Online, the Natural Medicine Journal curated an interesting study discussing curcumin and premenstrual Syndrome. The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial consisting of 70 female students between the ages of 18-34 living in the dormitories of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2013. All the women were also considered healthy, had 21-35 day cycles, were single, were not taking medications, did not consume alcohol, did not smoke tobacco, and did not report any stressful events in the previous three months. If any of the women had side effects of any drugs, any drug allergies, any drug use, drank alcohol, smoked, had a history of drug use disorder, a disease diagnosed during the study, got married during the study, had menstrual irregularities, or had irregular bleeding events during the study, they were excluded from the study.
The individuals were determined to have PMS if they had at least five of the 19 symptoms listed in the DMS-IV. Curcumin was put into capsules with the placebo being brown sugar. The demographics were similar by mean and standard deviation, as were the PMS scores of physical, behavioral, mood and total of all symptoms.
The study demonstrated that curcumin was better than the placebo in significantly reducing PMS symptoms over three menstrual cycles based on the DMS-IV criteria.
For more information, read the full study.
http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2015-12/curcumin-and-premenstrual-syndrome
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
