Turmeric Instead of Ibuprofen or Prescribed Pain Meds?

Recently I realized I might be making a rather wide presumption in my unconscious assumption that all people who suffer from Lyme take as many pain killers as I do. I posted that I take 10 ibuprofen at a time, that less does not help, and that sometimes I have to take that amount more than once a day. I got very eye opening responses.


The single most eye opening response I got was about turmeric. I am not unaware of turmeric. As a matter of fact, I'm rather familiar with it as I lived in South East Asia, where the herbs use is incredibly popular. It is used in many of their dishes and everywhere I went, native people would talk to me about turmeric and how it is so good for the body. Of course, there was a language barrier so the conversations stopped there. I didn't learn so much about the specifics of why it's good for the body or how it works.

There is one instance however, that stands out in my mind, when I learned more about this powerful herb. A woman who owned the restaurant where I would partake of all my meals when I was teaching English in Chiang Mai became friendly with me. She was beautiful, looked very young and was as fit as a 20 year old. She was not 20 years old. I came to find, during a conversation with her one morning when I was sitting on the front steps of her restaurant appreciating the beauty of some orange-ish roots in a basket next to me, that she was much older than 20 and had birthed 4 children, and actually had just had her last one. I looked at her slender, energetic body in disbelief that she had just had a child and it was number 4. I asked her how it was she looked so good!

She pointed to the basket next to me and said, "Turmeric."

She explained to me that during her pregnancy she was sure to include loads of it in her diet, and then she informed that after 4 children she had no stretch marks and it was due to turmeric. She would take the fresh root, peel it and rub it all over her belly. She said stretch marks never even formed, then she lifted her shirt and showed me! Ha. I was nonplussed as generally people are more conservative than that there, but also I was also amazed. She said it works for scarring as well.

Later in my trip, my girlfriend got into a motorbike accident. Someone hit her from behind and the bike went out from under her and she went up in the air and landed on her back and skidded along the pavement for a bit. Her back got cut up pretty nasty. While the accident was no fun for her, she was most worried about the scarring that was going to happen on her back! Oh the vanity. But I knew a solution! Turmeric!

I went out and got a root and, once the wounds were healed enough I applied it to her back every day. I saw the pinkish-red newly formed scars on her back disappear before my eyes.

After that experience, I promptly forgot all about the magic of turmeric.

Well, I come to find, from the thread of discussion on ibuprofen and pain killers, that turmeric is also a natural and powerful painkiller. A fellow Lymie swears by it and strongly urged me to take it.

I got turmeric from the store and today will be my first day of taking it. After reading the article below, which is a great article about turmeric, and is, unexpectedly, by a doctor, I feel quite excited at the possible and probable benefits I'm going to get from it!

Move over Ibuprofen, it's time to fill your position with a painkiller that won't damage my liver!

Read the article!  Can Turmeric Relieve Pain? One Doctor's Opinion

An additional article on the benefits of Turmeric, including how it works:  Turmeric Benefits

One last article about Cork Cancer Research Center's recent findings:  Curry Compound Kills Cancer Cells