Tag Archive for: turmeric

Exploding Gallbladders: Just the Facts

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Let’s take a look at the actual case study on the exploding gallbladder and figure out what’s relevant and what’s conjecture—by all parties.

The Case Study

The paper was the result of a close examination of the medical information gathered when a 69-year-old man went to the emergency room at SUNY Brooklyn Medical Center with a perforated gallbladder. There were three parts to the paper:

  • The introduction focused on curcumin and its potential for causing issues in people with gallbladder disease.
  • The second described the treatment plan for the patient, mostly antibiotics and pain relievers.
  • Finally, a review laid the groundwork for why curcumin caused the perforation in the gallbladder.

The reason? Curcumin may increase the strength of the contractions in the gallbladder duct as it moves bile. A large stone was blocking the duct, so curcumin caused the pressure to buildup in the gallbladder and boom: explosion! Well, perforation, but you get the idea.

The Problem

There was no evidence to show that curcumin directly contributed to the gallbladder issues. What was also in the case study but not considered was that the patient had a history of gallstones. He was also taking five medications for hypertension, high cholesterol, and an enlarged prostate.

The writers of the case study were a medical student and a nephrologist (a kidney specialist). Based on published information, neither was an expert in the digestive system. It appears to have been conjecture on their part as to the cause of the gallbladder perforation. The comments on food and supplement oversight, while referenced, did not demonstrate any understanding of the FDA’s oversight of food and supplements; they’re not controlled as pharmaceuticals are, but both the FDA and FTC have control over the claims they can make. The amount of curcumin used by the patient was within the standard range for use of the supplement.

The Bottom Line

I can’t fault the writer for the Daily Mail; writers sometimes tend toward the sensational, and an exploding gallbladder is a perfect fit. The physicians and the article reviewers should have realized the faults in the analysis. Could a gallbladder explosion have been possible? Yes, but without accounting for the current status of the patient’s disease and considering pharmaceutical interactions of the meds the patient was taking, they used the “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach to assess what might have happened. We might expect that from reporters with no health background but not from medical professionals.

They were right about one thing. More research on interactions between food, herbs, and pharmaceuticals is necessary—but that isn’t news.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. http://bit.ly/3KikdPv
2. American Journal of Medical Case Reports, 2022, Vol. 10, No. 12, 311-313

Exploding Gallbladders!

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Health Memo readers frequently forward health-related articles to me to ask my opinion; I read them all and respond to the sender if asked. Combined with my health news feeds, I read a lot about health—opinions about health, that is. I’m going to share a couple with you in the next few Memos and—wait for it—give you my opinion about whether what is being said is accurate, and more important, meaningful.

Let’s begin with curcumin, a very popular dietary supplement and a component of the herb turmeric used in cooking. It’s generally used as an anti-inflammatory for a variety of conditions, including joint health. The health headline in the Daily Mail implied that a 69-year-old man’s gallbladder exploded due to the interaction of the gallstones in his gallbladder with the high doses of curcumin he was taking. The Daily Mail seems to focus on celebrity news more than other types of news, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore the story.

The Daily Mail article was based on a case report published in a journal focused on just such case studies. The reporter took language from the paper that suggested that supplements avoid the regulatory process, creating a set of circumstances that could be potentially dangerous, as in this case. It also suggested that adverse reports with supplements are not reported. Is that all true? More importantly, what are the implications of such an article? I’ll let you know on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. http://bit.ly/3KikdPv
2. American Journal of Medical Case Reports, 2022, Vol. 10, No. 12, 311-313

What to Do About Aching Joints

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When we stop to consider what prevents us from moving as much and as freely as we would like, the main culprit would probably be our joints: knees for most, with hips a close second. Shoulders are up there, along with our feet and hands. One of my problem areas is my thumbs in the metacarpal joints of both hands.

Everything we’ve talked about so far leads us to our joints. The muscles attach to bones via tendons across joints, and that allows for movement. There are ligaments that hold bones in place, several types of cartilage that provide cushioning, even specialized fluid within joints. It’s the interaction of all those factors combined with the damage we’ve experienced and our genetics that results in the pain we may experience that inhibits motion. What do we do about it?

