By now you probably know that inflammation is considered to be the root cause of a majority of health ailments (everything from allergies, to cancer and autoimmune disorders).
This might explain why turmeric has become one of the most popular culinary herbs over the last couple years. As research expands on the health benefits of turmeric, it’s becoming more and more clear why it should be included in our diets on the daily.
Before it became widely popular in the West, turmeric was used for over 4,000 years as a medicinal remedy in East India for countless conditions. Researchers today claim that turmeric is not only a powerful anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agent, but also a great remedy for digestive and skin issues (which go hand in hand, considering our digestion is closely tied into the health of our skin).
How Much Turmeric To Take?
When you’re deciding on how much turmeric to take, or what type of turmeric to take, things can get a little confusing.
Depending on the reason you are using turmeric, and the form in which you take it, the dosing for turmeric will change. The specific guidelines below from well-established experts and health professionals will help you decide just that.
The first thing you need to know is that there are two types of dosing: preventative and curative.
Preventative dosing is lower than curative dosing in that it is taken for as long as needed, or even indefinitely.
Curative dosing is a much higher dose than preventative, as it is used for a specific diagnosis. Large doses of turmeric should not be taken indefinitely, but only until the issue is resolved.
Turmeric should also be taken with a little bit of black pepper (or if you’re taking a supplement, there should always be piperine (the active ingredient in black pepper) included), because it significantly increases the bioavailability of curcumin. The same is true if you take it with coconut oil – but black pepper is best.
The Forms of Turmeric
There are different forms of turmeric, too. They come in the following:
Fresh Cut Root: fresh cut turmeric root can be found in most Asian food stores and health food stores, although I would recommend you opt for the organic fresh form in health food stores. You can add this to foods such as salad, smoothies, or even vegetable dishes. It is recommended that you do not cook the fresh root, as it will destroy the valuable nutrients.
Dried Root: this is turmeric powder. Don’t just opt for a standard turmeric powder at your local grocery store, always get a high-quality organic turmeric powder. Supplements are typically made from turmeric powder. Curcumin (the active component in turmeric that makes it so amazing) is extracted from the turmeric and then concentrated to make standardized powders
Fluid Extract: this is typically a liquid form of the active ingredients in turmeric (namely, curcumin) mixed with vegetable glycerin and water (in my opinion, this is better than the alcohol-tincture form described below).
Tincture: tinctures are made with alcohol as the delivery method, and often vary in strength. The ingredients are typically turmeric curcuminoids, water, and 20% alcohol.
Tea: turmeric root is also available as a tea – some people like to add a little coconut oil and black pepper to the tea, as well as honey to sweeten it up a bit.
Ideal Dosage
The ideal dosage of turmeric for adults, according to the University of Maryland Medical Centre, are as follows:
• 5-3 grams fresh cut root, daily
• 1-3 grams dried powdered root, daily
• 400-600 milligrams, curcumin (standardized powder), three times daily
• (1:1) 30-90 drops, fluid extract, daily
• (1:2) 15-30 drops, tincture, four times daily
According to Dr. Weil, 400-600mg curcumin (standardized) should be taken 3 times daily.
According to WebMD, the following turmeric dosages should be taken for each ailment:
• Osteoarthritis: 500mg of curcumin extract that contains 95% standardized powder (twice daily)
• Rheumatoid arthritis: 500mg of curcumin extract that contains 95% standardized powder (twice daily)
• Upset stomach: 500mg of turmeric (four times daily)
• High cholesterol: 1.4 grams of turmeric extract, in two divided doses, daily for three months
• Itching (pruritus): 1500 mg of turmeric in three divided doses, daily for eight weeks
Dosing instructions will obviously vary, depending on whether you are taking it for prevention or if you’re trying to cure something. It will also depend if your condition is temporary or severe (such as pain for instance).
Taking turmeric at the higher end of the dosing spectrum would be best if you’re wanting to get something under control until you are feeling better (in which case, once you’re feeling better, return back to standard dosing).
Turmeric Dosing and Cancer
Here is an 8-week regimen for turmeric dosing when trying to fight cancer:
Week 1: start with a small dose of 1 gram of curcumin per day. If you see no side effects, take it for a week and then proceed to the dosage of week 2.
Week 2: increase the dosage of curcumin to 2 grams per day. Again, check for any issues, side effects, etc. If everything seems to be going fine, take it for a week and proceed to dosage of week 3.
Week 3: Double the dosage again to 4 grams per day. If everything looks fine, proceed to week 4.
Week 4-8: Double the dosage to 8 grams per day, and continue for 5 weeks.
How Safe is Turmeric?
