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Turmeric: every public report we counted

40 first-person reports from 3 websites: 18 said it helped, 10 said it did not help or made things worse, and 12 were mixed or too early to tell. None of these reports has been verified.

How much these count: reports are the lowest-weight evidence here, below any study. People who post are not a random sample, most take other treatments at the same time, and nobody checks the diagnosis. We have checked 0 of 40 for signs of marketing so far. How we weigh reports

Where these came from

Arthritis pain (osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis)

19 reports: 11 helped, 4 no effect or worse, 4 mixed or too early.

  • No effect Says supplements such as turmeric made no difference to them either way. HealthUnlocked, 2018 (Speaks of supplements generally, including turmeric; year inferred from "8 years ago".)
  • Helped Golden paste reduced pain and inflammation and let them use less diclofenac and codeine; it did not replace their arthritis drugs. HealthUnlocked, 2019 (Still on biologics and DMARDs; year inferred from "7 years ago".)
  • Mixed Says turmeric worked but a severe itchy rash appeared within five days and came back when retried. Side effects: itchy rash. HealthUnlocked, 2019 (Benefit not described in detail; year inferred.)
  • Mixed Helped stiffness, but bruising started and blood tests showed changed clotting; normal again soon after stopping. Side effects: easy bruising, altered clotting on blood tests. HealthUnlocked, 2019 (Clotting change reported by the poster, test values not given; year inferred.)
  • Helped Two cups of turmeric tea a day and they are now almost pain free. HealthUnlocked, 2017 (Daily stretching at the same time; duration "recently"; year inferred.)
  • Helped Says raw turmeric and ginger in daily juices does the job. HealthUnlocked, 2017 (Condition only implied; ginger taken too; year inferred.)
  • No effect Tried a branded turmeric supplement and noticed no difference. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (Duration not stated.)
  • Too early High-dose tablet for about a year; feels better than before diagnosis but says it is impossible to know what helped. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (Outcome unclear rather than early; many co-treatments.)
  • Helped Makes turmeric lattes when a flare is coming and says it helps. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (Used only around flares; no details of effect size.)
  • No effect Turmeric capsules for a few months did not seem to do anything; planned to try raw turmeric shots. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (No follow-up on the shots.)
  • No effect Took golden paste daily; sometimes thought it helped but saw little overall improvement while the disease was very active. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (Poster suggests active disease may have masked any effect.)
  • Too early Had the best winter and spring since diagnosis while taking it, but says it is too soon to credit turmeric. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (Other changes at the same time, by the poster’s account.)
  • Helped Takes turmeric twice a day and notices a difference when they stop for a while. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (No duration or measures given.)
  • Helped Takes turmeric-and-pepper capsules recommended by their consultant after hand surgery and says they seem to work. HealthUnlocked, 2020-06 (Recent surgery; vague outcome.)
  • Helped In about six weeks of golden paste, needed their daily naproxen and co-codamol only twice. HealthUnlocked, 2016 (Self-reported medicine use; year inferred from "10 years ago".)
  • Helped After about ten days of golden paste halved painkillers, and later was working to drop the last anti-inflammatory. HealthUnlocked, 2016 (Several other treatments started around the same time; early report.)
  • Helped Thinks, in hindsight, that earlier turmeric capsules helped; switching to golden paste. HealthUnlocked, 2016 (Hindsight judgment; low confidence.)
  • Helped Foot pain improved after six weeks; three years later says pain is more bearable with far fewer painkillers and injections. HealthUnlocked, 2017-07 (Poster first called it possibly coincidence; follow-up dated about 2020.)
  • Helped Before her blood-cancer diagnosis, turmeric-curcumin was working well for her arthritis and sciatica; stopped because of a clash with her new drug. HealthUnlocked, 2019 (Year inferred from "7 years ago".)

Depression

3 reports: 1 helped, 1 no effect or worse, 1 mixed or too early.

