing I found out is that it's best to use a supplement that contains turmeric oil. That vastly increases the bioavailability of the curcumin. Some supplements use black pepper oil and I guess that works too, but it's hard on some people's stomachs. You can do some research on this, if you're interested. Apparently, you could even take straight up curcumin powder and mix it with olive or coconut oil yourself. I don't think I'll do that. I cook a lot of Indian food, heavy on the turmeric and coconut oil so I think I have a good dietary source already. I'm going to try the supplements that already have oil in them.