Source: CNN
A good treatment option for indigestion may already be in your spice rack, according to a new study.
The study, published Monday in the medical journal BMJ, compared how more than 150 people with dyspepsia, or indigestion, responded to either the drug omeprazole, turmeric — which contains the compound curcumin — or a combination of the two.
Omeprazole is a common medication used to treat certain heart and esophagus problems by reducing acid in the stomach, according to the Mayo Clinic.
At days 28 and 56 of treatment, the people in the study were evaluated for their symptoms — which can include stomach pain, bloating, nausea or an early feeling of fullness – using the Severity of Dyspepsia Assessment, a questionnaire that rates the severity of indigestion.
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Researchers found no significant differences in the symptoms of the groups taking the drug, turmeric or the combination of the two, according to the study.
“In addition to anti-inflammatory and antioxidant purposes, curcumin/turmeric could be an option for treating dyspepsia with comparable efficacy to omeprazole,” said lead study author Dr. Krit Pongpirul, associate professor in the department of preventive and social medicine at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Turmeric has been used by people in Southeast Asia to treat stomach discomfort and other inflammatory conditions, Pongpirul said. Its medicinal use dates back hundreds of years, according to the National Library of Medicine.
In the United States, its primary medicinal use has been as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant dietary supplement to relieve osteoarthritis and irritable bowel syndrome, he added.
But this is the first clinical trial that directly compares curcumin/turmeric to omeprazole in treating dyspepsia, Pongpoirul said.
Categories: Alternative Medicine, Health, Medicine