Why Turmeric and Curcumin are NOT Healthy: Side effects and more

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Why Turmeric and Curcumin are Not Healthy challenges the popular belief that this spice is a super food, and that the supplement is safe and gentle. We look directly at peer reviewed studies that examine turmeric’s toxicity and the nature by which it acts.

In this article, we’re not just talking about turmeric’s and curcumin’s side effects. We’re talking about direct toxicity.

Any benefits of turmeric or curcumin are short term, but what happens with long term use?

Pros and cons of turmeric and curcumin

This post does not argue against evidence that turmeric and curcumin can cause improvement of some symptoms.

Instead, it points out that most of the compounds found in this food and supplement are toxic and cause liver injury.

Any benefits come at a cost, and are likely better avoided.

One great example of this is curcumin’s affects on cancer cells: A medical chemistry site reports that curcumin “… has been reported as cytotoxic against a number of important cancer cell lines. What is infrequently noted, however, is that it also shows cytotoxicity against normal human lymphocytes.”

Additionally, patients’ liver health and damage are not routinely assessed after treatment.

Why Turmeric and Curcumin are NOT Healthy: Effects and side effects of turmeric

How do we know turmeric is toxic

This paper states it in very overt terms: “The aim of this study is to find the most efficacious molecule which does not have any toxic effects. In the present study, toxicity of 200 chemical compounds from turmeric were predicted (includes bacterial mutagenicity, rodent carcinogenicity and human hepatotoxicity). The study shows out of 200 compounds, 184 compounds were predicted as toxigenic, 136 compounds are mutagenic, 153 compounds are carcinogenic and 64 compounds are hepatotoxic.”

To translate, 184 of turmeric’s 200 compounds were found to either:

be capable of causing a genetic mutation (having the ability to cause a permanent change in an organism’s genes)
be cancer causing
or cause chemically induced liver injury.

Is turmeric bad for you

In the study titled, “Liver Injury Associated with Turmeric-A Growing Problem: Ten Cases from the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network”, the study showed:

“Ten cases of turmeric-associated liver injury were found, all enrolled since 2011, and 6 since 2017. Of the 10 cases, 8 were women, 9 were White, and median age was 56 years (range 35-71). Liver injury was hepatocellular in 9 patients and mixed in 1. Liver biopsies in 4 patients showed acute hepatitis or mixed cholestatic-hepatic injury with eosinophils. Five patients were hospitalized, and 1 patient died of acute liver failure. Chemical analysis confirmed the presence of turmeric in all 7 products tested; 3 also contained piperine (black pepper)…”

The 2023 study concluded: “Liver injury due to turmeric appears to be increasing in the United States, perhaps reflecting usage patterns or increased combination with black pepper. Turmeric causes potentially severe liver injury…”

Disadvantages of turmeric: liver injury

While our bodies, and specifically our livers, can take in toxins for a time, at a certain point, the storage space for toxins becomes full.

What about when a toxin actually injures the liver itself?

Sadly, one of the patients from the above study even died from acute liver failure.

Why curcumin is not safe either and the action by which it works

Curcumin is actually about three major components taken from turmeric. Just as turmeric has toxic components, so does curcumin.

In 2018, scientists discovered and explored the fact that curcumin is hormetic: This means its toxicity engages the body’s defenses.

Curcumin is no longer considered an anti-oxidant, but rather an irritant, or a pro-oxidant.

From the Italian National Institute of Health, “… curcumin has been shown to be responsible for severe liver diseases … ” They have reported: “19 cases of cholestatic epatitis in subjects assuming curcumin alone or plus piperine as nutritional supplements.” (1, 2)

Although low dose stimulation may cause what looks like healing, these effects are gained at the expense of liver health.

As one study points out, “… it is important to note that any strategy that increases the levels of curcumin in tissues will not only increase the effectiveness of curcumin, but also its toxicity.”

Curcumin does not address the cause of the inflammation

Wouldn’t we be better off asking ourselves, what is the cause of my inflammation?

