Turmeric causes iron deficiency

I take a high dose turmeric tablet every day and happened recently to have full bloods as have CFS, but iron bloods came out fine.
But it could vary from individual to individual?

Just had a quick google. There are concerns, so it seem worth looking into if you are affected.
(my tablets say 20.000mg (as 500mg of extract).

I don’t take the tablets but eat a curry twice a week. All fingers crossed. This getting old business is not much fun but better than the alternative.

I’m on blood thinners so turmeric tabs are out but I eat it in food

That’s interesting . I was diagnosed as being very anaemic and put on iron. I’ve been taking turmeric daily for years.

I wonder why it affects iron absorption?

This is very interesting. I’m a bit of a sceptic when it comes to food and vitamin supplements because there is very little good quality scientific research for their efficacy.

For anyone who has the Zoe app, there is an interesting discussion with a professor who carries out huge randomised control trials on supplements, entitled “The truth about supplements” and worth listening to.

I've been taking Turmeric with Black Pepper capsules for a couple of years for Arthritis and it has really helped. My last iron test was fine, but I think I'll do some research.

I'm always dubious that the pharmacutical industry will put out
misinformation on a cheap alternative to deter a loss of sales.
Once out there its hard to retract from reality, its called marketing.
Remember, eggs are bad for you, butter is bad for you, honey
etc etc all proved to be wrong in the long run.
Tumeric keeps my arthritus at bay, my iron is fine

JaneJudge

I wonder why it affects iron absorption?

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6414192/#:~:text=Turmeric%20is%20among%20the%20spices,so%20in%20mice%20%5B3%5D.

"Tumeric keeps my arthritis at bay, my iron is fine". Me too - I suggest people don't give up on it, but if its helping - and it helped my 88 year old friend too, substantially - have iron tests - clearly some affected, some not.

I also take Wellwoman 70+, which has iron supplement in.

Ferritin and iron tests are different. GPs don't usually test for Ferritin, unless you ask them.

I was taking turmeric for arthritic pain and had read recently that it can inhibit iron absorption but as my iron count is always very high it might help to reduce it.

The evidence about iron is from one study of mice, and one anecdotal case of a human patient.

I'm not sure if the turmeric in either case was being properly absorbed (see below), or if the iron was taken in combination with vitamin C which is necessary to enable it's easy absorption.
If not, then could that explain the turmeric and iron attaching to each other?

"Be aware that the biggest problem with turmeric is making sure that its compounds are absorbed from the gut. You will absorb little if turmeric is not taken with along with fats or oils, which is why it's best to take turmeric and curcumin with a meal containing fats or oils. Black pepper does not help with absorption"

www.consumerlab.com/answers/is-turmeric-effective-only-when-combined-with-black-pepper/turmeric-black-pepper/#:~:text=You%20will%20absorb%20little%20if,does%20not%20help%20with%20absorption.

Thanks for that info growstuff. On the Zoe podcast it was mentioned that research shows that very high doses of most self administered supplements is invariably not a good thing for health and can be counter productive, unless prescribed by a doctor.

Interesting info Seakay. I guess the message is that if you take turmeric without any problems and it seems to be of benefit, there's probably no harm in continuing. However, if you have symptoms of anemia, it could be worth investigating further.

I use turmeric in most of my cooking - haven’t had a full blood test for some time 😫

Halfpint
Totally agree. My own Dr recommends turmeric but fresh if you can get it.

growstuff

JaneJudge

I wonder why it affects iron absorption?

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6414192/#:~:text=Turmeric%20is%20among%20the%20spices,so%20in%20mice%20%5B3%5D.

thank you for posting that growstuff