ہلدی · Curcuma longa, haldi
Mixed evidence
Some genuinely positive trials — and your body absorbs almost none of it from food.
This is information, not medical advice. This page is information, not medical advice. Nothing here is a prescription, a diagnosis or a recommendation to take anything, and none of it replaces a doctor who knows your history. Supplements are not harmless because they are natural: they interact with prescription medicines, some are unsafe in pregnancy, and a few can cause real damage. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting anything here, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, have a liver, kidney or heart condition, or take any regular medication. Never stop a prescribed antidepressant to try a supplement instead.
The yellow compound in turmeric, the spice in most Pakistani cooking, studied for its effects on inflammation.
Several small randomised trials found curcumin improved depression scores against placebo, including as an add-on to antidepressants. Trials are small, short, and use specially formulated extracts. The underlying theory - that inflammation drives some depression - is genuine but far from settled.
Trials commonly used 500 to 1,000 mg daily of an extract formulated for absorption, often with piperine from black pepper, for six to eight weeks. Turmeric powder in food is nowhere near this and is barely absorbed.
Recorded because a person who has decided to try something will find a number somewhere, and a forum's number is worse than a trial's. It is not a recommendation, and the right amount for you depends on things only a doctor who knows your history can weigh.
Can upset the stomach and, at high doses, thin the blood - relevant with warfarin or before surgery. Avoid with gallstones or a blocked bile duct, since it makes the gallbladder contract. Very high doses have been linked to liver injury in a small number of cases.
Turmeric is in every kitchen and every haldi doodh, which is good for other reasons - but it is not the same as the extracts used in trials.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist about everything else you take, prescription and herbal both. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, or have a liver, kidney, heart or thyroid condition, ask first. And if what brought you here is that you have been feeling low or frightened for weeks, that deserves more than a supplement — ask us anything, anonymously, or talk to us on WhatsApp.