Paul Franklin

Dreamer. Consultant. Thinker

[TheLiverDoc™ @theliverdoc]

➡️Should you believe YouTubers and Instagramers who promote turmeric as a medicinal supplement?

[1] Understand the concept of bioavailability – or “the ability of a drug or substance to be absorbed and used by the body.” The bioavailability of turmeric is less than 1% - that is, when turmeric is directly consumed, 99% of it is excreted out of the body in stools. There are negligible amounts of it for any sort of action in the body.
https://t.co/AO7xeQ78Tp

[2] Understand the concept of drug/substance half-life or “the time it takes for the amount of the active substance in your body to reduce by half.” The half-life of turmeric is few hours, meaning the negligible amount that is absorbed is quickly removed from the body. This is conclusive evidence that any little quantity of turmeric that people put into their hot water, milk, or lattes does not produce significant biological effects on the body.
https://t.co/01FUOiD0zO

[3] Turmeric contains up to 5% of curcumin in it – that is, it has only 5% of the bioactive component in it, and only 1% of the 5% is available for action in the body when turmeric is taken by mouth. This is extremely small for turmeric to have any biological activity inside humans.
https://t.co/zorzd44MrY

[4] For turmeric to affect the human body, large amounts, weighing as much as a human infant, must be consumed daily and frequently – a practically impossible task.

[5] The bioactive compound in turmeric, called curcumin is a PAIN – or pan-assay interference compound. PAIN compounds show different types of activity in assay experiments which the researcher wrongly attributes to the real activity of the compound tested. These bioactivities are not due to interactions with cells or tissues but are deceptive actions on the experiment’s other chemical components. This is one reason why, the world over, no major groups studying turmeric or curcumin have not consistently replicated each other clinical experiments.
https://t.co/yo7KdmLdd3

[6] Turmeric/curcumin is also an IMP –they are “invalid metabolic panaceas.” IMPs are compounds that show false promise in early experiments but have very feeble or no effects when performed in a controlled environment, such as a clinical study.
https://t.co/VDx76UCMzc

[7] Turmeric is a meritless ‘lead compound.’ A lead compound is one that has the potential for therapeutic discovery and transformation into a drug for clinical use. A good lead compound has good potency (strength to cause an effect) at low concentrations, confirmed, selective and traceable mechanism of action, chemical stability, good bioavailability, and stable and meaningfully flexible absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicology (called ADMET) qualities – all of which are lacking in turmeric.

➡️What happens when one makes turmeric/curcumin into highly absorbable forms?

[a] Curcumin-based concentrated formulations, black pepper combinations, lipid complexes, nano-emulsions, and liposomal mixtures have been studied to increase the bioactive compound's levels and improve turmeric's absorption and biological effects.

[b] The United States Drug-induced Liver Injury Network, or US-DILIN, recently reported multiple cases of turmeric-associated liver injury in which five patients required hospitalization and one died of liver failure. Liver injury associated with turmeric is now a growing problem.
https://t.co/CoUO1LgA5Y

[c] Two years before, researchers analyzing the Italian Phytovigilance database discovered multiple cases of severe hepatitis due to turmeric in Tuscany and further 23 cases reported in medical literature, including two deaths due to liver failure.
https://t.co/KJTljxuXfs

[d] In 2018, the European drug adverse events watchdog European Medicine Agency (EMA) warned about using turmeric supplements in persons with liver disease, gall bladder stones, and bile duct inflammation, obstruction, or damage.
https://t.co/HhT0995DpA

[e] The Italian Government recently identified and warned against turmeric supplements and issued a warning. They also asked sellers NOT to advertise benefits of turmeric as a therapy agent because there are none.
https://t.co/LHolrbkGxE

[f] The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care stated that medicines containing turmeric or curcumin promoted risk of liver injury and issued a public warning.
https://t.co/KgZhn3WgO1

Bottom line: Turmeric in curries, not in pills.