Georgetown Inflammations Foe: Curcumin

Curcumin – the enemy of inflammation? Quite possibly! Dr. Butwell chats with our Georgetown chiropractic patients daily about inflammation and pain, especially back pain and neck pain, arm pain and leg pain. Chiropractic care via an anti-inflammatory nutrition approach is helpful especially when adding curcumin into the mix, an addition supported by several recent research papers!

 

 

A recent scoping review (based on 389 citations from 8 different databases) of evidence about the use of curcumin for inflammation-related condition found much support of the clinical benefit of curcumin for inflammatory-related diseases like osteoarthritis, metabolic disorders, etc. (1) A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (65 of them) that studied the impact of turmeric/curcumin on inflammation and oxidation balance found that supplementation significantly decreased inflammatory markers (CRP and IL-6) and enhanced anti-oxidant activity, boosting the body’s inflammation/oxidation balance.  (2) Another analysis of randomized controlled trials (29 of them centered on 5 types of arthritis – ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and gout/hyperuricemia) made known the safety of using curcumin as well as the improvement with respect to pain and severity of inflammation. (3) A further analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials expressly centered on the effects of curcumin on osteoarthritis determined that curcumin and curcuma longa extract may be safer and more effective supplements for osteoarthritis than NSAIDs and placebo. Moreover, the unpleasant effects of curcumin were akin to those of placebo, making it a safer option. In fact, when measured against NSAIDs, another regularly utilized treatment for osteoarthritis, curcumin compared with NSAIDs was observed to have similar effects on joint pain, function, and stiffness but with a lesser occurrence of adverse events. (4) So are you ready to give this natural alternative a chance? Let’s talk about it at your next Georgetown chiropractic appointment.

 

 

 

Schedule your Georgetown chiropractic appointment today. If inflammation is your enemy, let’s talk about including curcumin to your supplement nutrition plan! Dr. Butwell is here to help get rid of inflammation and pain!