A very intriguing new clinical trial that was just published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine has shown that there is a natural painkiller that works just as well for treating knee osteoarthritis as ibuprofen—and it looks like a spice for cooking. The spice has proven to be much superior in terms of side effect frequency and safety. It is an anti-inflammatory, non-steroidal medication. Over 600 health benefits of curcumin, a polyphenol found in turmeric, have been studied.
In a Lancet review last year, ibuprofen was found to be as toxic to the heart as the banned anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, it has likelily contributed to tens and thousands of deaths from cardiovascular disease each year. This is an important factor to why evidence-based natural alternatives are extremely important, especially when they involve culinary spices that are already known to be safe, affordable, accessible, and time-tested.
A study titled efficiency and safety of curcuma domestic extracts in patients with knee Osteoarthritis. TH atrial was conducted with 109 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis who were randomized to receive 800mg a day of ibuprofen or 2,000 mg of turmeric per day, for a period of six weeks.
The researchers measured pain, on walking, stairs and basic functions of the knee assessed by time spent during 100-m walk and going up and down a flight of stairs, as the primary outcomes.
After six weeks, significant improvements were observed in both groups, with all primary outcomes similar, except the turmeric group showed slightly better performance on the 100-m walk and less self-reported pain going up an down a flight of stairs, Also, the turmeric group showed less adverse events. The subjects rated themselves to have higher satisfaction with the treatment results in the turmeric group versus the ibuprofen group.
It should also be noted that patients in the ibuprofen group rated themselves as having little or no satisfaction, but not even one person in the turmeric group rated themselves as anything other than satisfied.
Lastly, they observed a distinct trend toward a greater effect in the patients receiving turmeric than the ibuprofen.
Dried rhizomes of C. domestica were grounded into powder. The turmeric powder was extracted with ethanol and then evaporated at low pressure to obtain ethanolic extracts containing oil and curcuminoids. The oil part was then removed in order to have curcuminoids extracts. Each capsule of C. domestica extracts contained 250 mg of curcuminoids.”
In a Lancet review last year, ibuprofen was found to be as toxic to the heart as the banned anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, it has likelily contributed to tens and thousands of deaths from cardiovascular disease each year. This is an important factor to why evidence-based natural alternatives are extremely important, especially when they involve culinary spices that are already known to be safe, affordable, accessible, and time-tested.
A study titled efficiency and safety of curcuma domestic extracts in patients with knee Osteoarthritis. TH atrial was conducted with 109 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis who were randomized to receive 800mg a day of ibuprofen or 2,000 mg of turmeric per day, for a period of six weeks.
The researchers measured pain, on walking, stairs and basic functions of the knee assessed by time spent during 100-m walk and going up and down a flight of stairs, as the primary outcomes.
After six weeks, significant improvements were observed in both groups, with all primary outcomes similar, except the turmeric group showed slightly better performance on the 100-m walk and less self-reported pain going up an down a flight of stairs, Also, the turmeric group showed less adverse events. The subjects rated themselves to have higher satisfaction with the treatment results in the turmeric group versus the ibuprofen group.
It should also be noted that patients in the ibuprofen group rated themselves as having little or no satisfaction, but not even one person in the turmeric group rated themselves as anything other than satisfied.
Lastly, they observed a distinct trend toward a greater effect in the patients receiving turmeric than the ibuprofen.
Dried rhizomes of C. domestica were grounded into powder. The turmeric powder was extracted with ethanol and then evaporated at low pressure to obtain ethanolic extracts containing oil and curcuminoids. The oil part was then removed in order to have curcuminoids extracts. Each capsule of C. domestica extracts contained 250 mg of curcuminoids.”