Trendy turmeric ‘can help to ease arthritis’ in patients

IT’S the latest health fad – present in everything from soy lattes to vegan cakes – but there may be something in the health craze for turmeric after all.

A scientifically robust study has found that the golden yellow spice may be an effective painkiller for debilitating arthritis.

Turmeric, which is widely used as a flavouring in South Asian cooking, has been used as a traditional Eastern medicine for centuries.

However, it is only in recent years that modern science has begun to take the spice seriously as a drug.

Curcumin – the active ingredient in it – is a polyphenol which has significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties.

For the latest trial, experts at the University of Tasmania randomly assigned 70 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis to receive either two capsules a day of turmeric or a placebo for 12 weeks.

The study found that patients taking the turmeric supplements reported less pain than those in the placebo group – and they suffered no side effects.

The scientists called for much larger trials to definitively assess their findings.