Turmeric

A month or so ago, I became aware of the health benefits of turmeric.  Click here for that article.  It is apparently related to ginger, and I was looking for something to help with inflammation. I absolutely hate taking ibuprofen, and needed a back up plan for My Pain Relief Tea. I figured that something as innocuous as a spice would be easy enough to incorporate into my life, and from research, there were not any side effects that I, myself, needed to be worried about.

I ordered some from Mountain Rose Herbs, 8 ounces for $4.25 of certified organic ground turmeric root (rhizome). I have ordered more than a few times from Mountain Rose Herbs and have been completely satisfied with everything about them, their products, their professionalism, their delivery. Here is the turmeric that I ordered.

When I got it, I tried it in a tea (made the paste, etc.) and guess what? I don't like it. I just don't like the taste of it. I even tried a lemon turmeric iced tea, and ... no go. I just can't stomach it. I don't like Indian food either, and turmeric is used in curry.

So what to do?


Enter The Capsule Machine. :)

This is a handy, nifty tool for filling your own capsules with whatever you want to fill them with. I got mine from Amazon.com, but you can shop around.














Mine came with 1,000 capsules.

It really is a great machine! If you ever have rolled your own cigarettes? this is so much easier than that, and way better for you than that too.

I am going to get my turmeric into my body somehow!












I read from Dr. Weil that turmeric is not well absorbed without piperine, which is in black pepper (see another great article here) so I added some black pepper to my turmeric.

I didn't get too scientific here, just put a few dashes of black pepper into my turmeric bowl and mixed it up.

I'm not sure if it was enough or not, as I can not find ratios anywhere that might be best.



But onward I pressed, and found that the machine is super easy to use. Maybe a little messy, and be forewarned, turmeric stains things yellow...even my fingers.
But I now have some turmeric that I can stomach! YAY!
















I will update in the next several months to let you know if this helped with my arthritic and muscle pains from fibromyalgia.
Best Wishes!
~~Mama Trep
*please do your own research on this great spice!