Turmeric

I would simply suggest that you try it and see if it helps you. You can also type Turmeric into the search bar at the top of this page and you will find some other threads about it. Like many treatments, there are a wide range of experneces, from people who say it was the miracle cure for their psoriasis or their athritis . . . .through to people who saw no benefit. Some people prefer to add it into their diet in their food (it is a common spice), or drink turmeric tea. I tried turmeric capsules for a couple of months, it did not seem to have any effect on my psoriasis and did nothing at all to ease my arthritis- which was my primary reason for trying them. BUT I am sure that there will be people who will advocate the powder over capsules, or generally one form over another. Some say it must have black pepper with it or it is not as effective. I am sure some might also advocate one brand over another. I think just as with shampoos and moisturisers/emollients, what seems to work well for one person might not seem as successful for another. Good luck.

Ron: you have probably read about this aspect: some of the capsules available on the market contain very little active ingredient, even if described as high-strength. I do not know which brands are better, or exactly what information to look for. I know it seems to be generally mentioned that a formulation with black pepper is absorbed easier by the body. Other than that, I guess a fair bit of background reading on the internet is required to try and figure out what can differentiate one brand from another.

I've found (and ordered) some capsules .. the ingredients are: 1260mg Tumeric, 100mg Ginger, 20mg Black Pepper. I'll give them a try .. as you correctly said, nothing to lose and plenty to gain. If they don't make any difference, I've wasted a tenner .. but if they do, it'll be the best tenner I've ever spent. I'm also trying Blueberries at the moment, only into week three and no sign of improvement yet but it's early days.

It is certainly quite difficult to understand what is a good brand, and what is not, or if there are even any differences, and if so then what to look out for. Or to decide what is a good formulation and what is not. For example, are all the capsules made in a central place and then sold wholesale to the different distributers to add their own branding? My understanding from the limited reading I have done is that the key active ingredient in Turmeric is Cucumin. It is also apparently recommended to have black pepper included in the ingredients. I have read reviews on Amazon also - complaining that although described as "high strength" the actual % of cucumin in the capsule is very low. I suspect that some manufacturers/sellers also conflate hi-strength with hi-dosage (in terms of mg of turmeric) It would certainly be helpful if anyone could give specific examples and detail of what to look for when trying to compare one capsule to another, and some recommendations.