Turmeric Supplements; How Much Turmeric Do You Need Per Day?

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Turmeric Supplements; How Much Turmeric Do You Need Per Day?

Many people know turmeric as a spice, but besides that, it has incredible medicinal value. Today, turmeric supplements are sold everywhere, even in your local drug store. After all, dietary supplement providers have been big on promoting the wide array of turmeric benefits for the body. 

Unfortunately, while many people know they need turmeric, they don’t know exactly how much is enough. So, this article will discuss exactly what are the effective turmeric doses and necessary safety concerns. 


What’s the Effective Daily Turmeric Dose? 

The potent plant chemical in turmeric is known as curcumin. This chemical is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. Many randomized controlled trials have been conducted on turmeric, suggesting that turmeric has a wide array of unique benefits. 

Most of these studies use precisely 500-2,000mg of turmeric per day. However, the turmeric form used in these studies often has a higher concentration of curcumin than what naturally occurs in foods. To put this into perspective, an Indian diet will, on average, have 2,000-2,500 mg of turmeric. That’s about 60-100mg per day. 

A similar amount of turmeric in the form of curcumin extract packs about 1,900-2,375mg. In essence, turmeric spices have only 3% curcumin, unlike curcumin extracts with up to 95%. But that’s not to mean that turmeric spices have no health benefits. An observational study suggests that older adults who frequently consume curry generally have better cognitive health. 

If you’re choosing turmeric supplements, you should mainly consider extracts. In addition, consider combining the turmeric supplement with black pepper. There’s evidence showing that black pepper contains piperine, a compound that increases your body’s ability to absorb curcumin by 2000%. 


Turmeric Supplements Dosing 

There’s currently no official recommended amount of turmeric you should consume to see results. However, there are specific amounts used in research that have shown promising results for certain conditions 

  • Osteoarthritis patients; 500mg of turmeric supplements twice daily (2-3months)
  • High cholesterol patients; 700mg of turmeric supplements twice daily (3months)
  • For patients with itchy skin; 500mg of turmeric supplements three times daily (2months)

Turmeric dosage higher than this hasn’t been confirmed as there’s not enough research to support safety. However, according to research done by the World Health Organization, consuming 1.4mg per pound of bodyweight is acceptable for daily turmeric intake. All in all, before you start using any dietary supplements, always consult with your healthcare provider. 


Safety Concerns; Who Shouldn’t Take turmeric? 

Turmeric is generally considered safe for most individuals. However, there are a few exceptions. 

    • Breastfeeding and expectant mothers; There’s inadequate research on this. Therefore, we can’t determine how safe turmeric is for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. 
  • If you have gallbladder diseases: Research done on effects of calcium dosages on the gall bladder shows that turmeric could potentially contract it and worsen your gallbladder disease. 
  • Diabetes patients; Turmeric has a reputation for dropping blood sugar levels too low. 
  • People with bleeding disorders; A clinical trial on turmeric shows that it makes bleeding problems worse as it slows down the blood clotting process. 
  • If you’re dealing with kidney stones: Turmeric has high oxalate levels. Therefore, it binds with calcium causing the formation of kidney stones.