Without question, the most important is stretching and strengthening. I’ve written about that already, but it warrants a reminder. Maintaining the range of motion of each joint improves our mobility and ability to use our limbs properly. Our physical therapist has a saying, “Motion is lotion,” which is a way of saying the more you move, the easier it is to move. We should all move as much as we can without overdoing it. Here’s an example: Paula and I had to give up dance lessons because she has arthritis in her feet, and dancing was just too much stress on all the little joints in the foot. For all of us, the challenge is finding that happy medium between moving enough to keep everything going and moving so much it adds to the damage.

In terms of nutrients, all parts of the joints are connective tissue; the basic nutrient for every one is glucosamine. Our bodies are supposed to make as much as we need but often don’t. Any type of glucosamine can be beneficial. Chondroitin and hyaluronic acid are forms of glycosaminoglycans. In addition, vitamin C is also important for all connective tissue. There are many nutrients that may impact the inflammation in joints such as tart cherry juice and turmeric. But it begins with a good foundation, and that’s glucosamine.

Everything to date leads us to the final part of this series of living every day. I’ll cover that on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

How to Reduce Mechanical Pain

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Every morning, the process of getting my body moving is challenging. My back is stiff and my knee is tender, on the border of painful. The longer I’m up, the better I move. After about 30 minutes, I can get my workout. It takes my knee 10 minutes to warm-up once I start running.

I’m going to talk about pain this week—specifically, three types of pain and what may help. Today it’s mechanical pain. Remember the time you slipped and twisted your knee? Wrenched your shoulder when you picked up something you thought was a lot lighter? Broke your ankle skiing? Those are the types of injuries that can lead to mechanical changes that can result in pain; the injury heals but the tendons, ligaments, and cartilage are not quite the same. It can lead to pain, even many years later. That’s what happened to my right knee.

What can you do about it? Strengthen the supporting tissues to the extent you can. I went to a physical therapist, got an evaluation, was assigned some exercises and I do them regularly. It has strengthened the muscles that directly and indirectly impact the knee. While it’s still tender when I wake up, the swelling is gone and I can run if I choose. To me, that’s the most important thing. But I also take a timed release non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in the morning and use omega-3s, turmeric, and glucosamine twice a day. That works for me. You may need more pain relievers or you may need none.

That’s how you can deal with mechanically-induced pain. On to nerve-induced pain on Thursday and disease-related pain on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Curcumin: Question 3

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Most super herbs and juices come from other countries—açai from Brazil and noni from Southeast Asia to Australia. Curcumin seems to have been used in India for hundreds of years. As we finish this look on questions we should ask about the latest and greatest nutrient, juice, or herb, this is most likely the simplest question of all. Here’s the obvious question: do the people where the herb is traditionally used live longer than we do in the U.S.?

I’ll stick with curcumin and India. Although our official life expectancy just decreased a couple of . . .

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Curcumin and Your Health

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Curcumin certainly has the health experts excited. I understand, but I also think there are some things that you have to know about this phytonutrient before you begin taking mega-doses every day.

Absorption and Bioavailability

Curcumin is not well absorbed in the digestive system—in fact, it’s very poorly absorbed, with some studies showing that no measurable curcuminoids reach the bloodstream at all. That’s why a focus of research has been to get the active part of turmeric into a better delivery system. I mentioned combining it with piperine, a component of black pepper, on . . .

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Curcumin Research

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Curcumin is fast becoming one of the most researched phytonutrients in the world. As evidence, in 2000, there were about 100 papers published on curcumin; in 2015, there were 1,100 papers published. And in the first quarter of this year, there were over 400 papers published. Why all the attention on this yellow phytonutrient?

I mentioned the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities on Tuesday. The focus of a lot of research is for curcumin’s use as a potential cancer treatment and preventive for Alzheimer’s disease. Most of these are test-tube studies. Researchers are trying to examine . . .

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Curcumin and Pepper

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I’m just back from Peoria, and there’s nothing like spending a couple of days with health-conscious people to yield some very interesting questions. This week, I’m going to examine one question in detail: is turmeric absorbed as effectively without pepper in the blend? A phytonutrient found in turmeric called curcumin is being extensively studied for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. But pepper? I checked into it and here’s what I found.

In a study done in 1998, researchers examined the absorption of curcumin with and without piperine, the phytonutrient that provides the pungent smell . . .

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