6th August, 2019
Funmilola Olukomaiya
Turmeric is a flowering plant, Curcuma longa of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, with roots used in cooking.
Turmeric as a spice comes from the turmeric plant. It is commonly used in Asian food. You probably know turmeric as the main spice in curry. It is characterized with a warm, bitter taste and is frequently used to flavour or colour curry powders, mustards, butters, and cheeses.
Apart from serving as a spice, turmeric root is also used widely to make medicine. It contains a yellow-coloured chemical called curcumin, which is often used to colour foods and cosmetics.
With turmeric known to offer a lot of health benefits, it might sound unbelievably ridiculous that this wonderful plant also has side effects, but then, there’s really nothing without a side effect, especially when its use is abused.
There’s no doubt turmeric tops the list as one of the most frequently mentioned medicinal herbs in all of science, with a long history of use, particularly in Ayurvedic medicine and other traditional forms of medicine, but here’s what you need to know about turmeric curcumin side effects.
Lower Blood Pressure: High doses of turmeric can lower blood pressure, therefore, individuals on blood pressure medications are usually advised to avoid turmeric consumption or exercise caution while consuming turmeric.
Risk Of Kidney Stones: Too much of turmeric might increase the risk of kidney stones. This is because of the presence of oxalates in turmeric. These oxalates can bind to calcium to form insoluble calcium oxalate, which is primarily responsible for kidney stones.
Diarrhoea And Nausea: Diarrhea and nausea are the two commonest symptoms associated with turmeric supplementation. This is because curcumin in turmeric has a tendency to irritate the gastrointestinal tract.
Infertility: Turmeric, if taken by mouth by men, might lower testosterone levels and decrease the sperm movement. This might eventually lead to infertility.
Iron Deficiency: Studies have revealed that some compounds found in turmeric were found to bind to iron, this could decrease the body’s ability to absorb iron from food, thereby leading to iron deficiency.