I have long been an advocate of using turmeric and turmeric extract as an anti-inflammatory agent. And I have promoted turmeric and its many health benefits ( TurmericReport). But when I read about a lady’s comment that taking turmeric had the curious side effect of eliminating her gambling addiction, my jaw dropped! The moderator of the article at The Spokesman Review was just as surprised as I was. But what if her claim was true? What if taking turmeric really could help people quit gambling?
Now I’m a gambler and a turmeric user and I have to tell you that I haven’t noticed such an affect. But I was intrigued by the notion of using a spice to cure gambling addiction.
So I did some searching on the internet to see if anybody else might have posted something about gambling and turmeric – or the active ingredient, curcumin. Interestingly there were a few comments and a couple of references but I didn’t find anything substantial. But it did get me thinking about the
possibility that the ant-gambling effect of turmeric might be overlooked by the users of the supplement. I could think of several reasons why that might be the case:
• Maybe only a small percentage of turmeric users are gamblers in the first place.
• Turmeric isn’t usually taken every day – so the anti-gambling effect may not have been noticed
• If the desire to gamble was reduced, it may not have been associated with taking turmeric
• It could be that the effect was noticed but was blown off as just a coincidence
I personally don’t have a gambling problem. I love it. But there are times when I can’t go to the casino and I really wish that I could. Maybe if I take some turmeric on those days I’ll feel better about it. On the other hand, maybe I should take it before I get ready to go to the casino to see if it changes my mind and I want to stay home. Or maybe I’ll want to go to the park instead. Naw, I don’t like that idea. Besides, I’m a gambler – not a researcher.
I’ll just stick to taking turmeric after I’ve sat at a video poker machine for six hours and my knees are killing me. I know it works for that.
Notes:
Drugs to treat gambling addiction: Science Daily
You can read more about turmeric at The Turmeric Report
TMG
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