Can Turmeric Help My Gut?
The evidence for, and against, the health industries most beloved yellow powder.
Gut Health. Turmeric. Can you think of any more powerful buzzwords in the health space over the last decade? Even though you seldom hear them discussed together, it seems logical that our beloved bright yellowish-orange powder could benefit our digestion. It’s often touted for its anti-inflammatory properties, but do we ever want inflammation to happen? What about if you’re someone with IBS, IBD, leaky gut, or SIBO? Can Turmeric help with any of that? What’s the evidence for, or against it?
How Might It Work?
One big knock on turmeric is that it’s hard for our bodies to absorb it. However, for some instances, that may be to our advantage. When taken orally, it preferentially accumulates in the small and large intestines, rather than being absorbed into the bloodstream. This means it can have a big impact on gut function and potentially GI diseases. A lot of people self-reportedly get benefit from taking turmeric for joint pains, and if most of the turmeric stays within the gut, could it be through the gut-joint connection that these people are feeling better? Hard to tell, but it’s for sure a possibility.
In an attempt to increase its bioavailability, researchers began formulating turmeric with either: 1) A phospholipid complex/phosphatidylcholine (should say those words on the label) or 2) With Black Pepper. Either of these methods enhances the absorption of turmeric. That further begs the question: If I’m taking turmeric to help my gut issues, would I want better absorption?
Here’s my takeaway from this. If you’re looking to take turmeric to support your gut, look for one that only has turmeric root, rather than one with black pepper (piperine) or in a phospholipid complex. If you’re looking for one to help support joint pain, look for one that will be more bioavailable. My favorite brands are Thorne, NOW, and Apex Energetics (if you’re a health care practitioner).
Is Inflammation All Bad?
The main way turmeric, and more specifically the molecule curcumin, works is by downregulating inflammation. For those of you geeks like me out there, it works by downregulating NF-kB, a protein that turns off inflammation in cells. Now, let me ask you this question: What scenarios would you NOT want to turn inflammation off? If you struggled to find an answer, that’s okay. We live in a health culture that seems bent on demonizing inflammation, making every supplement and breathing exercise “anti-inflammatory.”
To answer the previously posed question, think of spraining your ankle. If inflammation is not allowed to take place here, your ankle won’t get any better. All that swelling, and the black/blue color change, is the exact response the body is supposed to have. It’s all meant to increase the amount of “activity” going to the ankle, with the hopes of repairing the damaged tissue. If you were to megadose turmeric or take an Ibuprofen after spraining an ankle, guess what you’ve done? You’ve turned off the exact response you need to heal your ankle. Now this was an example of acute inflammation.
We want acute inflammation to take place, but we want to try and avoid chronic inflammation. A condition such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is more of a chronic inflammatory condition. As we’ll get into later, IBD is the most studied digestive condition when it comes to Turmeric supplementation.
Tale of the Tape
From my review of the literature, there’s mixed support for turmeric and gut conditions. A meta-analysis (study about studies, one of the higher levels of scientific evidence) found Turmeric to have a non-significant effect on IBS symptoms (1). Although the authors did conclude that turmeric “is a potentially useful addition… for managing IBS.”
For Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), turmeric has been shown to lower relapse rates for those with Ulcerative Colitis (2). Specifically, turmeric was effective when given in high doses (2 grams/day) and when given with typical prescription medications for IBD (mesalamine). What does all that mean? Turmeric seems to work best in high doses, and when given with IBD medications.
A new study looked at using Turmeric for those with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). 500 mg/day for 8 weeks lead to significant reductions in symptoms of diarrhea, stress, anxiety and overall pain levels (3). We know there is a very strong gut-brain connection that plays a role in our mental wellbeing, so no surprise to see improvements in gut function coming with feeling less stressed. The big takeaway from this study was that turmeric (specifically curcumin) was used on its own, rather than with other herbs or prescription medications.
A recent survey of Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM) practitioners (Chiropractors, Naturopaths, Nutritionists, Functional Medicine Professionals) found that nearly ¾ of them are using turmeric for their “leaky gut” patients (4). Why is this important? Because there is currently zero data, in humans, on the use of turmeric for leaky gut (intestinal permeability in the research setting). I’m not bashing CIM practitioners, I am one, I just think our field has this belief that turmeric will work for any condition, when that’s just not what the research shows. There is good evidence for things such as zinc, colostrum, vitamin D, and probiotics for supporting leaky gut.
It Might Be Worth It
If you are reading this article in hopes of finding the answer to the question posed in the title, I can see how you’d be confused. “Some research says it’s effective, others not so much, then he says inflammation may actually be good and turmeric might be overrated, so what am I to believe?” My goal here was to show you that it’s a gray area. All too often people on the internet try to sell you black and white answers, when much of life is lived within the gray zone. But, hopefully you now have enough information to make your own informed decision about turmeric’s potential effects on gut function.
If you’re struggling with any of the health conditions we discussed, feel like your gut health could be better, or want to know if Turmeric could support you, I highly encourage you to seek out a Functional Medicine Practitioner in your area. They will help get to the root cause of your condition, in a cost-effective, and evidence-informed manner.
As always, Trust in Your Gut.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for educational purposes only, and are not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Do not apply any of the information in this article without first speaking with your doctor.
Text-References
- Ng QX, Soh AYS, Loke W, Venkatanarayanan N, Lim DY, Yeo WS. A Meta-Analysis of the Clinical Use of Curcumin for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). J Clin Med. 2018;7(10):298. Published 2018 Sep 22. doi:10.3390/jcm7100298
- Malinowski B, Wiciński M, Sokołowska MM, Hill NA, Szambelan M. The Rundown of Dietary Supplements and Their Effects on Inflammatory Bowel Disease-A Review. Nutrients. 2020;12(5):1423. Published 2020 May 14. doi:10.3390/nu12051423
- Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Rea A, Michel S. Efficacy of a curcumin extract (Curcugen™) on gastrointestinal symptoms and intestinal microbiota in adults with self-reported digestive complaints: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021;21(1):40. Published 2021 Jan 21. doi:10.1186/s12906–021–03220–6
- Leech B, Schloss J, Steel A. Treatment Interventions for the Management of Intestinal Permeability: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Practitioners. J Altern Complement Med. 2019;25(6):623–636. doi:10.1089/acm.2018.0374
