Many people suffer from occasional joint pain, and some individuals experience it on a daily basis. Painful joints are caused by any number of circumstances, including sprains, bursitis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, physical injury, and damage caused by other diseases. How much pain you feel is often determined by how serious your problem is. Finding a natural solution to joint pain is easy enough if it is experienced on an occasional basis only. However, over-the-counter pain relief products can damage the kidneys or liver if taken during an extended period of time. Alleviating this pain through natural remedies, such as turmeric, is often the best solution when the pain you experience is constant.
The Importance of Dealing with Joint Pain
Your joints provide a connection between your bones. It is possible to experience pain in any of your joints, but discomfort in the knees, hips, and shoulders are most commonly reported. If you experience pain in any of your joints, you may find it difficult or uncomfortable to move. When the pain is constant, you may find it more difficult to get pleasure out of certain activities, leading you to avoid them rather than participate in them. The better solution is to find the relief you need to allow you to return to the activities you enjoy so much.
Understanding How Turmeric May Help Reduce Pain
Several studies show that turmeric acts as a natural analgesic, allowing it to minimize the sensation of pain. It also performs as an anti-inflammatory agent, reducing swelling significantly. Since inflammation is often the root cause of pain, it is important to minimize it in order to assist in alleviating the discomfort accompanying it. In some situations, eliminating the presence of swelling in your joints can do away with concomitant pain.
Just think about what happens when a part of your body begins to swell. Your skin stretches as this area becomes larger. The swelling creates pressure on your skin, flesh, muscles, and joints. You begin to feel pain. You start to wish the swelling would go away, so you take anti-inflammatory medications to make this happen. Eventually, you need to stop taking this type of pain relief because of the warnings on the label that doing so for more than 10 days places your liver and/or kidneys at risk of becoming damaged. Now what can you do?
Instead of taking the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that you were, you can use a turmeric supplement to alleviate the inflammation as well as the pain. According to a source at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, turmeric is safe to use as a spice as well as to take in supplemental form for health purposes for most people. If you are taking other medications, such as blood thinners, you should discuss your options before you start a new routine for pain relief.
The Science Behind Turmeric's Anti-inflammatory Benefits
One of turmeric's active ingredients is curcumin. This ingredient has the ability to prevent the cytokines and enzymes responsible for creating inflammation from doing so. In short, the curcumin in turmeric stops the body's cells from swelling, eliminating inflammation and the pain that accompanies it.
Understanding the Role of Dosage Frequency in Treating Joint Pain with Turmeric
Turmeric can be taken in many forms, requiring different dosage amounts in order to achieve the desired results. It can be included in dishes as a spice or taken in supplemental form.
For some individuals, one teaspoon or tablet of turmeric supplement is sufficient to manage their pain for several hours. One teaspoon is commonly recommended as the amount needed to assist in relieving joint pain and inflammation. Once the effect wears off, another dose in the same amount is needed to alleviate the pain.
The dosage you require is determined by several factors such as the severity of the damage, your tolerance for pain, your weight, other health issues, and additional medications you may be taking. The quality of the supplement you are taking is also going to affect the dosage needed before you experience relief from joint pain.
The best way to begin any new health regimen is slowly. You may want to begin by taking one-half teaspoon a day of turmeric powder or a single dose in a capsule or tablet. Gradually increase your dosage up to three times a day as needed.
Most Importantly, Understanding the Differences in Turmeric Supplements
Many people opt for a supplement due to the simplicity and convenience of taking a small capsule or adding powdered turmeric into their food or beverages. The type of turmeric and the quality of its composition are extremely important in regard to its performance. If you are taking a low-quality supplement, then you are going to wait longer before you feel less pain. You may also need to take larger dosages in order to get the results that you want.
Ideally, you should look for a supplement containing a high percentage of curcuminoids in it. Selecting a product of lower quality simply won't produce the same results. You can usually find this information out by reading the label if you have the package in your hand or the product description listed on the company website. Five hundred milligrams of curcuminoids is the most commonly recommended quantity to achieve pain relief.
Tips for Optimizing Absorption of Your Supplement
To avoid discomfort, turmeric should never be taken on an empty stomach. While some people may never experience a reaction, it isn't worth taking the risk. Just make sure that you have a little food in your belly before taking your supplement.
Typically, the body has difficulty fully digesting certain substances. Curcumin is one of these. If you add black pepper to your diet, you can enhance your body's ability to fully absorb the curcumin contained in your turmeric, boosting the relief from inflammation and joint pain that you are hoping to achieve.
Experiencing relief from joint pain is important to maintain a comfortable existence. If you haven't yet tried natural remedies to alleviate inflammation and the accompanying discomfort it creates, you may want to look into the benefits of using turmeric supplements to do so.