Used as a spice and medicine for thousands of years, what can turmeric actually do for your health?

According to Dr Pongpirul, the curcumin seemed to be just as effective at reducing symptoms of functional dyspepsia as the omeprazole. Few side effects were reported, though the authors noted that longer term studies were needed to assess the supplement’s risks and benefits.

Dr Brian Lacy, a gastroenterologist and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, said via email that despite these promising results, he would hesitate to recommend curcumin supplements to his patients based on this study alone.

The results would have been more convincing if the study had included a placebo group, he said. Without one, it’s impossible to know if the participants’ responses were from the treatment, from a placebo effect or from the passing of time.

That said, functional dyspepsia causes serious discomfort, DrLacy said, and in the United States, there are no medications approved to treat the condition. Omeprazole, which is commonly used off-label, seems to help only about one in 10 patients.

Without better treatments, Dr Lacy said, those who prefer natural or herbal products “could confidently use this data to say, ‘Let’s try curcumin first.’”

But Dr Mahtab Jafari, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, Irvine, cautioned that patients with painful gastrointestinal symptoms should not use curcumin without a proper medical evaluation first. And because dietary supplements are poorly regulated, there are important caveats to keep in mind.