“Ask Dr Amy” and Golden Paste
I’ve recently started adding an “ask Dr Amy” section to the newsletter. If you are not yet on our mailing list do join up (you can find the button on the website) so that you can partake of these questions and answers, and perhaps have your own burning question answered! Here is an example of a Q and A from the newsletter.
Dear Dr Amy,
In relation to turmeric paste, is there proof behind the claims?
Pondering of Shaftesbury
Let's sit back, take a break from the bustle and bustle of everyday life. Make yourself a cuppa, or pour yourself something stronger if you prefer. Curl up on the sofa and read on whilst we get this question answered...
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So Pondering, this is a super question and one I get asked A LOT. Either that or I have new clients tell me most enthusiastically that they are giving golden paste (which is another name for Turmeric Paste) and I then try to explain why it's not for every dog, every beast, and every condition. Like anything, there is no single panacea for all ills.
Let's start by quickly covering what golden paste is. It's a mix of Turmeric (this needs to be Curcuma longa and no other form of turmeric), black pepper and coconut oil. The Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects, but it's bioavailability is not great and so my mixing it with an oil and adding black pepper we can improve the availability of the curcumin within the body and so potentially get a better response to it. Interesting there are studies showing that there are other compounds within turmeric that have beneficial effects - as usual we come back to that old adage that the synergistic effects of all the compounds in a plant give us better results than just one component, and so whole plant use is the way forward.
In short, yes there is evidence that it can be of benefit, but a lot of the research has been carried out in people and so it can be challenging to determine if the effects are going to be seen and at the same level in our patients. A good friend and colleague who is based nearby in Bath, Dr Veerle Dejonckheere, wrote a super article which you can find here about it's use in osteoarthritis in veterinary medicine and it seems churlish to abbreviate her hard work when you are really welcome to read it and see in detail what the research says about the use of turmeric in these cases. In essence though (I know for some of us finding 5 minutes to read this is hard enough!) there are a huge number of cases and studies both in the lab and in real life situations demonstrating a benefit to the use of turmeric in joint inflammation. However, we are sadly lacking in the large scale studies that we need for both dogs and cats as well as clinical trials to demonstrate how to increase the bioavailability of curcumin. Having said that, the safety profile of turmeric is such that we are probably pretty safe using it. What we do need to be mindful of is that with golden paste we are using a fairly fatty product, and for critters with IBD for example or pancreatitis, we probably need to be careful not to flare these conditions up. In addition, the use of black pepper to increase bioavailability of the curcumin is as a result of the piperine that it contains, and this can increase the bioavailability of other things, including drugs. So if your pet is taking prescription medication it is worth checking with your vet (probably your herbal vet!) if there could be problem with this - for example were we to increase the bioavailbitly of non steroidal anti-inflammatory medication then we could increase the risk of side effects.
Where I personally struggle with the use of golden paste is when it seems to be being used as a panacea for EVERYTHING. It is not going to mend everything. It is not going to help everything. Yes, there are other areas where it could be of benefit - cancer being one (interestingly another compound found in turmeric called beta elemene has been shown to have really promising effects in human with B cell Lymphoma. It's also found in a whole host of other herbs too, so we can get the benefits using a different herb if this warming turmeric isn't correct! If you want to see the research have a look here) but it is not going to resolve all maladies and even if it has its place, it may well be that using turmeric (instead of the paste) alongside other herbs carefully picked by a herbal vet could give us a more optimal outcome - and what we're all about is OPTIMAL. It may be that it is not suitable for you pet either. If we are looking at this from a chinese medicine perspective, our aim is always to bring things back into balance. Turmeric (E Zhu/Jiang Huang are both forms) is considered energetically to be a warming herb (I see those eye rolls at the back there guys, stick with me here, I promise I have two science degrees) and if my patient is 'chilly' then Turmeric is super. Conversely if they run 'hot', then I don't want to be making them warmer and so I wouldn't necessarily pick Turmeric, certainly not on it's own.
I can't tell you how many patients I have seen where we've stopped the golden paste the owner had started them on ( with the very best of intentions for their pet) and they have improved.
So in conclusion to your question, Pondering of Shaftesbury, yes there is some proof behind the claims but it is not for all animals and it is not the cure for everything. Use it - as always - under the supervision and advice from your herbal vet.
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