We are all looking for natural ways to help us out in order to get rid of some of the medications in our medicine cabinets.  No matter what the pharmaceutical companies say, there are always side effects from using medication, and some of them unfortunately aren’t discovered until years after people have been taking them.  A new study has found that turmeric is just as effective (if not more so) at controlling the pain of arthritis as ibuprofen. This is great news as the side effects from ibuprofen range from vomiting to bloody stools to fainting.  Turmeric is an all natural solution with a plethora of health benefits.

Arthritis is a serious disease that afflicts more than 25 million Americans.  A sad statistic is that about one in two people will develop osteoarthritis over the course of their life which means that this disease will affect about half of the U.S. adult population.  Arthritis is a degenerative disease which wears away the cartilage of your joints.  The cartilage acts as a cushion between bones so that bone isn’t rubbing on bone, and when it gets worn away, it is very painful for an individual.  People with arthritis have trouble moving their joints and this can lead to difficulty with walking and general movement.  There’s no way to re-grow the cartilage, so people with arthritis try to manage their pain with medication.  But chronic use of the pain medications can lead to terrible side effects like liver and kidney damage, heart problems and gastrointestinal issues.

This new study with turmeric gives hope to the millions of arthritis suffers that a natural solution for pain management is a real possibility.  In this study, patients were receiving either turmeric or ibuprofen over the course of 6 weeks.  Their pain levels were tracked and measured, and it turned out that taking the turmeric was just as effective as taking the ibuprofen.  Doctors believe that the turmeric worked because of the curcumin in turmeric.  Curcurmin is what gives turmeric its beautiful rich golden orange coloring.  It has powerful anti-inflammatory properties that can influence both genes and enzymes.  And curcumin doesn’t just help arthritis, it also helps a myriad of other diseases such as psoriasis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, cystic fibrosis, and diabetes.

The good news is that turmeric is inexpensive and there are a lot of ways you can take it.  The first thing to do is to start cooking with it.  It’s delicious and can be incorporated into dishes ranging from curries to meats to vegetables.  You can also take it in a supplement form in capsules, but make sure that your supplement contains 100% organic ingredients.  And if you’re cooking with turmeric, don’t be afraid to throw in other spices like ginger and cumin which also have great anti-inflammatory effects.

So many of us are either affected by arthritis of have loved ones who suffer from the disease.  It’s wonderful to discover natural herbs and spices that can truly help with the pain and management of arthritis without all of the negative side effects of manufactured medications. Perhaps we can put more money toward researching these natural remedies as opposed to creating new chemical concoctions.