Turmeric for arthritis treatment is supported by review of the evidence

Turmeric extract seems to be effective in reducing some symptoms in people with arthritis, says a review published in the Journal of Medicinal Food. But the authors state that larger studies are still needed to confirm exactly how effective it is.

Until now, turmeric and its curcumin-enriched extracts have been used for treating arthritis, but no systematic review or analysis of trials had been done to evaluate the strength of the research.

So a group of experts evaluated all randomised controlled trials of turmeric extracts and curcumin for treating arthritis symptoms.

They found that “these randomised controlled trials provide scientific evidence that supports the efficacy of turmeric extract (about 1000 mg/day of curcumin) in the treatment of arthritis”.

While the evidence is promising, the quality of some of the evidence was “not sufficient to draw definitive conclusions. Thus, more rigorous and larger studies are needed to confirm the therapeutic efficacy of turmeric for arthritis.”

Click here to read the original research.

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