  • Too early Switched from sertraline to curcumin; feels great but thinks the depressive episode ended naturally. Mental Health Forum, 2015-02 (One month of use; poster credits natural recovery.)
  • Helped Takes turmeric for arthritis pain and has noticed it helps their depression somewhat. HealthUnlocked, 2022 (Year inferred from "4 years ago".)
  • No effect Noticed better balance, but cannot say turmeric lifts their depression. HealthUnlocked, 2022 (Hormone treatment at the same time.)

Cancer

6 reports: 2 helped, 2 no effect or worse, 2 mixed or too early.

  • Helped Took turmeric and ginger to thin the blood and says it seemed to help. HealthUnlocked, 2017-07 (No blood counts given.)
  • No effect Capsules for a long time and then months of a daily turmeric drink made no difference to their blood counts. HealthUnlocked, 2017-07-15 (Counts monitored by their clinic.)
  • Too early Has taken turmeric then curcumin since 2013 and is doing well on standard care without other drugs, but does not attribute it. HealthUnlocked, 2017-07 (Outcome unclear rather than early; standard care continued.)
  • Too early A daily teaspoon of turmeric for a few weeks; feels better than at any time since diagnosis with no fatigue; awaiting blood counts. HealthUnlocked, 2017-07 (Early; no counts reported.)
  • Helped Platelets slowly fell over two years on 1,000 mg curcumin with no drug change; after halving the dose they rose despite more medication. HealthUnlocked, 2017-07-16 (Poster unsure of relevance; one person’s counts.)
  • No effect Stopped and restarted curcumin around monthly PSA tests; PSA stayed at 0.05 either way. HealthUnlocked, 2022-07 (Very low PSA, near the test’s rounding limit; one person.)

Other uses and general experience

12 reports: 4 helped, 3 no effect or worse, 5 mixed or too early.

  • Helped Started turmeric while struggling to taper steroids and feels fairly convinced it is helping; waiting for blood results. HealthUnlocked, 2013 (Self-described belief before test results; on steroids; year inferred from "13 years ago".)
  • No effect After three months of steady use it made no difference to their joint or muscle pain; it did ease their IBS pain. Side effects: stomach pain and diarrhea at higher doses. HealthUnlocked, 2025-12 (Period overlapped with GCA/PMR onset; date inferred from "10 months ago".)
  • Helped Says a liposomal liquid turmeric did wonders for them. HealthUnlocked, 2025-12 (Condition and duration not stated; brand named in post.)
  • Helped Reports that her husband gets significant relief from shoulder pain taking turmeric. HealthUnlocked, 2025-12 (Second-hand report about a named family member.)
  • Mixed Four months without noticing anything; after restarting felt less anxious and clearer within an hour. Side effects: over-stimulation with BCM-95. LongeCity, 2013-02 (Self-experimenter; no diagnosis stated.)
  • Mixed Slightly less brain fog and knee inflammation at first, but the effect faded and they stopped because of the cost. LongeCity, 2013-02 (No diagnosis stated.)
  • Worse Curcumin brought back serious acid reflux after four years without symptoms. Side effects: acid reflux returned after 4 symptom-free years. LongeCity, 2013-02 (Purpose of taking it not stated.)
  • Mixed One capsule gave a clearer head, better mood and less anxiety; two capsules made them very mellow, tired and close to apathetic. Side effects: tiredness and apathy at two capsules. LongeCity, 2013-08 (No diagnosis stated; dose-dependent effects self-observed.)
  • Mixed Says curcumin makes them feel more grounded and helps sleep, but suspects it causes a reaction to aged cheese. Side effects: possible reaction to aged cheese: feeling wired, insomnia, pounding heartbeat. LongeCity, 2013-10 (The cheese link is the poster’s guess.)
  • Helped A large serving of turmeric in food produced a strong mood lift about an hour later. LongeCity, 2014-05 (Single occasion described.)
  • Mixed Helped back pain but made no difference to anxiety; stopped because of worries about blood clotting. HealthUnlocked, 2022 (Stopped on doctor’s comment, not a side effect.)
  • No effect Tried it briefly for anxiety and it did not seem to help. HealthUnlocked, 2022 (Poster says they did not stick with it long.)

Everything we know about Turmeric