If a hormetic supplement effectively reduces symptoms but endangers the liver … and does not reveal what caused the symptoms to begin with, the band-aid is like a drug that causes worse problems in the long run.

Additional studies showing curcumin’s toxicity

Cancer causing: Curcumin may exhibit carcinogenic potential through oxidative DNA damage. (source)
Did not impede cancer growth but increased copper toxicity: In a rat study on heavy metals and cancer, curcumin bound to copper and enhanced toxicity and oxidative stress. It did not inhibit spontaneous hepatic tumor formation, but an excess load of copper did present.
Turmeric causes disease to gut health: Increased incidences of cancer, ulcers and stomach inflammation in rat and mice studies, with chronic administration of normal (not high) doses.
Causes iron deficiency: Curcumin here was found to be an active iron chelator. It binds with iron and can cause iron deficiency.
Explore more studies about the dangers of turmeric and curcumin here.

Why Turmeric and Curcumin are NOT Healthy: General safety and use

Pregnant women should not use turmeric or curcumin supplements.
One study reminds us, “The chronic use of curcumin can cause liver toxicity. For this reason, turmeric products should probably be avoided by individuals with liver disease, heavy drinkers and those who take prescription medications that are metabolized by liver.” [emphasis mine]
The addition of black pepper or piperine can make curcumin more dangerous because it increases its bioavailability. (source)
Curcumin interacts with certain drugs such as blood thinning agents, NSAIDs, reserpin, statins, aspirin, diabetes drugs and blood pressure medicines.
- Turmeric can also interact with foods that cause blood thinning/decrease clotting: ginkgo, ginseng and garlic.
The supplement stimulates bile secretion, so not recommended for persons with biliary tract obstruction. Nor people with gallstones, obstructive jaundice and acute biliary colic. (source) Supplementation of 20 to 40 mg curcumin increases gallbladder contractions in healthy people.
Kidney patients and those with immune disorders should avoid all turmeric supplements.
Turmeric and curcumin are more likely to cause symptoms when taken in the doses provided in pills, capsules and gummies (as opposed to the occasional use in a recipe). Symptoms include: nausea, diarrhea, stomach ulcers, especially in high doses or after long-term use.
Those who are allergic should watch for hives, rash or stomach ache.

What the Journal of Medical Chemistry says

The Journal of Medical Chemistry responded to turmeric’s alarming ties to toxicity: “These cautionary reports appear to have been swept away in the torrent of papers, reviews, patents, and Web sites touting the use of curcumin (and its primary commercial source, turmeric) as an anticancer agent, a therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease, a treatment for hangovers, erectile dysfunction, baldness, hirsutism, a fertility-boosting, and contraceptive extract, collectively establishing the properties expected of a panacea.”

Blindly, scientific papers are still regularly published that look solely at the potential therapeutic properties of curcumin, ignoring the risks and dangers that are now well documented.

Crossing the blood brain barrier is dangerous

Finally, we need to be cautious of any food or drug that crosses the blood brain barrier.

Turmeric and curcumin do cross the blood brain barrier. (source)

Turmeric and curcumin’s toxic compounds are not just damaging to the liver. We must assume they also affect the brain.

If curcumin binds to copper and increases toxicity in other parts of the body, who’s to say it doesn’t attach to copper in the brain and wreak havoc there as well?

In conclusion, one medical source says of curcumin, it “… has never been shown to be conclusively effective in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial for any indication. Curcumin is best typified, therefore, as a missile that continually blows up on the launch pad, never reaching the atmosphere or its intended target(s). These results have given curcumin the label of pharmacodynamically fierce (hits many targets) yet pharmacokinetically feeble (does not get to its targets). While these failures would normally end further research on its use as a therapeutic, they apparently have not deterred researchers interested in its development.”

Friends, let us be wise, then, and not consume fierce feeble missiles that can not reach their target.

My personal experience

Looking for the best way to find the root cause of your symptoms? I love this Anti-Inflammatory diet. Or if you’re up for a deeper dive, look into the Vitamin A Detox diet which continues to make all my health goals attainable.

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