Turmeric: Benefits, Uses & Potential Side Effects

If you enjoy foods from India and the Middle East containing curry, you've eaten turmeric. Both in food or in supplement/pill form, it has been said to possess some health benefits--internally as a blood purifier and externally as a natural antiseptic, for example. Fortunately, turmeric has few side effects.

• Turmeric, also called Indian saffron, is a used as a spice as well as a medicine.

History

• Turmeric is a bright, yellow-orange herb in the ginger family and has been used in Indian cooking as a spice, in cosmetics and as a dye for over 2,500 years. Turmeric as also been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.

Supplements

• If you have gallbladder disease and use turmeric as a dietary supplement, it can make your condition worse, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).

Stomach Acid

• If you're taking drugs like Pepcid, Tagamet or Zantex to reduce stomach acid, turmeric can interfere with them and even potentially increase stomach acid production.

Hypoglycemia

• The University of Maryland Medical Center says turmeric exacerbates the negative effects of low blood sugar drugs for diabetes, "increasing the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)."

Warning

• Do not take turmeric supplements if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. It's safe, however, to eat foods with turmeric during this time.