Turmeric is generally very safe. Side effects rarely occur, and when they do, it is usually when extremely high doses are taken for an extended period of time.
If you are taking high doses, consult a health practitioner, especially if you’re wanting it to be taken in the longer-term.
For possible side effects of large, long-term turmeric doses, check out the advice below:
– Turmeric can lower blood sugar, so diabetics and individuals with hypoglycaemia should consult their doctor before taking.
– Do not take turmeric with other herbs that have blood-sugar-lowering effects (or with drugs such as anti-hypertensives that artificially lower blood pressure).
– Never take turmeric if you’re on cholesterol-lowering medications, since turmeric also lowers LDL (bad) and raises HDL (good) and can boost the effect of these drugs.
– Turmeric is a natural blood thinner and should not be taken in conjunction with blood thinners such as warfarin, coumadin, clopidogrel, or aspirin, or with herbs such as ginkgo biloboa or garlic (all have blood thinning properties).
– If you’re going for surgery, stop taking turmeric at least a week prior. It things the blood, and can make it harder to stop bleeding during medical procedures.
– Turmeric can cause nausea if taken on an empty stomach.
– Turmeric increases bile production, so people with gall bladder or gall stone problems should avoid therapeutic (high) doses.
John Van De Haar says
Hi' Is it possible to get in book form some of your remedies and recipes as i am very interested in them . Or is it possible to down load some from your website. Regards John .
Carly Fraser says
Hey John. Unfortunately, I do not have any books at the moment, but you can print off pages of my website, or copy and paste into a word document to keep them on hand for you at all times!
vivij says
You have given the dosage in grams, how does that equate to teaspoons or tbsps?
Carly Fraser says
One teaspoon is equivalent to about 4 grams, so if you do the math, that is how you can determine how much you need.
Elizabeth Roberts says
After week 5 for cancer treatment what do you drop the 8grams down to please.
Carly Fraser says
Hey Elizabeth, if there is no improvement after 8 weeks, then I suggest going back down to 4 grams a day, and then adding in other things that help fight cancer like cannabis oil, etc. Please check out my list at the end of this article (https://livelovefruit.com/chemotherapy-kills/) and check to see what else you could be doing to fight cancer.
Elizabeth Roberts says
Thank you Carly ,I am stage 3 melanoma which only got diagnosed in November 17. Going into hospital next week its spread to lymph nodes under my right armpit, have to stop taking Turmeric until after the surgery but I don't feel ill and if it wasn't for the biopsies I would never know I have it.So I'm going to have to rely on future scans to see if the Turmeric is helping or not .That's why I wanted to know how long to stay on the 8grams as scans are every 3 months.
Carly Fraser says
Sorry to hear Elizabeth – please check out the list at the end of the article I sent you in the last comment – all of those steps must be taken if you want to fight cancer. Many well wishes in your journey <3
Steve says
You are a saint! I have been using turmeric with bioperine according to your recommended dosage. I am on week #5 and can tell a huge difference in my body. I am a 60 year old man with breast cancer and skin cancer. The results so far are awesome! I look forward to continuing this treatment and I am excited about the prospects of this natural remedy.
I will never try chemo or surgery or other crap that doctors do as a "cure".
Thank you for sharing your insight and recommendations. You are appreciated!!!
Carly Fraser says
Hello Steve! I am so excited to hear about the positive results you're experiencing 🙂 If we heal the body from the inside out, cancer won't stand a chance! Please come back in a couple months and let us all know how you're doing 🙂
Caryl says
Hi Carly, Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have always embraced holistic methods of healing. 🙂 I have a rare autoimmune, neuromuscular disease, Myasthenia Gravis (MG). I plan on taking turmeric daily. Since I also have Coronary Artery Disease I take a low dose baby aspirin daily, 81 mg. Will there be any conflicts in taking the aspirin and turmeric? What daily dose of turmeric would you recommend?
Thank you! ~ Caryl
Carly Fraser says
Blood thinners can interact with large doses of turmeric, as can drugs that reduce blood clotting. People may experience bleeding or bruising when combining large doses of turmeric with aspirin, warfarin, anti-platelet drugs and NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen. I would for sure ask a medical professional if you want to take turmeric in large doses.
Caryl says
Carly, thank you for the response! I plan on only taking 400 mg and eventually working up to 800 mg. Not sure if that is considered a large dose. Do you know?
Have a great day! ~ Caryl
Carly Fraser says
Hey Caryl, I think that is a pretty standard dose. If you're taking curcumin standardized extract in a capsule. It is recommended to take 400-600mg 3 times per day.
Caryl says
Thank you! I appreciate YOU!!!! Create an amazing day ~ Caryl
Carly Fraser says
Thanks Caryl! 🙂