Hi all have just been reading about  the health benefits of Tumeric for humans and dogs, has anybody used this or know anything about it?

Yes indeedy, I use it for most of my dogs for different things :-)

I first started using it earlier this year when I heard about it being good for arthritis - my oldie Tia had severe osteoarthritis and was on trocoxil, that worked brilliantly for her but the turmeric gave her a new lease of life and was actually so effective that I was able to take her off the trocoxil and have her just on that.  She was running around like a youngun again :-)

It's also useful for upset tums - it's a natural anti-inflammatory and has gut soothing properties, I've given it to Raine for her stress-enteritis before because it not only soothes the gut but it helps bind the poo too.  It's not as effective as something like kaolin but it certainly does work :-)

It has other benefits too - I've seen mention of cancer fighting/prevention properites, and I think it's being investigated for something like 500 different potential uses at the moment!

It doesn't work for every dog of course - making not much difference for Saffi and Remy at the mo (absolutely awful arthritis and an old soft itssue injury flaring up) - but from what I've seen and heard it does help most dogs (and horses, and people - I may even try it for my old arthritic mice, if they'll eat it!)

Thanks for the info have ordered some from Healthspan have been reading a lot about it, think I will try it for arthritis in my shoulder and give hubby some for his poor old knees.. then might try it on the dog!

> Thanks for the info have ordered some from Healthspan

You know you can buy it in any supermarket, or if you want a lot of it you will certainly find large packs it in your local Asian food store, although if it really does have anti inflamatory properties it should, of course, be used with caution as it will almost certainly have blood thinning properties too.  Similarly, it should not be used with any other medication for the same.

Tesco has 400gms for £1.99

How much does a human take daily?

? Hoping will give me the info on the blurb think is 500mg per day not sure

Some notes on dosage and contraindications here.

Notes on use and dosage in dogs here:

http://www.k911.biz/Petsafety/Turmeric.htm

I just use the cooking stuff, much cheaper than buying capsules but then I do get through it pretty quick!

I have used it as a wound powder on a shallow cut on a pad. I sprinkled the powder into a sock and then bandaged the sock in place and it seemed to heal the cut really quickly.

It is really hard for the cooking stuff to get absorbed - it needs to be absorbed in the gut.  Really the only way to get an appreciable amount absorbed is to use the capsules.

> Really the only way to get an appreciable amount absorbed is to use the capsules.

Naturally :) 
The research was done on fruit flies, I believe.  I wonder how they got the capsules down them :)

Again, the same passive-aggressive response which champdogs appears to excel at.

It's a known fact that the spice itself is not the same as the powder in the capsules:  One is curcumin, the other is turmeric. 

Curcumin is PART OF turmeric - the part which confers the health benefits.  Therefore the capsules are highly concentrated doses of the active ingredient in curcumin.  To benefit from curcumin alone, you'd need to be eating an impractical amount of it.

Simply put, it's the same case with omega 3:  Would you like to eat 4 mackerel every day, or take 2 concentrated omega 3 capsules?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin

...and the fruit flies?

This is interesting as I have just started experiencing pain in my knees and joints from osteo arthritis and don,t really want to take ibuprofen all the time.
I might give
it a go and also try it on my nine and a half year old whos  joints are starting to stiffen up a bit.

What fruit flies?

The ones that were used in the research that all this is based on.  How were they tested with enteric coating?
I really can't help being sceptical when a natural product is found to perhaps have beneficial properties but then we are told that we can only aquire those benefits by buying an enhanced product.

I'm waiting to see a link to the research where fruit flies were fed turmeric... 

You are quite right.  That was the one where they claimed it cured dementia :)

dementia in fruit flies ?

> dementia in fruit flies ?

I know :) but this is often the sort of trial and evidence that takes the latest wonder cure to market.

In all seriousness I know it is important it was just the thought of identifiying a demented fruit fly that amused me :)

No longer demented apparently :)

lol :)